Filed To Story: Returning to Her Not-So-Poor Family
“Romeo, Romeo.” Serena lunged for Darren again.
“Serena!”
Bard, who had just arrived, shouted sharply. His displeasure snapped Serena out of her daze.
“Romeo, so you were here”
She glanced at Darren again, her expression a mix of disgust and disdain, “Martin? How dare you impersonate Romeo, trying to steal a kiss? Shame on you! I almost fell for it!”
She raised her hand to hit Darren, but Bard quickly grabbed her wrist.
Serena was still smitten, “Romeo, you’re so handsome, so strong.”
Everyone was helpless.”So, you must be Mirabella!” Serena noticed Eunice standing nearby, her arms crossed, and raised her hand to slap her, “You homewrecker, it’s because of you that Romeo and I aren’t married. We might’ve even had kids by now. You little mistress, ruining others’ happiness.”
Darren and Belinda were both frantic to hear such scandalous words from Serena.
“Bella, you got any bright ideas.? We can’t let it go on like this!” Darren couldn’t bear to watch Serena’s state any longer.
“Do you want to team up with Mirabella against me? Martin, you traitor! Both of you, stay away from me.”
“Can we just knock her out?” Eunice had enough of the incessant babbling, “If nobody else will do it, I’ll take the swing.”
The servants all wished they could nod in eager agreement, silently cheering for their madam to take charge.
“Hold on a second, let’s see here,” Mirabella intervened, “You all just hold her down for now.”
Mirabella had suspected something was off with that glass of lemonade, but she’d never seen anyone go bonkers quite like this.
“What are you trying to do? Stay away from me! Romeo, come save me.”
Serena clung to Bard tightly, “They’re trying to tear us apart.”
Everyone exchanged uneasy glances.
Bard held her steady as the other servants grasped her firmly. Mirabella’s hand rested on Serena’s wrist, feeling for her pulse which was erratic and strange.
“She has several toxins interacting within her body. The worst is a hallucinogenic neurotoxin, causing delusions about time, space, and people.
She could even spiral into self-deformation, delusions, and thought disorder.
There’s also something wreaking havoc on her gut flora, leading to acute digestive issues—non-stop flatulence, bloating, diarrhea””You mean, she’s been drugged?” Belinda was incredulous and furious, “Who would dare to target a member of the Griffith family?”
“Could it be related to the lemonade she drank tonight?” Eunice chimed in.
At dinner, she had noticed Serena and Mirabella acting weird. Could Serena have tried to drug Bella and accidentally poisoned herself?
“It’s possible.” Mirabella had no concrete evidence linking Serena to the lemonade.
Eunice took out her phone and called the restaurant manager, “Is the glass Serena drank lemonade from still around?”
“It’s been washed and sterilized” the manager responded, puzzled, “Is there something you need? Did you fancy the glass, or was there an issue with the lemonade?”
“Never mind, forget it”
After hanging up, Mirabella mentioned, “I smelled that lemonade. It was just normal lemonade. If the drug dissolved in it, and she drank it all. there’s no way to trace it now. Whoever made it must be pretty skilled”
Eunice’s mind raced at the thought of such a drug.
She glanced at Serena. Could she have bought the drug?
Serena was still going crazy when Mirabella said coldly, “It’s not that we can’t help her. We’d need thirty-
four different ingredients, simmered on low heat for six hours. By that time, she’d probably have recovered on her own.”
“Are those ingredients hard to find?” Bard inquired.”Some might take half a day to collect.”
{t wasn’t that Mirabella was unwilling to help; she simply didn’t have access to the necessary ingredients. Besides, Serena had intended to harm her; there was no obligation to save her.
“Is there no other way?” Bard pressed, unable to stand by and watch Serena suffer.
“If she hadn’t drunk that whiskey, acupuncture might’ve been an option. But with the alcohol reacting with the toxins in her system, it could be fatal.”
Mirabella stated frankly, “All we can do now is wait for her to recover naturally”
The gathered crowd hadn’t expected this outcome and couldn’t help but ask, “How long will that take?”
“Roughly ten hours.”
Serena had already been causing a scene for two hours, with ten more to endure.
It made everyone’s heart sink. Who could withstand such an ordeal.
The servants looked petrified, each praying not to be assigned to tend to Serena.
“lf we leave her be, will it be life threatening?” Eunice asked with concern.
“Nope, on the contrary, letting it all out is better than using meds. At least it doesn’t damage the body, and there’s no wasted time recovering later”
Mirabella stated frankly.
“Well, that’s easy then. Just lock her in her room, let her rage all she wants.
Lock the windows and doors, and we’re good,” Eunice said. “You guys, tie her to the bed, and we’ll check on her tomorrow”.
The servants were taken aback. Could it really be that simple?
With no better solution at hand and the uncertainty of finding the right medication, this method seemed worth a try.
It was just a pity that the room might end up in chaos.
Darren and Belinda surveyed the bedroom to ensure there were no hazardous objects or valuables.
“Mirabella, you wretch, what kind of advice are you giving now? I’ll tear your mouth apart!” Serena, fueled by some unknown strength, suddenly broke free and lunged at Eunice.
In her delirium, she mistook Eunice for Mirabella.
She wanted to scratch Eunice’s face with her jong nails.
But Eunice blocked her, grabbing a silk necktie from the wardrobe and swiftly tying Serena to the bed.
The servants couldn’t help but admire Eunice’s decisive action. It had to be Eunice who took charge.”Let’s go, Eunice said after securing Serena. She dusted off her hands, ready to leave.
“Mirabella, you’ll get what’s coming to you, you wretch, I curse you.” Serena’s rant was cut short as Eunice stuffed another tie into her mouth.
“Mmmph”
Serena’s curses were now in vain.
Leaving Serena’s room, Belinda sighed, “Thank goodness Bella said it wasn’t life-threatening. We’ll check on her again tomorrow.”
On their way back, she couldn’t help but say, “I wonder if Serena’s ranting is because of the drugs, or if she genuinely had that much hostility towards Bella”
“We watched Serena grow up; she’s not a bad seed. Didn’t Bella say the worst the drug could do was cause hallucinations? Serena isn’t in control of her actions.”
“Let’s hope so.’ Belinda felt a weight in her heart, unsure of its origin.
“Eunice, do you know something?”
On their way back, Bard couldn’t help but ask Eunice, “What was with that lemonade, really?”
Eunice confessed, “Bella thought there was something off with the lemonade tonight, so she gave it to Serena. Serena hesitated and wouldn’t drink it, so I wanted to find out if the drink was drugged and if Serena had drugged it to harm Bella. Turns out Bella was right; the drink was drugged, and the effects were strong”.
“You mean, Serena drugged Bella?” Bard was in disbelief.
Serena had always been a considerate and kind child in their eyes.It wasn’t that he was viewing her through a family bias; it was through eighteen years of interactions that he had come to know her genuine simplicity and kindness.
Now, Eunice was suggesting that Serena might have poisoned the lemonade to harm Bella. Was this a momentary lapse, or had there been long-standing resentment?
“Bella doesn’t force issues. Her insistence on Serena drinking that lemonade speaks volumes.”
Eunice knew Mirabella wasn’t that kind of person.
However, Eunice suspected that Mirabella lacked concrete evidence that Serena had drugged her drink, which was why she hadn’t disclosed it in front of everyone.
Now that Serena drank the lemonade, even if the cup weren’t cleaned and sterilized by the restaurant staff, the little residue left could hardly be tested for anything conclusive. Even Bella, with her exceptional medical skills, could only detect the scent of regular lemonade.
Bella had mentioned, whoever made it must be pretty skilled.
“I’ll have someone check the recent purchases of such drugs in the market, see who’s buying them. If we follow the trail, we should find something; Eunice instructed as she pulled out her smartphone and gave orders to her subordinates.
Bard also took out his phone to issue instructions. “I’m gonna have someone question the restaurant staff. See if there’s a mole or if anyone’s been sneaking around the kitchen.”