Chapter 1

To keep Kurt Mercer's failing organs working, I make him a special herbal broth every day and keep a close eye on what he eats.

But everything changes when the Mercers finally find their long-lost biological daughter, Giselle Mercer.

"You're feeding my grandpa this disgusting slop? Evelyn Mercer, what are you thinking?"

The butler nervously wipes the sweat from his forehead. "Ms. Giselle, Ms. Evelyn makes this broth specially for your grandfather. He's only managed to stay healthy all these years because of it…"

"Shut up!" Giselle throws a menu in my face. "I've spoken to a top nutritionist overseas, and Grandpa needs more protein! I've had the finest bluefin tuna flown in. From now on, I'll be handling Grandpa's meals myself."

Kurt doesn't say a word. He just glances at me, making it clear he's on her side.

I force a smile and turn to leave. "Fine. Then he's all yours."

What none of them know is that Kurt is suffering from Blackthorn Venom poisoning.

The broth I make is the only thing keeping the poison in check. If he stops taking it and eats seafood, the poison will spread rapidly through his body.

Chapter 1

Evelyn's POV

When Giselle Mercer saw me turn to leave without arguing, she only got more aggressive, clearly frustrated that she hadn't gotten a reaction out of me.

She picked up the bowl of herbal broth, wrinkled her nose in disgust, and dumped it straight into the trash. "Ugh, it smells like something you'd find in a dumpster! I can't even stand being near it. Grandpa only fell for your nonsense because he's too nice!"

The butler glanced at the discarded broth, then at the burns covering the back of my hand, his expression full of sympathy.

My skin was covered in tiny blisters. I got up at four every morning to prepare that broth, spending hours tending to it over a small stove. The rare herbs alone had cost me every penny I'd earned from scholarships and part-time jobs throughout medical school.

Hearing the commotion, my parents, Caspian Mercer and Vera Perron, came over. But instead of stopping Giselle, they immediately took her side.

"Evelyn, Giselle has been through so much while she was away. You're her older sister. Can't you cut her some slack?"

Vera frowned and waved a hand in front of her nose to clear the herbal smell. "Besides, Giselle's right. Those home remedies aren't reliable. Stop trying to impress your grandpa with all this weird, superstitious stuff. From now on, we'll listen to his nutritionist overseas."

Apparently, they thought I was doing all this just to win Kurt Mercer's favor.

If the Mercers hadn't taken me in all those years ago, I wouldn't have spent so much time and effort looking after them, let alone exhausting myself trying to keep the deadly poison in Kurt's body under control.

Grandpa took a piece of the bluefin tuna Giselle offered him and ate it.

He gave me a cold look. "Evelyn, this family raised you and provided everything you needed. The least you can do is show some gratitude. Giselle is my flesh and blood. Everything she does is for my own good."

I watched him eat the raw fish, knowing it could make his condition much worse. Any sympathy I had left for him disappeared.

"Fine. If you all think seafood is going to cure him, I'll leave. Just don't come crying to me when you regret it."

With that, I turned and went upstairs. Five minutes later, I came back down with a worn canvas bag.

Giselle and her parents were waiting in the living room. The moment Giselle realized I was actually leaving, she rushed over and snatched the bag out of my hand. "How do we know you haven't stolen anything from us?"

She turned the bag upside down and shook everything out onto the marble floor. Not a single piece of expensive jewelry was inside.

All I had were bags of herbs I'd stayed up late slicing, a few bottles of homemade ointment, and a medical textbook with pages so worn the corners were falling apart.

Giselle kicked the herbs aside in disgust. "Oh, my God! What is all this? Moldy roots and filthy dirt? Evelyn Mercer, you've been feeding my grandpa this garbage?"

Vera covered her nose and pointed angrily at the herbs scattered across the floor. "You ask us for 100 thousand dollars every month to buy your grandpa nutritional supplements!

"You keep telling us you're getting him the best products money can buy, and this cheap junk is what you've been spending it on? Have you been pocketing the rest of the money?"

Chapter 2

Evelyn's POV

I almost laughed at how certain Vera was that I'd been stealing from them.

Only the finest medicinal herbs could keep the Blackthorn Venom in Kurt's body under control. That money wouldn't even cover a small amount of the finest wild-grown goldenseal.

I'd never asked the Mercers for a penny. They'd adopted me, and I wanted to repay them for taking me in.

For the past five years, I'd worked three jobs just to afford the herbs. To save money, I'd even gone deep into the mountains to gather them myself. More than once, I'd fallen down rocky slopes and come back covered in cuts and bruises.

But I wasn't going to waste my breath explaining myself.

There was no point defending myself to people who'd already decided I was a thief. Even if I showed them how I'd paid for everything, they would just question where I'd gotten so much money and accuse me of lying.

Kurt heard the commotion and came into the living room, leaning on his cane. When he saw what was scattered across the floor, his face darkened.

"I thought you were just pulling little stunts to get my attention. I had no idea you were this cruel! You've been feeding me poison! Do you want me dead so you can get your hands on the family fortune?"

I ignored him and crouched down to pick up the small clay pot I'd used to prepare his heart medicine. I'd searched countless old pottery workshops for it. The antique pot was ideal for drawing out the herbs' medicinal properties.

Inside was a pill I'd spent three days and nights making to protect his heart. I'd planned to give it to him today.

Just as I reached for the pot, Kurt swung his cane down. The pot shattered, and the pill I'd worked so hard to make was crushed against the marble floor.

I looked up at him without a word. I'd spent five years doing everything I could to save this man, treating him like my own family.

Giselle scoffed. "What? Upset about your worthless junk?"

She glanced at the burns and scars covering the back of my hand, then rolled her eyes. "And stop waving those disgusting hands around to get sympathy. Who are you trying to fool? You're making me sick."

I bent down, picked up my battered medical textbook, and calmly brushed the dust off its cover. "Well, since you're all so sure you know what's best, I wish Mr. Mercer Senior a long and healthy life."

Then I headed for the front door without looking back.

Giselle stood in the doorway with her arms crossed, sneering after me. "Look at her, acting like she's too good for us! Without this family, she won't even be able to feed herself! Just watch. She'll come crawling back like a dog in less than three days, begging us to—"

She stopped mid-sentence. Everyone in the Mercer family froze.

A luxury car pulled up right in front of me. The door opened, and a middle-aged man hurried out.

As the Mercers watched in disbelief, he walked up to me and bowed respectfully. "Ms. Mercer, we've finally found you."

I recognized him and nodded. "Let's go."

He opened the back door for me, and I climbed inside.

As soon as the door closed, the vehicle pulled away, leaving all four members of the Mercer family staring after it in shock.

Chapter 3

Evelyn's POV

Inside the car, the man's voice shook with excitement.

"Ms. Mercer, I'm the Hawthorne family's butler. Two years ago, you found Mr. Hawthorne Senior and saved his life.

"We offered you a position with the family afterward, but you turned us down because you needed to take care of your own family."

His eyes filled with tears. "We've been keeping an eye on you ever since. When Mr. Hawthorne Senior's eldest grandson heard you'd left the Mercers today, he sent me to pick you up right away.

"He wanted you to know that if you accept his offer, the Hawthorne family will always have your back."

I watched the Mercer residence disappear into the distance. "Alright. Take me to Mr. Hawthorne Senior."

…

Back at the Mercer residence, the living room fell silent for several seconds.

Giselle was the first to speak, scoffing dismissively. "Oh, please. She probably hired that car just to show off! Everyone knows she's broke. She can't even afford a decent handbag. There's no way she knows someone who owns a car like that!"

Vera nodded in agreement. "Exactly! Even your father couldn't get access to a car with a license plate that exclusive. How would a nobody like her ever meet someone that important?"

Determined to prove she was better than me, Giselle headed straight for the kitchen.

A little while later, she returned with a large platter of bluefin tuna carpaccio and a serving of shrimp ceviche.

"Grandpa, the top nutritionist overseas said all those herbal medicines Evelyn gave you were full of toxins! That's why you've been so sick!

"What you need is plenty of high-quality protein from deep-sea seafood. It'll kill off all the bad cells in your body and get you healthy again!"

Kurt didn't hesitate. He picked up a piece of tuna and popped it into his mouth. "That's my granddaughter. At least you know how to take care of me."

But that night, all hell broke loose at the Mercer residence. Kurt had two severe nosebleeds, leaving nearly half his pillow soaked in blood.

Caspian panicked and immediately tried to call an ambulance. Giselle stopped him and pulled up an article on her phone. "Dad, relax! The nutritionist said the protein is rebuilding Grandpa's cells! The nosebleeds just mean his body's getting rid of toxins! That's a good thing! All the poison from Evelyn's herbal medicine is finally being flushed out!"

Sure enough, by the next morning, Kurt's nosebleeds had stopped. He even got out of bed for the first time in ages.

In reality, the seafood had caused the poison in his body to spread rapidly. His cheeks were unusually flushed, and he seemed to have regained his strength. He no longer needed his cane and could even walk around the living room on his own.

The Mercers were thrilled. They now believed every word Giselle had said about his body detoxing.

"Giselle, you're a blessing to this family!" Vera exclaimed, taking her daughter's hand.

Caspian was so pleased that he announced on the spot. "We're throwing Giselle the biggest party this city has ever seen to officially welcome her back into the family! I want everyone to know how amazing my daughter is!"

Giselle couldn't have been more pleased with herself. She immediately filmed Kurt walking around without his cane and posted the video on social media.

The caption read, "Proper nutrition cured Grandpa's illness in just one day! Unlike certain scammers who use moldy roots to trick people out of their money."

…

Meanwhile, I was in a guest room at the Hawthorne residence, reviewing Larry Hawthorne's latest medical reports.

My phone buzzed. I glanced at Giselle's post. Kurt was smiling broadly in the video, his face flushed with color.

But something about his neck caught my eye. A faint black vine had appeared at the base of his throat.

The seafood had made the poison spread so rapidly that it had already reached his heart. He had less than three days left, and not even the best doctors in the world could save him now.

I put down my phone and pressed the call button.

The Hawthorne family's butler, Gaston Cruise, appeared almost immediately. "Ms. Mercer, is there anything you need?"

"Order a funeral wreath for me. Have it delivered to the Mercers' welcome-home party in three days."

Chapter 4

Third-Person POV

Three days later, the Mercers threw a lavish party to officially welcome Giselle back into the family.

To show off his connections, Caspian had even invited Samuel Prescott, one of the country's leading experts in herbal medicine.

Samuel had agreed to attend out of respect for his longstanding friendship with the family. But the moment he saw Giselle helping Kurt onto the stage, his expression changed.

Kurt was smiling and greeting the guests, his face flushed, but Samuel could immediately tell something was terribly wrong.

Kurt’s forehead held a dull cast, yet his complexion was abnormally rosy. The black vine at the base of his neck had spread behind his ears.

Samuel pushed through the crowd and rushed onto the stage. "Mr. Mercer Senior! Your face is rosy, and that black vine has spread past your ears! The poison has reached your heart! This sudden improvement is just a final burst of energy before death!

"Have you stopped taking the medicine Evelyn gave you to control the poison? You need to take her heart medication right now! Someone call an ambulance! Get him to the hospital and have his stomach pumped before it's too late!"

The room erupted in shocked murmurs as the guests stopped what they were doing.

Giselle's expression darkened. She shoved Samuel aside and scoffed. "Dr. Prescott, have you lost your mind? Can't you see how healthy Grandpa looks? He's walking around without a cane, and he's never looked better!

"Did Evelyn pay you to come here and ruin my party? Poison reaching his heart? What a load of crap! You and your herbal remedies are nothing but superstitious nonsense! You don't have a shred of scientific evidence to back up your claims, so stop trying to scare everyone!"

Caspian was furious. He immediately called the security guards over. "Dr. Prescott, I invited you here out of respect. Today is a special day for my daughter. If you've come here to tell everyone my father's dying and ruin the celebration, then get out!"

"You… You're all fools!" Trembling with anger, Samuel stormed out.

Once he was gone, Giselle took a bowl of soup from a passing server. "Grandpa, don't listen to those quacks. I had this seafood soup made especially for you, with premium abalone, scallops, and bluefin tuna. It's packed with high-quality protein!"

Kurt accepted the bowl with a fond smile and turned to the guests. "That's my granddaughter! She knows how to take care of me! Science has done more for me than any of those ridiculous home remedies ever could!"

He scooped up a large spoonful of soup and swallowed it. But moments later, his smile froze. His flushed face quickly turned a sickly bluish-black.

"Urgh… Urgh!"

His eyes bulged as he grabbed his throat with both hands, struggling to breathe. Harsh, choking sounds tore from his throat.

"Grandpa? Grandpa, what's wrong?" Giselle cried, reaching for him in a panic.

Before she could touch him, Kurt suddenly coughed up a mouthful of black blood.

Screams broke out across the banquet hall.

"He's dying!"

Just then, four bodyguards entered, carrying a large funeral wreath. Across the center were the words, "Trust Science. Live a Long, Healthy Life."