A Replacement Bride

Chapter 245

"Are you saying that the poison on your body was gone as soon as you woke up? But your sensory pain nerves are busted. What happened then?" Katherine felt something was amiss, so she questioned him with a frown.

"I'm not entirely sure about that. In short, after I woke up, I did an examination and found that the residual poison in my body was gone, and along with it was my sense of pain. It went on like this for years. Later, I discovered that it could be cured using Xyadin by some odd coincidence. Unfortunately, the treatment was dangerous, and it was hard to locate the cure. Thus, I've delayed treating my illness for so long."

This time it was Katherine's turn to look grave as an idea popped into her mind.

She clearly remembered that the rose birthmark on her body had been aching for several days after that incident that year. Then, she was highly preoccupied with her alleged rape and didn't pay it any mind, especially since she was a traumatized victim at the time. But now, she couldn't help but speculate something when she observed the changes her rose-shaped birthmark would show following her physical condition.

Perhaps, that unique patterned birthmark could detoxify poisons? Or something in her body could do so, and that also affected the birthmark's changes. That would explain why the poison on Joaquin's body was gone after their tryst.

They were physically intimate, and the rose birthmark detected the toxin, so it took effect and neutralized the poison in his body.

Despite the detoxification, the toxicity of the poison was so potent that it left a severe side effect, which was shown through his damaged nerves. Moreover, due to the high toxicity of the poison, some of it

entered her body during the neutralizing process, and she couldn't clear the toxin completely.

Furthermore, she had a unique constitution because of the rose birthmark. As a result, the toxin was transferred to the fetus, which would explain why Noah was born with poison in her system! Content is property of NôvelDrama.Org.

The longer Katherine thought about it, the more likely it seemed.

She didn't tell Joaquin about the rose birthmark because she didn't know anything about it so far; it also sounded like something straight out of a fairy tale. So, she left it out of her theory and only told him about the rest.

Joaquin's expression became sullen after he heard this, and his eyes turned icy. He didn't expect the incident five years ago to have such severe consequences.

"Kathy, I'm sorry. It's all because of me..." He pursed his lips and apologized hoarsely.

Katherine waved him off. "You don't owe me any apology. This matter is beyond your control. Besides, no one would have thought things would turn out this way."

Then, she immediately grasped the crucial point and demanded, "You said that you were infected with Zephyr five years ago when you breached into TruMark Research to destroy the toxin, right?"

"Yes." Joaquin nodded slowly. "This toxin is hazardous. Area Seven attached great importance to the news as soon as they received it, which was why I was immediately assigned to Fontan with my men to eliminate the toxin. Plus, the operation was extremely classified. So, only those with high clearance would even know that such an operation was in the works. Thus, it was still a mystery how the leak happened and who was behind it."

Katherine had heard about TruMark Research. It was different from the Third Research Institute. By that, she meant that it was a secretive organization, be it in Fontan or even worldwide. No one knew

what they were researching or the fruits of their labors, but it was an open secret that they were involved in shady businesses.

Nevertheless, she didn't expect that the powerful Zephyr was a product of TruMark Research.

"What happened next? Did your destruction operation fail?" she asked.

"No." Joaquin shook his head. "On the contrary, we succeeded in the end. We destroyed Zephyr."

"What?" She was surprised by this news. "How? Didn't you say that someone had exposed the operation?"

At this point, Joaquin cast her a meaningful glance. "This is also something that has bothered me for years."

Five years ago, he led his men and finally found TruMark Research's stronghold, only to find the place empty and chaotic, as if a storm had ransacked the facility. When he laid his eyes on the facility, he immediately guessed that his mission was exposed, and the research facility employees had already packed anything useful and left.

However, he didn't give up. Instead, he asked his men to conduct a carpet search just in case they could get their hands on any residual toxins that TruMark Research was producing.

Perhaps, the people in the research facility retreated in a hurry because they discovered the lone research left behind in one of the laboratories. Joaquin checked it carefully and found that it was none other than Zephyr!

So, he immediately rounded up his men and ordered them to destroy all the toxins in the facility. But, to their bewilderment, the people of the research facility suddenly returned and attacked them, catching them off guard.

The opponent had come prepared and had more manpower than Joaquin and his men. The opponent also had no qualms about using dirty tricks. It also didn't help that Joaquin and his men didn't know the situation and environment well, so even if they tried their best to fight back, they couldn't defeat their opponents. To make matters worse, he was also poisoned during that fight.

"So, you suspected that there was a mole, right?" Katherine immediately pointed out his suspicions.

Joaquin looked at her; his eyes were filled with blatant admiration for her quick thinking. "Yes. I've been running through all the possibilities repeatedly and felt that something had gone wrong somewhere. Perhaps, the people in TruMark Research received the news at the very last minute and promptly retreated, but why did they return? At first, I thought they were rushing back to retrieve Zephyr, but later, I realized I might be wrong because those people never entered the laboratory where Zephyr was stored. Rather, their entire focus was on my team and eliminating us!"

She immediately came to an epiphany. Her eyes had a calculative gleam as she narrowed them slightly. "So, that means that their main goal wasn't Zephyr but to ambush you!"

"Yes. The poison in those laboratories might be a cover, and it may not be the real Zephyr! They had already taken away the real thing!"

"What happened next? Did you hear any news about TruMark Research?"

Joaquin shook his head in frustration. "The research institute went to the ground after that, and we didn't pick up any chatter until recently. Area Seven has tried to track it down, but this matter involves two countries, and several diplomatic disputes have occurred. Thus, Area Seven couldn't act rashly until they received clear orders from the higher-ups."

Katherine understood that politicking could be messy, especially when said politics involve shady dealings regarding biological warfare. So, she nodded lightly upon hearing this piece of information.

Indeed, there had been no news from TruMark Research for the past few years, and she even entertained the thought that the institute had been rounded up and forced to close. Nonetheless, she felt it was improbable that it happened after receiving another piece of the puzzle from Joaquin. Moreover, it seemed TruMark Research had powerful backers, which aroused her interest and curiosity.

"What should we do about Noah's illness?" Joaquin hastily inquired. "The poison in my body was Zephyr, and you cured me with Xyadin. So, you should be able to devise a solution to detoxify Noah's poison too."

Katherine shook her head as she said in disappointment, "The poison in Noah's body is far more complicated than Zephyr since her leukemia complicates her condition. It is not possible to just neutralize the poison with poison. I say this because I know that Xyadin is highly toxic. Noah is already of frail health, so she would not be able to withstand such treatment."