"Hey, I brought you something." Sophia said, cing a steaming cup of coffee in front of Mirabe. She fished a small porcin vial out of her pocket. "I''m not sure if you''ll ever need it, but it''s good to have, just in case."


    As she spoke, she handed over the vial. Mirabe nced at her, took it, and popped the cork. Her eyebrows shot up in surprise. "Is this from poppy stems and leaves?"


    Sophia nodded. "Yep, it''s a colorless, tasteless powder. Once it touches your skin, it seeps into your bloodstream and can temporarily paralyze the central nervous system. It''s not lethal but coulde in handy if things get dicey."


    Mirabe had a hunch why Sophia brought this along. After a moment, she corked the vial again and tucked it back into her jacket pocket. "I''ll hang onto it. Thanks."


    She figured Cassandra might find a use for it.


    Sophia visibly rxed when Mirabe epted the vial, relieved that her gift wasn''t turned down.


    "Oh, and about your friend from the pharmaceutical society, he hasn''t been giving you a hard time, has he?" Mirabe remembered the society''s exams and inquired.


    "Nope." At the mention of Conrad, Sophia''s demeanor cooled. "Don''t worry about him. He''s got himself to me."


    Mirabe nodded, deciding not to dig further, and took a sip of her coffee. After a couple of minutes, she casually mentioned, "I heard the medical research institute is on the hunt for folks with unique constitutions."


    Sophia''s eyes widened in shock, her hands trembling slightly under the table.


    Mirabe set her cup down, locking eyes with Sophia. "Just be careful."


    **


    As they stepped out of the cozy pub, the sky had turned a moody gray, and the air was heavy with fog-a sure sign rain was on its way. Mirabe gged down a taxi.


    No sooner had they hit the road than the heavens opened up. By the time they arrived at the vi, the rain wasing down in sheets.


    Mirabe entered the house, her down jacket soaked through, though her clothes underneath were still rtively dry. Delh, seeing her drenched, clucked her tongue and urged her to take a hot shower.


    Half an hourter, freshly showered and changed, Mirabe headed downstairs. She found her parents and Nick in the living room, deep in conversation. She paused, then joined them.


    Delh had a stack of papers in her hands, which she passed to Mirabe. "What do you think about this?"


    Mirabe had barely sat down when she was handed the papers. She could feel Delh''s pointed gaze on her. Instead of diving right in, she looked up and yed dumb. "Think about what?"


    Delh just pointed at the papers. "Take a look, why don''t you?"


    Mirabe finally dipped her head and skimmed through the documents. After a few minutes, she looked up with a grin. "This asset transfer looks squeaky clean. Mom, congrats on climbing thedder to bing a full-fledged richdy!" Delh: "..."


    Nick''s lips twitched-a ssic Mirabeeback.


    Delh rubbed her temples. "Cut the jokes."


    Mirabe straightened up, cing the Cunningham family''s asset transfer document on the coffee table. "Alright, Mom, your turn. I''m all ears."


    Her posture was the picture of obedience.


    Looking at her daughter, Delh suddenly found it hard to start. Finally, she sighed and asked, "So, what exactly did Grady tell you about the Davis family?"