"Some terminally ill patients are willing to test new drugs to give themselves a chance at life. I never force them. Besides, the forms I develop are all donated free of charge, unlike your Burton family, which monopolizes technology to make a profit."


    Mr. Burton looked awkward. They were two sides of the same coin; neither had the right to judge the other.


    After a moment, Mr. Burton said, "Everyone has their specialty. You''re not skilled in antidotes, so you should stay away from that kind of research. That kid Leonard has a unique constitution. If you had disrupted his body''s internal bnce, you could have poisoned him to death. However..."


    As he spoke, Mr. Burton let out a sigh.


    "I never thought that kid Leonard would go to such lengths for Ste. If he had done this for anyone else, I wouldn''t have let him recover here."


    Old Mr. Wyatt nced at him and said stiffly, "If you can, neutralize the poison in his body. In exchange, I''ll owe you a favor."


    Mr. Burton, ever sharp-tongued, retorted, "It seems you''ve really taken a liking to the Lerman boy... I''m not surprised. You''re both cut from the same cloth-rotten to the core!"


    Since Old Mr. Wyatt was counting on him to cure Leonard, he held his tongue for once instead of firing back a retort.


    Mr. Burton also needed Old Mr. Wyatt for Ste''s follow-up treatment, so after a few sarcastic remarks, he let the matter drop.


    ***


    After leaving Old Mr. Wyatt and Mr. Burton''s ce, Ste still had to be careful with her hand, so they didn''t linger outside and went straight home.


    Fearing an ident so soon after the surgery, Ste had temporarily stopped going to work at The Williams Group. Even now that the stitches were out, she nned to rest for another two weeks before returning.


    When they got home, Ste took off her coat and was about to head to her study when Joshua suddenly took her hand.


    "Star, wait a second."


    Ste stopped. "Joshua, is something wrong?"


    Although Ste was taking time off, she hadn''t let any of her work slide. Of course, the same was true for Joshua With The Gardner Group stable and the industrial transfer taking time, Joshua was actually less busy than Ste. He ne disturbed her during her fixed work hours.


    ver


    For him to stop her today meant he must have something to say.


    Joshua looked down at her. "Star, don''t you think there''s something strange about Old Mr. Wyatt?"


    Ste replied, "Maybe brilliant doctors like him just have entric personalities? Mr. Burton was very strange when I first met him, too."


    Joshua said, "I remember Foreman Richards once told me that Leonard seemed to have found a a world-ss specialist to treat your hand."


    Ste''s gaze flickered.


    Foreman. Foreman again.


    Even though Foreman was dead, Ste still detested the man.


    Joshua''s deep gaze rested on her face. "Given your rtionship with Mr. Burton, if he could have gotten Old M Wyatt he would have done it long ago. There would be no reason to wait so long. So I suspect Old Mr.


    wait


    Wyatt wasn''t brought here by Mr.


    Burton, but rather..."


    He looked at her intently, his lips parting as he spoke each word clearly. "He was brought here by Leonard."


    Ste sighed silently. Joshua was


    just too smart. This feeling of being


    was transparent wasn''t


    wasn''t entirely


    pleasant.


    Even the closest people need their own space and the asional white lie.


    "I guess I can''t hide anything from you," Ste said.