CHAPTER 401: CHAPTER 401: NOT WRONG

He didn’t do anything wrong. Was it his choice to come into this world? Mrs. Hawthorne willfully brought him into the world and imposed her resentment on him.

She didn’t know that Mr. Hawthorne’s childhood was like that. If she had known earlier, she would have invented a pair of little wings and flown to Young Mr. Hawthorne’s side to tell him not to be afraid.

Thinking of this, Paige Sterling pulled Julian Hawthorne into her embrace.

Julian Hawthorne was in a daze, and Paige Sterling patted his back, as if soothing a child, saying, "I know you’re suppressing so much pain, feeling so sad and wanting to cry. It’s okay, you can cry, I won’t make fun of you..."

Julian Hawthorne, "..."

It was the first time he realized that his wife had such a vivid imagination.

He was actually not sad at all.

That woman meant nothing to him; she was only nominally his mother.

Even if that woman were to die right in front of him, there wouldn’t be a single tear from his eyes.

But since his wife believed he was very sad and was willing to hold him like that, he could pretend to be sad.

So Julian Hawthorne nestled into Paige Sterling’s embrace, as if quietly wiping tears of sorrow, though in reality, Julian was laughing in her arms.

Paige Sterling didn’t know that although he didn’t recall much of that time, he still remembered her eyes.

Those clear, pure, and innocent big eyes.

In the villa, when he unexpectedly looked up into those eyes, they were etched deeply into his mind.

Many years later, when he met Paige Sterling again and she glanced back at him, he saw those eyes once more.

He knew then that he could no longer escape...

In the days that followed, Paige Sterling stayed by Julian Hawthorne’s side to comfort him, worried that he might fall into depression.

It wasn’t until much later that she realized Julian Hawthorne, if he were to fall into depression, would have done so long ago; there was no reason to wait until now.

Julian Hawthorne clearly had nothing troubling him; since there wasn’t, why was she watching over him every day? She might as well focus on improving the wristband...

She now understood the reason behind Julian Hawthorne’s illness.

First, there was indeed a psychological cause.

But considering Julian Hawthorne’s current situation, he had mostly overcome the psychological aspects.

Second, it was due to the substances Mrs. Hawthorne injected into Julian.

But now many years have passed, and detecting those substances in Julian’s body is impossible.

Paige Sterling couldn’t possibly ask Mrs. Hawthorne about these things.

She planned to contact the doctor who treated Julian at that time; he might still have the test data.

When Paige Sterling called Julian Hawthorne for contact information, he knew what Paige was going to do.

All the luck he had in this life must have been spent on meeting Paige Sterling.

He smiled, "I’ll take you there."

Paige Sterling tilted her head, "Is it not a good idea to make you relive those cruel memories?"

Julian Hawthorne, "Are you underestimating my strong psychological resilience?"

Paige Sterling, "Wasn’t the person crying in my arms just a few days ago you?"

Julian Hawthorne, "..."

The two of them went to find the doctor, who was still working at that hospital and had become the director, maintaining good relations with The Hawthorne Family.

Knowing the purpose of Paige and Julian’s visit, he retrieved the test data from then and said to Paige, "There are some substances here that couldn’t be detected with the medical technology at that time, so they were marked with question marks..."

Paige looked at the question marks, her face gradually darkening, then turned to Julian Hawthorne, saying, "Your mother is quite something; these substances were beyond her reach."

The doctor asked Paige, "Miss Sterling, do you know what those unknown substances are?"

Those were only marked with question marks; they hadn’t been detected!

Paige Sterling, "I can infer what they are by analyzing the known substances and considering the final effects."

If it were only a phobia of physical contact, Julian wouldn’t exhibit symptoms like bloodshot eyes and bulging blue veins.

The drugs Mrs. Hawthorne injected into Julian were the cause of these symptoms.

And the methods Paige Sterling designed for Julian, although they didn’t cure his phobia, removed the medication residue, allowing Julian to revert back so his body’s original reaction to his phobia—vomiting—became apparent.

This is a substance capable of causing genetic mutations, a topic banned from open research in the global biology field today.

However, whether there are institutions conducting research in secrecy is uncertain.

Now that such drugs have appeared, it suggests that covert research was underway in relevant institutions more than ten years ago, and significant progress had already been made.

Imagine, the effects were significant over ten years ago, and because the medical technology of the time couldn’t detect these drugs, the matter wasn’t taken seriously, and those conducting the research weren’t exposed. If they’re still researching now, these drugs will have been upgraded, and their effects will be even more terrifying.

If the researchers had ill intents, the consequences are imaginable.

Paige Sterling said nothing more, pulling Julian Hawthorne away.

Julian Hawthorne asked her, "What did you see?"

Paige Sterling’s expression was exceedingly serious.

Paige didn’t hide anything and shared her speculations.

Julian Hawthorne’s expression became equally inscrutable, aligning his thoughts with Paige.

These things, capable of nearly destroying humanity, where on earth did Mrs. Hawthorne get them from?

With her connections, it’s impossible she acquired such substances, and if those involved knew that Mrs. Hawthorne had them, they certainly wouldn’t let her live till now.

If they didn’t know about this matter, it would’ve been fine. But now, he and Paige are aware of a group researching these destructive drugs, and having achieved results, if they remained idle, what does humanity face?

However, this is merely Paige’s speculation. Even though she has established herself in the scientific community, she lacks authority in the biological field. If she voiced this matter, no one would believe her, and they might even accuse her of alarmism.

So, to draw attention to it, she needs evidence. Once some evidence draws the nation’s attention, subsequent investigations by officials will surely uncover traces.

But all these drugs were injected into Julian’s body, making it impossible to retrieve them.

Paige was somewhat relieved; she already knew the residues lingering within Julian; otherwise, Julian would have been taken for experimental research.

"I want to move back to The Hawthorne Family for a while."

Paige looked at Julian, "Is that alright?"

To obtain evidence, Mrs. Hawthorne must be the starting point.

Directly asking Mrs. Hawthorne is certainly unfeasible.

Therefore, Paige decided to move back to The Hawthorne Family for a while, hoping to glean information from Mrs. Hawthorne.

Julian nodded, "Alright."

When Paige Sterling and Julian Hawthorne returned to The Hawthorne Family, Simon Hawthorne, Dora Upton, and Mrs. Hawthorne were conversing in the living room.

Simon Hawthorne passionately spoke about Paige Sterling’s laboratory, and Mrs. Hawthorne had a smile on her face as if genuinely doting on this son.

Seeing Paige and Julian return, Simon promptly announced, "Dad! My brother and sister-in-law are back!"