CHAPTER 81: PRS 81

Isabella, who had planned to return home today, was forced to abandon her plan because Berti, her great-grandmother, suddenly fell ill from poisoning.

"Great-grandmother! Hold on!" Isabella shouted in panic when she found her great-grandmother lying weakly on the bed, her face pale.

The mansion’s security had been beefed up, and the enemy had been exterminated, so Isabella was quite surprised that a rat had still managed to enter and harm her family members.

"How could this happen?! Wasn’t security at its maximum?!" Isabella asked, her voice trembling, as Andra stood beside her with a tense expression.

"We’re investigating, Bella. This must be an inside job," Andra replied, his jaw clenched.

Unfortunately, the maid who had been bribed was dead. Since the maid lived alone and had no family and had served the Alegra family for over fifteen years, they couldn’t fathom the old woman’s motive for poisoning Berti, the one who had helped her and given her life.

"Lina has served for fifteen years! Why would she do this?" Mikaela cried in Demon’s arms, as he tried to calm his wife.

"Calm down, honey. We’ll find out who’s behind it," Demon comforted her, even though his heart was filled with anger and sadness.

Tak tak tak...

Isabella tried to find any traces from the mansion’s CCTV footage of anyone Lina had met recently. Her fingers moved quickly across the keyboard, her eyes focused intently on the screen.

"There must be a trace," Isabella muttered as she continued to scroll through the footage.

Meanwhile, the rest of the family was currently investigating people connected to Lina in the past.

"Leon, check Lina’s financial history. Liora, check all her communications in the last three months," Yuan firmly instructed his grandchildren.

"Yes, Grandpa," they both replied in unison, immediately rushing to their task.

Fortunately, the poison that had entered Berti’s body hadn’t spread throughout her body, so she could still be treated and her condition recovered.

"Doctor, how is my great-grandmother?" Isabella asked anxiously to the doctor who had just emerged from Berta’s room.

"Her condition is stable, Miss Isabella. We neutralized the poison in time. But her body is very weak and requires complete rest," the doctor explained.

Although stable, the elderly woman’s condition was weaker than before, forcing her to remain in bed.

Because the enemy was unknown and Berti’s condition allowed for home care, the doctor came to the mansion to check on her daily.

"We will send a medical team every day to monitor her progress," the doctor said to Alegra’s family, who were gathered in the living room.

Morgan, having heard the news about Berti, came to the mansion to visit because he had something he wanted to discuss with Isabella.

As soon as he arrived in front of Berti’s room, Morgan saw a girl focused on the laptop screen in front of her. Her expression was serious and focused.

"Am I disturbing you?" he asked cautiously, knocking gently on the door.

Isabella looked up for a moment. "No. What’s wrong?" she asked back, brushing back the hair that had fallen over her face.

"I have information that might be useful to you," Morgan said, approaching and sitting in the chair beside Isabella.

"Information? About what?" Isabella asked with a raised eyebrow, her attention now fully focused on Morgan.

"According to my grandfather, when your great-grandmother found Lina, she mentioned that she had a grandson who was separated from her," Morgan began explaining seriously. "Mrs. Berti had been searching for Lina’s grandson, who had been separated from her. After years of fruitless searching, Lina gave up and assumed he was dead."

"A grandson? I don’t know about that," Isabella murmured, staring intently at Morgan.

"I suspect that Lina’s grandson might be Hexss, because Rich accidentally saw Lina leaving Hexss’s treatment room," Morgan continued. "I think you could try investigating this matter further, as it seems their relationship is being deliberately hidden to prevent any trace."

"Hexss? So this is about personal revenge?" Isabella clenched her fists tightly. "He poisoned my great-grandmother out of a grudge against our family?"

"That’s most likely the case. You need to dig deeper into Hexss’s past and his relationship with Lina," Morgan suggested.

Hearing Morgan’s explanation, Isabella shifted her focus to Hexss’s past and began to delve deeper.

"Thank you, Morgan. This information is invaluable. I will investigate immediately," Isabella said.

Since Morgan still had much to do, he left Isabella alone and excused himself.

"If you’ll excuse me. If you need any help, please don’t hesitate to contact me," Morgan said, standing up and gently touching Isabella’s shoulder.

"Okay. Thank you for coming," Isabella replied with a small, sincere smile.

Meanwhile, back home, Alesio Xander and Alekso, who were attending their university’s alumni reunion, were already in the car, heading to the five-star hotel where the meeting would be taking place.

"Finally, we’ll meet up with old friends. How many years has it been, Alekso?" Alesio asked, staring out the car window.

"Almost five years. A lot has changed since then," Alekso replied, driving carefully.

Inside the luxuriously decorated hotel hall, alumni began arriving one by one. At a table, a dark-haired man handed a glass of drink to the beautiful woman standing next to him, smiling.

"Are you sure you want to go through with this plan? If you want, I can give it all to you, without you having to deal with Alesio," Lionel said with a hint of displeasure. His hand wrapped around Mika’s waist possessively.

"Lionel, honey, you know this isn’t just about money," Mika said, gently caressing Lionel’s cheek. "It’s about power."

"I know you can help me, cover all the losses. However, I have some agendas, and only Alesio can realize them," Mika replied, swirling the red wine in her glass before taking a small sip. Her eyes fixed intently on the entrance.

"But why Alesio?" Lionel asked jealously.

"Because he has something you don’t," Mika replied coldly.

"This wine isn’t that good. I should have brought one of my Daddy’s collection from home," Mika put down his wine glass calmly, staring at the entrance, hoping his target would arrive soon.

Meanwhile, in the car, Alesio felt a sudden sense of unease, so he let Alekso get in first as soon as they arrived, while he immediately took out his phone to call his lover.

"Alekso, you go ahead. I’m going to call Bella," Alesio said, pulling out his phone.

"Okay, Boss. Don’t take too long. Lionel will find you later," Alekso replied, getting out of the car.

Drttt...

Seeing her lover’s face appear on her phone screen, Isabella immediately picked it up, as she happened to be done with work.

"Hello, honey. I missed you so much," Alesio greeted in a soft voice he rarely used.

"Alesio? I miss you too. How are you? Have you arrived at the reunion?" Isabella asked, delighted to hear her lover’s voice.

The two chatted for quite some time, and Isabella felt guilty for being apart for so long, and their communication often suffered due to their respective busy schedules, especially the significant time difference between the two countries they lived in, making it difficult for them to juggle their schedules.

"I’m sorry I couldn’t celebrate your birthday, Bella. I’m truly sorry," Alesio said, his voice filled with regret.

"It’s okay, honey. I understand. Your work is important too. Besides, the important thing is that we can still communicate like this," Isabella comforted in a gentle voice.

"You’re too good for me, Bella. I promise I’ll make it up to you later," Alesio promised.

Mika, who had seen Alekso enter but not find him, felt a little anxious, even though he had said he’d come to the hotel with her.

"Where’s Alesio? Why did Alekso come alone?" Mika muttered, narrowing her eyes nervously toward the entrance.

"Calm down, honey. Maybe he went to the restroom or was on the phone," Lionel comforted, holding Mika’s cold hand.

After finishing his conversation with his girlfriend, Alesio didn’t immediately enter the hall, but instead went to the restroom outside to tidy up and clear his thoughts.

"Damn! Why is she getting more and more beautiful and sexier?" Alesio muttered to himself as he splashed cold water on his face. "Calm down, Alesio. This isn’t the time or place to be thinking about such things."

Alesio spent quite a while in the restroom, trying to cool down his suddenly heated body after Isabella’s teasing. Although it wasn’t excessive, it did wake his python from its slumber, forcing Alesio to put it back to sleep to prevent it from causing trouble later.

Inside the hall, the event was already underway, and everyone was laughing merrily.

"Wow, it’s been a long time since we’ve been together like this! It feels like we’re back in college!" one of the alumni exclaimed cheerfully.

"Yeah! Do you remember when we used to stay up late working on assignments together?" another chimed in, laughing.

Mika, greeted by her friends, forced a fake smile, her eyes occasionally darting toward the entrance, which disappointed her once again.

"Mika! You look so beautiful tonight! What’s your secret?" one of her female friends asked enthusiastically.

"Oh, no special secret. Just a basic grooming routine," Mika replied with a smile that didn’t quite reach her eyes.

Unfortunately, as soon as Mika looked away, Alesio entered along with the food cart, which was filling the empty tables, so there weren’t many people watching.

Upon arrival, Alesio sat in a corner with a glass of drink in hand, observing his surroundings.

For some reason, he had been having a bad feeling, so Alesio preferred to sit alone rather than chat with his long-lost friend.

"Something’s strange. I feel like something’s wrong," Alesio muttered, looking around warily.

Lionel, noticing Alesio’s presence, tapped Lio on the shoulder, who immediately turned and followed him to where Alesio was sitting alone, fiddling with his glass.

"Alesio! Bro! You’re finally here!" Lionel greeted enthusiastically, extending his hand.

"Lionel, Lio. Long time no see," Alesio replied, standing and shaking hands with his two friends.

After Lionel and Lio arrived, one by one their college friends began to approach, realizing that Alesio Xander had arrived.

"Alesio! The youngest successful CEO! We’re proud of you, bro!" one friend exclaimed in admiration.

"Teach us the secret to your success, please!" another added, laughing.

Lionel had deliberately surrounded Alesio so he could carry out Mika’s plan.

With eye signals, Lionel slipped a drug into the drink he was carrying, and as soon as Alesio let his guard down, he replaced his friend’s glass.

"This is a new drink, Alesio. Try it, it’s really good," Lionel said, handing him the drugged glass.

"Oh, thank you," Alesio replied, taking the glass without suspicion.

Seeing that Alesio had finished the drink Lionel had deliberately swapped, which contained a high-dose stimulant, Mika walked over to Lionel and tucked the hotel room card into his pocket.

"Stay away from me, Alekso. I don’t want tonight’s plans to fail," she whispered sensually, caressing Lionel’s chest with her fingers, causing Lionel’s Adam’s apple to bob rapidly.

"Don’t forget my present, baby," Lionel whispered sensually in Mika’s ear, to which Mika replied, "Okay. For the next month, I’m yours," she said, licking her lower lip seductively.

Seeing the drug taking effect, Lionel quickly led Alesio away. Alekso, seeing his boss and best friend leave, assumed they were on some personal business, so he ignored them and went back to chatting with some old acquaintances he’d only just now seen again.

"Lionel, I’m hot. Is the air conditioner broken?" Alesio complained, loosening his shirt collar.

"Let’s go to my room. You can rest there. The air conditioner is cooler," Lionel suggested, supporting Alesio’s swaying body.

Alesio, feeling uneasy, followed Lionel, who claimed he’d rented a room at the hotel while he was in the capital.

Feeling that he and Lionel were quite close, Alesio didn’t suspect anything. He entered the room his friend claimed was his and lay down on the bed.

"Just rest here for a while. If you need anything, don’t hesitate to call me," Lionel said as he walked out of the hotel room. A sly smile crossed his face as the door closed.

"I’m sorry, my friend. But Mika is more important," Lionel muttered softly before leaving the corridor.

Alesio unbuttoned the top two buttons of his shirt and turned down the air conditioning to make himself comfortable.

However, that didn’t help at all, prompting Alesio to take a shower.

"Why is my body getting hotter? Something’s wrong," Alesio muttered as he staggered toward the bathroom.

Mika, who had just finished showering and was about to return, saw Alesio walking towards her. She decided against leaving and went back in, slowly removing the towel she had been wearing, revealing her naked body and hiding behind the door.

"Finally, soon, you’ll be mine, Alesio," she thought excitedly, biting her lower lip with lustful eyes.