?Chapter 1643:


    At the Wade estate, Marsha was already waiting at the doorway when Christina arrived. The vehicle hadn’t evene to a full stop before Marsha rushed forward and pulled the door wide open.


    “Bonnie, you’re finally here,” Marsha said brightly, her expression almost too weing. “La has been waiting for you since morning.”


    That level of enthusiasm from someone she barely knew put Christina naturally on edge. She responded with a measured smile. “Has La improved at all?”


    “She’s doing much better. She’s lying down in her room,” Marsha said with a chuckle. “Go on up and see her — and have dinner with us before you leave.”


    Christina offered no objection, inclining her head slightly. “Okay.”


    Once inside, Marsha instructed a maid to guide her upstairs to La’s bedroom.


    The moment Christina stepped through the door, a faint crease formed between her brows. A soft, unfamiliar fragrance lingered in the air — a scent carefully blended to stir attraction and lower defenses. It came from a treated candle, designed to act subtly and take effect without drawing notice.


    Christina understood perfectly what the Wade family intended. What surprised her was their haste. They had met her only the day before, yet here they were already setting their trap. Someone less wary would have fallen straight into it — but Christina was anything but ordinary. She was well-versed in both remedies and poisons. She never initiated harm, but if someone dared to scheme against her, they could hardly fault her for retaliating.


    “Bonnie, you came. I’ve missed you terribly,” La said in a weak voice, looking delicate and drained. She tried to rise from the bed when she spotted Christina.


    “Please don’t get up — you need to rest,” Christina said immediately, stopping her. Guilt spread inly across her face. “I’m so sorry. I was reckless. If I hadn’t insisted on the punishment, you wouldn’t have gotten sick.”


    As she spoke, Christina lowered her head, ying the part of someone overwhelmed with remorse. Her longshes concealed whatever truly stirred in her eyes — behind that softness lingered a faint, icy curve of amusement, the quiet confidence of someone already in control.


    “How could this possibly be your fault? You won fair and square,” La said magnanimously.


    Her condition was nowhere near as fragile as she pretended. A single dousing of cold water had not made her ill. After returning home, she had deliberately exposed herself to the cold for hours, all to draw Christina to the Wade residence. Outwardly, the family’s situation seemed stable — even thriving. Only they knew how hollow that appearance truly was. Only a marriage alliance with the Jones family could untangle their internal troubles.


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    La had long hoped to wed Bain and had failed every time. Now, her brother had toe first. Given Christina’s harmless, guileless appearance, she would never detect what had been mixed into the candle. When the moment arrived, Christina would be steered into her brother’s embrace — with recordings as leverage and a blend of coercion and persuasion, refusal would be impossible. What resistance could a girl from the countryside possibly offer?


    La forced out a rough, strained cough, deliberately prolonging it to deepen Christina’s guilt. As expected, remorse flooded Christina’s face, her eyes shimmering as though tears were on the verge of falling.


    “Are you feeling worse? Is it very painful?” she asked urgently. “Should I take you to the hospital?”


    “It’s nothing — just a bad cold. There’s no need for the hospital,” La said, shaking her head weakly. A calcting glimmer passed through her eyes, smug satisfaction settling quietly in her heart. She believed she hadpletely ensnared Christina, never realizing the scheme had been exposed from the very start.


    After chatting for a while, Christina excused herself and slipped into the restroom. There, she swallowed an antidote and carefully worked a trace of poison beneath her fingernails.


    Standing before the mirror, her lips curved into a slow, dangerous smile. The hunt had officially begun.


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