Ste asked, "Are you saying there''s absolutely no other way besides hypnosis?"


    Laurel let out a soft sigh. "I''ll be honest with you, Ms. Cameron. The only reason I went to medical school in the first ce was because of Joshua.


    I was young, arrogant, and brilliant at whatever I set my mind to.


    I truly believed I was the one who could cure him.


    I even turned up my nose at the traditional treatments passed down through the Gardner family.


    But the reality is, after all my years of research, it was an exercise in futility. In the end, I had to fall back on the Gardner family''s established protocol.


    Hypnosis is our absolutest line of defense.


    And even if you and Joshua agree to it, I can''t guarantee it will work.


    A second round of hypnosis is infinitely harder than the first.


    If Joshua resists it even a little, the chances of failure are incredibly high.


    So, if you decide to go through with this, you need to find a top-tier hypnotherapist.


    Hypnosis has always been the standard treatment for the Gardner family.


    The non-hypnotic treatments you sat through with Joshua were based on my own experimental research, but those have clearly stopped working.


    If you don''t believe me, Ms. Cameron, you can always ask Dr. Chase. He''s


    In the past, Laurel wouldn''t have bothered exining herself like this.


    Her philosophy had always been: those who believed her needed no exnation,


    and those who didn''t weren''t worth her breath.


    But Joshua had always been the exception.


    She couldn''t let her own pride or a petty rivalry jeopardize his well-being.


    Ste remained silent.


    Laurel knew that her history with Joshua, not to mention her obvious feelings for him, made it incredibly hard for Ste to trust her.


    Laurel spoke up again. "For now, just keep a close eye on him. If you''re against the hypnosis, I won''t force it.


    After all, even if you agree, it''s going to take a lot of work on your end to convince Joshua to go along with it."


    Having said her piece, Laurel didn''t push any further. She offered a brief goodbye and hung up.


    Ste stared nkly at her phone, a heavy cloud settling over her heart.


    It seemed she needed to do some serious digging into Joshua''s condition.


    She still couldn''t bring herself to trust Laurelpletely, but going to Dr. Chase wasn''t an option either.


    The second she started asking his doctor questions, Joshua would know.


    Which left...


    Ste thought of one person.


    Neville Connolly.


    Without hesitating, she dialed his number.


    Neville sounded pleasantly surprised when he picked up.


    "Star? Is there something you need help with?"


    fet


    They had just seen each other recently, and Ste rarely initiated calls with him. Hearing from her so soon definitely caught him off guard


    Ste skipped the small talk and cut right to the chase. "Neville, how much do you actually know about the Gardner family''s... gic condition?"


    The line went dead silent.


    After a long pause, Neville''s deep, maic voice finally came through the speaker.


    "Star, have you noticed Joshua acting out of character too?"


    Ste''s breath hitched.


    Too.


    "Neville, are you saying..."


    "Yes," Neville confirmed.


    Ste''s heart sank.


    "So, he really is sick?"


    But Neville countered, "Star, have you ever considered another possibility? The cutthroat environment the Gardners operate in is unimaginably brutal.


    Even apletely normal person growing up under that kind of


    suffocating pressure would like


    develop severe psychologica issues.