THE DIVORCE GAMBIT From Dumped Wife to CEO's Forever novel Chapter 709

The more Justus thought about it, the more a chilling fear consumed him. He felt as if all the strength had been drained from his body, and he collapsed onto the floor with a soft thud.

No one could fathom the depth of his regret. He was drowning in it.

If only he had known. He shouldn't have been so ruthless. If he had joined the others in supporting Gonzales Holdings, offering a helping hand in their time of need, he would now be the biggest winner of all.

Justus wanted to slap himself.

Old Mrs. Sterling fell to her knees, clutching the doctor's coat. "Doctor! Doctor! I'm begging you! Please save my son! He can't die!"

Jasmine knelt beside her. "Yes, doctor, my husband isn't even fifty yet!"

The doctor shook his head helplessly. "We truly did everything we could. You should go see Mr. Sterling for the last time now."

"No! No!" Old Mrs. Sterling clung to the doctor's coat. "Doctor, please, have mercy on an old woman like me. Have mercy and save my son!"

The doctor, looking at her with pity, rubbed his forehead. A thought seemed to occur to him. "How about this? You could try contacting Miss Gonzales. While I can't guarantee she can save Mr. Sterling, she was the first to identify the problem with Smith's pills. Your chances would be better if you asked her."

Hearing this, the last glimmer of hope in Old Mrs. Sterling's eyes vanished.

Contact Caitlin?

It was easy to say, but how could she possibly do it? They had burned their bridges with the Gonzales family. The first time Caitlin had come to treat Hoffman, they had rejected her kindness and ignored her warning. The second time… the second time was even worse. They had kicked Gonzales Holdings while it was down.

How could she possibly have the face to go to the Gonzales family and ask Keira for help?

While Old Mrs. Sterling stood there, lost in her thoughts, a young nurse rushed out of the emergency room. "Is the family of Hoffman Sterling here? Is Hoffman Sterling's family present?"

"I… I am," Old Mrs. Sterling replied, turning around.

Jasmine stood up as well. "We all are."

The nurse's expression was somber. "The patient just stopped breathing. The family should go in and say their final goodbyes."

In that moment, the world collapsed for the three members of the Sterling family.

--

At Neon Spire, Smith had spent the last few days in his lab, working on a new product. He wanted to ride the wave of his miracle drug's popularity and develop another medication that would shock the world.

He had been working for two hours. The moment he stepped out of the lab, before he could even process what was happening, a pair of cold handcuffs snapped around his wrists.

"Wright Smith, correct?" one of the officers asked, flashing his badge. "I'm Inspector Joel Barrett of the International Police. This is my colleague, Officer Merlin Jelf. We have reason to believe you are connected to a major mass poisoning incident. Please come with us to assist in our investigation."

*Mass poisoning?*

Smith's eyes widened in disbelief. "You've made a mistake! A huge mistake! I'm a doctor, a doctor who saves lives! How could I possibly be involved in a poisoning? Release me at once, or I will contact my lawyer and sue you for abuse of power and unlawfully arresting a key researcher of Valerium!"

He was the creator of Smith's pills! The first person in the world to develop a cure for epilepsy! The leader of Valerium himself had invited him to a banquet at the K Palace to present him with an award. How dare these two low-level cops arrest him? They were utterly clueless.

"You developed Smith's pills, correct?" Joel Barrett asked.

"That's right, I did," Smith said, lifting his chin with pride.