?Chapter 1612:


    “A little,” Christina admitted, a shy smile tugging at her lips.


    “I’ve prepared a feast—all your favorite dishes. You have to try them,” Bain said warmly, his tone softer than anyone had ever heard from him.


    “Bain! Are you kidding me?” Gerryined, ring at him. “Don’t act like you did it all yourself! We all helped with that meal for Bonnie!”


    Bain merely nudged him away, unbothered. “Move. You’re blocking her path.”


    Gerry ground his teeth, the urge to smack Bain square in the head burning inside him—but in the end, he forced himself to hold back.


    “Bonnie!” Florrie called out.


    “Grandma!” Christina’s expression lit up as she ran into Florrie’s arms.


    “My dear Bonnie, you’re finally home,” Florrie murmured, her voice thick with emotion as she held Christina close.


    “Bonnie, my sweet girl,” Beth said warmly, reaching out to embrace her next.


    Christina turned and smiled before melting into Beth’s hug.


    Hurley stepped forward soon after, his familiar presencepleting the reunion.


    But as Christina drew back, she caught an odd glint in his eyes—and her smile faltered.


    Something was wrong. Hurley had been poisoned.


    Christina, under her alias Noxin, instantly sensed that something wasn’t right—something subtle enough to escape everyone else’s notice.


    Hurley had been poisoned with a slow-acting toxin, the kind that was nearly impossible to detect and even harder to trace. It wasn’t a poison that caused obvious symptoms—in its early stages, it merely induced bouts of fatigue that most would dismiss as nothing serious.


    From her trained eye, Christina could tell Hurley was still in the early phase of poisoning.


    The nature of such a toxin meant it had to be administered over time—which could only mean one thing: the culprit was someone within the household.


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    Her mind raced through possibilities, though her face remainedposed, her smile warm as she savored the joy of reunion.


    She couldn’t afford to alert the person behind it—not yet. If they realized she knew, they would cover their tracks, and she’d lose her only lead.


    Christina chose not to inform Hurley either, afraid he might unknowingly give something away.


    She didn’t have an antidote on hand, and producing a pharmaceutical drug wasn’t an option here. Even creating herbal medicine could draw suspicion.


    And if she did concoct a remedy, a sudden detox might raise unwanted questions. For now, she decided to quietly stabilize the poison in his system until she found the right moment to act.


    But she needed to move fast. Whoever was behind this was likely the same person who had once tried to hire her to kill Hurley—that meant influence, someone powerful in Lionesspaw.


    “Ma’am, please have Miss Jonese inside. The food will get cold,” an elderly housekeeper said respectfully.


    “Yes, yes, we can’t let Bonnie go hungry,” Florrie replied, taking Christina’s hand with warmth and leading her inside.


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