Rachel was just about to secretly pour the poison in when a cold voice suddenly cut through the air.
"Rachel, what do you think you''re doing?!"
Startled, Rachel''s eyes flickered with panic. But herposure was unshakable -within seconds, she''d smoothed her expression into its usual calm.
She turned around, feigning confusion and innocence. "I just finished grinding the medicine and was about to put it in the bottle. Is something wrong?"
"In the bottle?" Ste snatched the vial from Rachel''s hand, her tone icy. "There''s something inside this bottle. Are you telling me you didn''t notice?"
Rachel put on a show, peering into the bottle, then quickly adopted an apologetic look.
"Sorry. I was so focused on crushing the herbs, I didn''t notice anything unusual."
Ste nced at the liquid in the bottle, a cold smile ying at the corner of her lips.
"Didn''t notice? Or did you have something else in mind? This vial contains freshly extracted venom-one mix-up could kill someone."
Just a short while ago, Mr. Burton had finished extracting the venom when a patient arrived in urgent need of treatment. He''d hurriedly set the vial aside and gone to help, leaving it unattended.
It was only after confirming a bank transfer that Ste noticed Rachel sneaking around, acting suspiciously. When she spotted Mr. Burton''s gloves tossed carelessly on the table, the whole situation clicked into ce. Rachel was up to no good.
Rachel ducked her head, voice small. "I''m sorry, I really didn''t know there was venom in that bottle. You all know how clumsy I am-I can barely tell the difference between regr herbs and weeds...”
Ste stared at her in silence, her expression unreadable.
Rachel''s gaze darted up, and suddenly she blurted, "It was my mistake my fault entirely. I''m sorry, I apologize!"
Without waiting for Ste''s response, Rachel dropped to her knees on the floor.
"This was all my fault. Please, I beg you, don''t let this mistake stop you from giving me the medicine I need... Ms. Cameron, I''m begging you!"
Ste''s longshes fluttered.
Just then, a sharply dressed man-handsome, with an air of cool detachment- walked into the clinic. Seeing Rachel kneeling on the ground, his perfectly sculpted brow creased in a frown.
He strode over and gently helped Rachel to her feet.
"Rachel, what are you doing?"
Same old theatrics, Ste thought with an inward, wordlessugh.
Haynes had arrived so quickly-clearly, Rachel had run to him right after the incident, and he''d rushed over, ready to take her side.
But Rachel refused to get up. Eyes reddened with tears, she whimpered, "Haynie,
it was my fault. I made a careless mistake-I almost put the medicine in the wrong bottle..."
"If my blunder damages Mr. Burton''s reputation, I''ll never be able to forgive myself!"
Haynes turned to Ste, his face darkened with disapproval.
"What exactly did Rachel do that warrants making her kneel and beg for forgiveness?"
Ste was used to Haynes''s constant suspicion and favoritism. Her voice was cool and even.
"First, I never asked her to kneel. She barely said two words before dropping to the floor on her own."
"Second—” Ste held up the bottle, "What did Ms. Pearce do, exactly? She nearly poured this venom into the medicine she was preparing."
"This is venom extracted from a deadly snake. It''s extremely toxic-even the smallest amount could be fatal."
"And as for Mr. Burton''s reputation?" Ste let out a cold, mockingugh. "Funny how Ms. Pearce never mentioned she almost killed a patient by mistake."
Fat tears rolled down Rachel''s cheeks. She looked utterly pitiful, sobbing as if her heart would break.
"I''m so sorry, I really didn''t know. I just saw a porcin bottle behind me and thought I''d use it for the medicine. How was I supposed to know Mr. Burton would leave something so dangerous just lying around?"
"Ms. Cameron said even a tiny bit of this stuff could kill someone-if I''d touched it while filling the bottle, I could''ve poisoned myself. Why would I want to hurt myself?"