I Quit Being a Stepmother (Cypress Gem) novel Chapter 540

"They really went crazy?" Sawyer asked, still in shock. "All of them?"

Jackson pursed his lips, feeling a twinge of guilt. "Yeah, not a single one survived. It was a total wipeout."

"How did it happen? Wrong research direction? Dosage problem?" Sawyer asked.

He had considered using Zolantix Pharmaceuticals' labs and team to develop a targeted drug for Sylvia. But such projects weren't just expensive. They took years from design to testing to approval.

Sylvia's condition, while somewhat stable, was unpredictable. One wrong moment, and she could spiral out of control and be lost forever.

Sawyer also feared that, like Jackson, he could make things worse instead of better.

Jackson explained, "Originally, a few of the outlaws could still communicate, though their emotions and speech were distorted. After they took the drug, their mouths twisted and eyes skewed! They say some were even sent out to kill, but couldn't do it properly and ended up getting killed themselves."

He sighed. "I really don't know what the researchers did."

Sawyer was beyond speechless.

Sylvia smiled awkwardly. She sneaked a glance at her pillbox, wary of someone messing with her pills. She might be mentally ill, but she couldn't stand ending up twisted-eyed.

"So they never resumed research in this area?" Sawyer asked.

"No."

What if he made Sylvia's condition worse?

Jackson looked at Sylvia. "Listen to me. Being mentally ill is far better than being crazy."

Sylvia frowned. "...Is there really a difference?"

To most people, mental illness was craziness, and vice versa.

"Mental illness is a disorder of the mind. When you're not in an episode, you're normal. But you're destined to be unhappy because your brain still goes through phases of rational thought.

"Lunatics, however, are different. Their brain's control system is broken. It's like a computer gone haywire. You press 'shutdown', but it decides to play some random pornographic video instead."