Forensic Imperial Concubine novel Chapter 257

"Don't worry about anything, okay? I'll make sure to protect your mansion with all my might until you wake up."

It took some time to prepare everything before Harper was finally ready to enter the prison and confront Denny. But when Johnson and his daughter sighted her, they were immediately furious. "Harper Chu, how dare you show your face to us! You deliberately gave us the wrong way to detoxify His Highness. You were plotting to destroy our reputation and disgrace us!"

Without even taking a look at them, Harper turned to Denny and said, "Matthew's toxins in his body broke out. He would die if we can't detoxify him before sunset."

Denny paled slightly at her words. He knew that there was only one way out of that situation now: Matthew was going to die, unless he was somehow cured. And yet he was now powerless to do anything about it. There was nothing else he could do.

"Denny, I need your help," Harper murmured softly, her eyes intent.

"Denny, don't you dare put any trust in this conniving woman," Johnson retorted. "She's only trying to use you for her own gain!" He wasn't about to stand there and let Harper have her way.

"My help? How? To take the blame instead of you?" Denny snapped, mocking.

Harper only replied calmly, "There is an aphrodisiac added to Matthew's medicated bath. Did you put that into the bath because you fell in love with him? Or did you want to lead him to another woman's bed?"

"Aphrodisiac? I don't know about anything like that!" Denny denied immediately. "The detoxifying process is incredibly delicate and needs absolute caution. I wouldn't interfere with it with anything like that."

"So it wasn't you, then? Then who could it be?" Harper now leveled her gaze at Johnson and his daughter. "You were the one who prepared the medical materials, weren't you? And you prepared the medicated bath. Only the three of you were present during that time. This only means that one of you drugged him, causing the toxins in his body to lose stability and go out of control."

Almost immediately, Johnson knew in his heart that it could be none other than his own daughter that had drugged Matthew. Denny found himself coming to the same conclusion. But as he looked up to gaze at the father and daughter, he saw Rena's eyes swiftly look away with guilt. And it dawned upon him what had actually taken place: Rena had drugged Matthew, trying to get him to have sex with her, and ensnare him in such a way that he could never abandon her. She was the one who ruined the whole process.

"Rena...was it you?"

"No, I didn't do anything! How could I have possibly done such a thing?! Denny, don't listen to that woman's nonsense!" Color soared into Rena's face. There was no way that she could confess to such an outrage. It would only drive home the fact that Matthew would never marry her.

"Honestly, I don't care who did this anymore. But I want all of you to know: If anything happens to Matthew, you will all die on the spot. Denny, Matthew has treated you like his own brother, and yet you'd sit by, condoning his murder for the sake of your own private affairs. What a wonderful brother you are to him!" Harper sneered coldly.

"No, I didn't..." Denny started to fluster, unable to come up with an answer to save him from the truth. He knew the writing was on the wall. If he hadn't insisted on bringing Rena into this, Matthew would never have ended up this way. Defeated, he stammered, "Do you have a way to save His Highness somehow?"

"Yes, I have. But I'm going to need your help," Harper said. "But to be perfectly honest, if you're not able to distinguish between right and wrong, I don't dare allow you to help me!"

"I swear, I won't act recklessly in any way. I'll do whatever it takes to save His Highness." Denny's tone was pleading, emotion wrenched in every word as he looked up. "Barry, please. Help me convince her to show me mercy. I just want to save His Highness while there's still a chance!"

Standing behind Harper, Barry said coldly, "His Highness has made his orders clear: If anything were to happen to him, Her Highness would be the one in charge of making the decisions in the mansion."

Denny stood rooted to the spot, astonished. Matthew's trust had been stripped away from him. The reason Harper wasn't allowed to take part in the detoxifying and the reason he agreed so easily, as it turned out, was to protect her. Did Matthew somehow foresee that something unscrupulous would be afoot?

"Release him," Harper then commanded. Gazing down at Denny's disheveled, small frame, she stretched out her hand. A red pill lay upon it, and she held it out to him. "Take it."

"What's this?"

"Lethal Seven. This pill will kill you in seven days," Harper responded dispassionately. "If the treatment goes well and according to plan, Matthew will wake up in seven days. And if he wakes up, then you can have the antidote to save your own life. Otherwise, I'll have all of you killed and torn to pieces. Before that though, I might have Rena hurled into the military camp for their use. You know what I mean."

"You insidious bitch!!" Johnson was foaming with rage. Rena might have remained blissfully ignorant of what Harper was implying, but there was no doubt that every man there knew what she was saying. After she was thrown into a military camp of nothing but savage men, they were going to end up ravaging her.

"Johnson Leng, I'm afraid that I'm not the type of person that tolerates that kind of language. If I hear any more of those words from you, I'll have them cut your tongue off!" Harper coldly snapped. "Do you realize what position you're in right now?! You and your daughter have endangered my husband's life! Instead of examining your own guilt and conscience, you choose to insult me. Don't take me for a weak woman, as you'll find you're sorely mistaken. The imperial capital is not your own personal Medical Valley that bows to your will and you've free reign to do harm as you wish. I suggest that you not dare act entitled here."

Rena was just about to retort right back but Johnson immediately stopped her. There was no doubt that Harper was going true to her word. She had every intention of killing them, and if they were to go too far, she might just have it commanded in a second.

Finally, Denny picked up the poison pill and swallowed it with a determined expression. "I'm holding to my word. I've taken the pill. Now tell me what you want me to do next."