Ch. 721..730

Chapter 721

"Since you would die any other way, why not let me choose for you?" Lilian replied lightly as she glanced at the documents that were now wet from the alcohol. "After reading this, do you still think that Jack is a kind man?"

Genevieve forced herself to not think of a certain man, otherwise, she would not be able to continue talking to Lilian.

It took a few minutes before the pain in her heart reduced a little. Genevieve was finally able to breathe smoothly. "It's good enough that I don't kill you even though you tried to kill me multiple times. Why would I help you to kill Jack? Although he is too possessive, selfish, and cunning, he genuinely loves the kids. It doesn't matter how much we argue because despite how much I hate him, I won't kill him."

"I don't care how you want to get your revenge on Jack, but he must live. If he dies, I swear upon my life that I will kill the entire Helt family," Genevieve said to Lilian coldly.

"Jack said the same thing once," Lilian replied. "He said that when he found out that you have been kidnapped by Mrs. Wasco."

Jack had sent someone to tell her that if she ever dared to touch Genevieve again, he would not hesitate to bring the Helt family down and sell Helt Corporation.

As the Helt family had already lost a few members, Lilian stopped.

Regardless, her loyal subordinates were extremely furious and tried to find an opportunity to finish what Lilian couldn't. In the end, they managed to contact Xavier. They had wanted to use Xavier to kill Genevieve, and they nearly succeeded as well.

Lilian was in hiding while she was in Chanaea. It was only after she found some information that she came to Baykeep with Genevieve, and gave her a call.

"Jack would rather torture you to the point where you die from your illness than let you go. You don't even love him, so why are you still protecting him?" Lilian asked in confusion.

Genevieve did not reply to her question, instead, she merely said, "I can't fight against Jack with you, but there's something I'd like to collaborate with you."

The moment Armand received the call from Cooper about the successful development of the antidote, he instantly put down the work in his hands and found an excuse to admit himself into General Hospital.

As it was such an important drug, Timothy did not dare to allow others in the process of handling it. Therefore, he could only afford to go to the hospital himself.

Just as he entered the ward, his eyes landed on a man with his leg in a cast. Timothy paused for a moment before snapping back to his senses. "Armand, you could've pretended to have a stomachache instead of this. I would be able to get someone to deal with the surveillance cameras."

He didn't have to consume alcohol until he severely damages his liver or break his leg. What a big sacrifice.

"It's all right. It'll recover after a few days." After all, he had been wheelchair-bound for a few months. A broken leg was nothing to him.

"Where's the antidote?" Armand quickly asked.

"We have already managed to develop the antidote, but..." Timothy trailed off as he placed a small cooler onto the table. He turned to look back at both Armand and Cooper. "We still need to test if it has any side effects or not."

"I'll do it."

Just as Timothy finished speaking, the other two instantly voiced their thoughts simultaneously.

Armand looked at Cooper and said in a low voice, "Let me do it. Apart from the few of you, everyone else thinks that I'm dead. If there's a problem with the antidote, it wouldn't matter even if I die from it." "Just because you said that, there's no way I'm letting you do it." Cooper's gaze darkened. "What about Mandy?"

Pain bloomed in Armand's heart when he thought of his adorable daughter who he might never be able to see anymore. "I miss them, but I'm not worried for I know you will take good care of them." "You're crazy. Who wants to take care of your child for you?" Cooper deadpanned. "Stop being so stubborn and let me do it."

With that, Cooper rolled up his sleeves, wanting Timothy to use him as a lab rat instead.

Even so, Armand's hand was placed firmly on the cooler.

With a faint, hoarse voice, he said, "I've always wondered why didn't my father give everything up and run away with my mother. If Grandpa were to kill them, wouldn't it be better if both of them died together? With that, my mother wouldn't need to wander the streets overseas like a beggar. Did he really love his family more than my mother?"

Chapter 722

Armand continued, "It took me a while to realize my father didn't want my mother to die with him. He wanted her to continue to live. That was why Old Mr. Faulkner placed a knife on my mother's neck after he found out what my father was thinking."

After a short pause, he added, "That's exactly how I feel about Genevieve. I love her, and she's a part of my life. We even have kids together. How can I watch her die since she's only in her twenties? She still has a bright future ahead of her."

Armand was not an expressive man, but his words struck a chord with Timothy and Cooper.

At this point, Cooper finally realized he was willing to give Genevieve everything and even die for her because of his guilt. He wanted to make it up to her because he felt guilty about tearing the Rachford family apart and killing his adoptive parents.

In other words, he was not as deeply in love with Genevieve as Armand. Otherwise, he would not have fallen in love with Jane.

After keeping quiet for some time, Timothy wished to voice his thought. "Can I speak now?"

"Go ahead," Armand said.

"I'm very touched by the things you said, Armand. I never thought you could be this emotional, but..."

Timothy wiped his cheeks with his fmger even though there was not a single teardrop and continued, "This medicine can cause some side effects to the human body, but it won't kill the person. So you two don' have to fight to become the lab rat."

Timothy's remark had rendered Cooper speechless. "Why didn't you tell us earlier?"

"Before I could say anything, you and Armand have started arguing!" Timothy smiled in nonchalance while spreading his hands in feigned innocence. "Besides, I wouldn't get a chance to hear those heartfelt words from Armand had I told you the truth."

Armand was nonplussed. He rolled up his sleeve, revealing his fair but muscular arm. "Go ahead."

Timothy opened the cooler box and took out a syringe. "Before administering the antidote, I'll have to inject you with Curb.emotion first. We can only proceed with the antidote injection an hour later." Armand hummed in acknowledgment. "Do you still have Curb.emotion?"

"Of course. But since it's an illegal drug, the professors had only produced three units and destroyed all the lab records about the drug."

Cooper looked in Armand's direction. "You want to use it on Jack?"

Armand answered, "I don't think it's possible since there are bodyguards by his side all the time. Besides, I don't want to kill him."

"Got it." A corner of Cooper's lips quirked up.

"Who?" Timothy was curious to find out who they were talking about. He scoffed, "Are you guys sidelining me? Can you not say things I don't understand?"

Cooper shrugged his shoulders. "You'll find out soon."

His answer rendered Timothy speechless.

After giving Armand the injection, Timothy removed his gloves and tossed them into the bin. "I'm going out for a walk. I don't want to stay in the ward for too long and arouse unnecessary suspicion." He then left the ward. Cooper poured Armand a glass of water.

A few minutes had passed, but there were no visible changes in Armand. Cooper asked, "How are you feeling?"

"I feel calm."

Armand had always been calm and inexpressive. The drug that entered his bloodstream further turned him into a man without emotions.

Cooper hesitated for a bit before asking, "Do you love Genevieve?"

Genevieve's name coursed through every inch of Armand's body like lava. Bits and pieces of memory he had for the woman inundated his mind.

He could feel his heart racing to the point where he could no longer breathe. He could not imagine the pain Genevieve had to go through whenever her heart acted up.

Upon noticing something was amiss with Armand, Cooper immediately wanted to call Timothy. But before he could dial the number, Armand collapsed on the bed and stopped breathing.

Chapter 723

Soon, Timothy rushed over with another doctor. After performing an emergency rescue for about ten minutes, Armand finally came around.

Instead of waiting, Timothy decided to inject Armand with the antidote.

He then checked Armand's pulse a few minutes later. Timothy looked at him and asked, "Does your heart still hurt when you think of Genevieve?" "Not anymore," Armand replied in a hoarse voice.

Timothy stayed in the ward for some time to ensure Armand did not experience another cardiac episode. He heaved a sigh of relief when Armand did not suffer from the antidote's side effects. Timothy then fished out his phone from his pocket and texted Cooper.

Before this, Cooper had left earlier because he knew it was inappropriate for him to stay in the ward.

He had been waiting for updates in the parking lot.

A weight was lifted off his shoulders when he received a text from Timothy. When he was about to put away his phone, he received a call from Jack, who asked in a solemn voice, "Where are you?" Cooper knitted his brows. Before he could answer the question, he heard footsteps approaching.

Cooper turned around, looked out of the window, and saw Jack walking in his direction while holding his phone. The former sneered, "Mr. Valentine, why did you call since you know I'm here?" Jack peeped into the car, and his expression turned grim. "Where's Genev?"

"I thought she's staying with you?" Cooper's face darkened as he could tell from Jack's expression that Genevieve was missing. "So you're telling me she went missing under your watchful eyes? Wow." Jack ignored his sarcasm. "Genev said she wanted to make a trip to Baykeep yesterday afternoon. I called her this morning, but she didn't turn on her phone. I went home and asked the housekeeper, but the housekeeper said she hasn't gone home."

Since Jack had gotten rid of Lilian's men and knew that Sylvie dared not lay her finger on Genevieve anymore, he did not deploy a bodyguard to look after Genevieve's safety. "Maybe her phone ran out of battery?" Cooper took out her phone. "If she's not home, she might be with Johanna-"

"I went to Johanna's house to look for her, but she was not there either."

Cooper put down his phone upon hearing that. "Did you send your men to look for her at the airport? You should be able to retrieve information on Genev's arrival if she's back." Jack did not do so because he thought she came back with Cooper.

He immediately contacted the airport. The airport personnel told him they had a record of Genevieve's departure to Baykeep but not her return flight to Jadeborough. In other words, Genevieve was most probably still in Baykeep.

Cooper's expression darkened. He opened the car door for Jack and was about to leave for the airport. "I can't believe you came to me first instead of checking with the airport."

Since Jack was wealthy, he chartered two helicopters that flew him to Baykeep in just an hour.

At the same time, Jack's subordinates had also sent the footage from the surveillance cameras to him.

From the footage, he saw Genevieve go to General Hospital in Baykeep first before checking into the presidential suite in a local hotel. She checked out from the hotel at eight in the morning the next day, but that was about it. She did not appear in any of the surveillance cameras footage after that.

Jack and Cooper went to the hospital and talked to the staff. They found out that Genevieve went to the hospital yesterday to pick up something that belonged to Melissa Jones.

Soon, Jack learned from his subordinates that the woman named Melissa was his mother's housekeeper, who had relocated to Baykeep.

The housekeeper did not have a husband, and she had no children. Genevieve was the one who took care of her matters.

Jack had once deployed his men to look for his mother's family and close friends but to no avail. He was surprised that Genevieve was about to locate his mother's housekeeper. Why didn't Genev tell me about it?

After saving the housekeeper's information, Jack started calling everyone he could think of to help find Genevieve.

Two days later, his subordinates finally found out where the latter was.

Two men kidnapped Genevieve right after she checked out from the hotel and brought her to another hotel in a more secluded area.

When Jack and Cooper arrived at the hotel, they saw the room door was left open.

After turning on the lights on the wall, Cooper found Genevieve lying alone beneath the window. The abductors covered her eyes with a black cloth and tied her hands with a rope. She sat still and did not move at all.

Chapter 724

Jack dashed over and untied the ropes shackling her limbs. Her limbs were seared with red marks where the ropes had been.

She had never once been freed from the rope on her wrist ever since she was trapped in the room.

Jack suppressed the urge to murder the person who did this to Genevieve and rushed her to the hospital. Fortunately, Genevieve had only fainted because she was dehydrated and had not ingested any food for a prolonged period.

The doctor arranged for Genevieve to stay in a private ward and put her on an IV drip.

After some time, Cooper brought dinner and a few bags into the ward. He handed the bag to Jack and said, "You're soaked in sweat. Go take a bath. I'll keep an eye out for her."

"Okay." Jack was feeling uncomfortable with the sticky sensation on his back. Then, he took the bag of clothes to the restroom.

After the door of the restroom was closed, Cooper immediately took out a small cooler from underneath a bag of clothes and injected her with the cure after sanitizing her arms.

Jack and Cooper took turns taking care of Genevieve that night.

Cooper received a call at seven in the morning, and he took the call outside the ward.

Jack did not feel sleepy at all. He propped his arm against the chair and stared right at the woman on the bed.

Jack's subordinate texted him and told him that he had captured the two men responsible for Genevieve's predicament. His subordinate had resorted to vicious beating during his questioning, and the two men claimed that they left Genevieve in the hotel room to die after receiving payment from their client.

According to one of the men, their client was an attractive woman with blonde hair and blue eyes. Jack's subordinate surmised that it was Lilian.

However, they searched the whole Baykeep and could not seem to locate Lilian.

Jack cursed inwardly at his subordinates' ineptness, seething at the fact that they had not been able to capture the woman. At the same time, he was quite surprised as well. After all, she was wheelchair- bound, and Jack had gotten rid of her closest aides. How was it possible that she was able to stay in the dark for so long?

Lilian knew that Genevieve was his soft spot. Why didn't she call me to negotiate if she had captured Genevieve?

Jack lifted his head to look at the hospital bed. Then, he noticed that Genevieve's thick lashes fluttered as if she was about to wake up.

He leaned forward and gently patted her on her cheeks. "Genev, are you all right?"

The woman on the bed opened her eyes slowly. She stared blankly at Jack for a few moments when she met his gaze. However, she soon regained composure.

A dark glint fleeted across her eyes as she managed a faint smile. "I'm all right."

Her micro-expression did not go unnoticed. Jack's irises constricted in response as he eyed the woman for a few seconds. Then, he took a few steps back as his face turned grim.

Right then, Cooper came back with breakfast.

Cooper felt a heavy weight lifted off his chest when he noticed that Genevieve was awake. However, he soon noticed something odd as he halted in his steps.

The mannerisms of the woman on the bed-the look in her eyes, her demeanor, was nothing like Genevieve.

Genevieve's beauty was innocent and pure, and yet she was able to incite a man's deepest desires with just a flick of her fingers. However, the cold crinkle of the corner of her eyes was able to intimidate people as well.

The woman lying on the hospital bed was different. She was demure and alluring like a fox. Her gaze was cold and languid. She was like a fiery red rose that had just blossomed, her lips glistened with glossy pink as if she had laced them with poison, daring those who dared to risk a taste, despite knowing full well that they would have to pay with their lives.

Jack eyed the woman with a dark look in his eyes. "Who are you?"

The woman sat up on the bed and leaned against the pillow. Realizing that Jack had seen right through her, she said, "I'm Nathalia, and I'm..."

The corner of her red lips curled into a smile as she enunciated, "Genevieve's sister."

Chapter 725

Jack's expression darkened further.

Cooper snapped out of his shock and opened up the small table by the edge of the bed and slid it toward Genevieve after placing her breakfast on it.

"You haven't eaten for days. Have some food first."

"Hmm, I am hungry." Nathalia did not seem to have the intention to budge as she said lazily, "Feed me."

Cooper was stumped. However, he opened up the box of food as requested.

Jack suddenly lurched forward and pushed Cooper out of the way. He dragged Nathalia out of the bed forcefully. Losing her balance, Nathalia almost stumbled to the ground. Jack carried her and stormed out of the private ward.

He headed for the psychiatrist's office, placed her on the hospital bed, and demanded, "Something is not right with her. Please check her out.”

The psychiatrist knew who Jack was and dared not offend him. Hence, he asked the nurse to reschedule his other patients.

He then brought Nathalia to the diagnosis room and asked her in private, "You said you are Nathalia, Genevieve's sister. Do you remember how old are you?”

"We're twins." Nathalia crossed her legs and leaned against the couch.

The doctor winced at her reply and jotted it down in his notebook.

Over the course of the next hour, the psychiatrist asked Nathalia a myriad of questions in a gentle tone, to which she answered accordingly.

He tried to entrap her so that Nathalia would take the bait and fall under his hypnosis.

However, the woman just would not fall for any of his attempts.

"Doctor, I've seen right through your tricks." Nathalia was tired of keeping up an appearance after beating around the bush with the doctor for ten minutes. She propped her chin and smiled at the doctor. "Do you want to give it a try by using a clock or an incense stick?"

The psychiatrist was rendered speechless.

Nathalia folded her legs the other way round, crisscrossed her hands, and placed them on her abdomen. "Since you're the head of the department here, and judging by your age, you should have been in his field for a long time. I believe you have met all kinds of patients, no? When our mother was pregnant with us, the nutrients that my sister and I had were limited. So, Genevieve devoured me in order to survive." The psychiatrist kept his head lowered as he scribbled notes. "And then?"

"Genevieve ate me, so the two of us merged into one." The smile on Nathalia's face faltered. "I watched as Mom and Dad doted on her, as did Cooper when she was growing up. I watched her make friends, get married, and everything else, as she lived her life while I'm stuck in this small and suffocating room, unable to do anything about it. I grew jealous of her. I wanted to grow up too. I wanted to feel what it was like to be doted on by Mom and Dad. I wanted to have a boyfriend of my own, but no matter how hard I tried, my efforts were in vain."

Then, she paused for a moment, as if recalling something. "Oh, right. One day, I noticed that the door to my small room was open. I knew that I could finally have my escape. However, when I was about to step out of it, the door was slammed shut in my face. If no one had saved Genevieve that day, I would have been free," she said wistfully and paused.

Then, she regained her composure and continued, "I thought I would forever be doomed to be confined in the small room. But that door opened up again yesterday," Nathalia smiled. "I was finally able to step out of it this time. I saw the sun shining brightly, and Genevieve who was basking in its glory..."

The psychiatrist's pen paused for a moment and had a hunch of what was going on. "So, you locked your sister inside the small room?"

"Of course."

There was a hidden camera on the vase placed on the cabinet right opposite the couch where Nathalia was sitting.

Jack and Cooper could listen to every single word exchanged between the psychiatrist and Nathalia.

In fact, she was not sitting on a normal couch either. There was an implanted heart rate detector on the armrest that could be used to infer if someone was lying. Nathalia had her arms rested on the armrest the whole time. However, Jack noticed that her heart rate had been normal-seventy-five to eighty beats per minute.

Her heartbeat had maintained at the normal resting heart rate throughout the whole exchange. This meant that she was not lying.

The psychiatrist excused himself to the restroom, when in fact he headed to the treatment room next to the diagnosis room and tactfully said to Jack, "I have treated patients like Ms. Rachford before. This is known as a dissociative personality disorder. Multiple distinct personalities could emerge in the patient's mind, each with their own model of thoughts."

Cooper asked, "What causes dissociative personality disorder?"

Chapter 726

"This has to do with her personality," the doctor explained. "Ms. Rachford probably knew she had a younger sister and that she ate her up while they were both still in their mother's womb. This constantly haunted her and pushed her into guilt. At some point, she started thinking that maybe things would have been better if her sister were still alive. Eventually, an identity with its own independent mind developed in Ms. Rachford, manifesting itself as her younger sister."

At that, Cooper felt his head throbbing. He massaged his temples, trying to process what he had just heard.

Jack glanced at Cooper shortly and then looked at the surveillance camera. After a short pause, he asked, "Is there a way to do away with this personality?"

"We need to find the weakness of this alter and force her to leave for good," the doctor advised. "I've tried leading her into a trap a few times, but she's extremely smart. I ended up being played every time." Jack's face darkened. He went into the consultation room and choked Nathalia, pushing her against the one-seater couch.

His eyes glimmered with murderous intent as he fixated his hostile gaze on her.

Despite Jack tightening his grip around her neck until she began to suffocate, Nathalia showed no signs of fear. On the contrary, she laughed.

"S-She will die... if I die..." she choked out. "She's n-not coming... back."

Cooper rushed into the room. When he saw Nathalia gasping as her face turned purple, he dashed over and punched Jack away.

Nathalia slumped to the ground, unconscious. The angry finger marks appeared more obvious because of her fair skin.

When Cooper saw that, he glared back at Jack coldly. "The alter ego might have a mind of her own, but she lives in Genev's body. Do you know you almost killed Genev?"

Then, Cooper brought her back to the ward and applied some medication to her neck.

After some time, Jack finally came into the same room. "Did her mother really have twins when she was pregnant?" he asked, narrowing his eyes as he looked at the unconscious woman. Dissociative identity disorder was not uncommon.

This was especially true if the patient had experienced traumatic events or was triggered. A different personality with independent thinking could develop when a person's consciousness was weak. That was when this other consciousness would take over to ensure the body continued functioning normally.

Despite knowing this, Jack still could not bring himself to believe that this was happening to Genevieve. He would rather believe that Genevieve was putting up an act just to trick him, but reality had proven him wrong.

Her demeanor and behavior after she woke up that morning were completely different from Genevieve's.

Even a born actress would need time and training to get into a new role, but Genevieve was no actress. Some thirty minutes passed, and "Genevieve" finally woke up.

Jack had stayed by the bed all that while. When he saw that she was about to wake up, he stared at her, hoping that Genevieve would return, but her gaze and the vibe she gave off were exactly the same as when she woke up that morning. Despite being weak after the attack, her lips still looked as red as roses.

Just a glance was enough to tell Jack that she was not the person he was waiting to see. Disappointment veiled his eyes, and he instantly became cold again.

"What is it you want? What do you want me to do to bring her back?" he questioned, glaring at her.

Nathalia felt a twinge of pain and soreness in her throat. She drank some water and spoke with some difficulty. "We share the same body. You might as well just take me as Genevieve. After all, we are identica twins. I would look exactly the same as her if

I had a body."

Jack's expression became even grimmer as the cracking sounds of his knuckles rang out loudly.

If Cooper were not there, and if the body did not belong to Genevieve, he would have choked the woman to death right that instant.

"Genevieve is Genevieve, and you'll never be her, so don't disgust me while using her body." To Jack, the only person he loved was Genevieve. She was feisty when angry and adorable when she smiled; she was also smart and courageous.

The person who possessed her body currently-the alter who claimed to be Genevieve's sister-sickened him.

When Cooper saw how unstable Jack was, he was afraid that the latter would do something to harm Genevieve again, so he volunteered, "Her body belongs to Genev. I'll take care of her from now on."

Chapter 727

After staying at the hospital for two days, Cooper brought Nathalia back to Jadeborough.

Once they reached, Nathalia demanded that Cooper bring her to a shopping mall. To Cooper's surprise, she was not interested in jewelry at all. She wore a disdainful look when she saw the highest-quality ruby displayed before her.

"Seriously? Tens of millions just for a piece of rock? Genevieve must be crazy!"

Not only did Nathalia not like rubies, but she also hated the color green.

She fancied a sexy fashion style and the colors black and white. Also, she liked showing her bare shoulders and long legs.

When she walked around, the clicking of her high heels was enough to make anyone's heart skip a beat.

Cooper could not stand it when he saw her choices of clothing. When he considered how this would also make Armand go crazy, he painstakingly coaxed Nathalia into changing her clothes.

When they reached the hair salon, Nathalia suddenly passed Cooper her phone. "This car. I want it at my place in a week."

A helpless smile curved Cooper's lips when he saw the screen.

Genevieve was not interested in cars. She was usually not picky about the vehicles she drove, but Nathalia was a different case. She seemed to know a lot about sports cars, and the one she wanted was a premium one which was difficult to buy even among the pros in the field.

Cooper had no choice but to call Jack. "Um, so... She wants a sports car. I think you can only get that model in Dartan."

"Then get it," Jack replied coldly and hung up.

Cooper sighed deeply. He made a call and spent a solid hour making the necessary arrangements before he finally secured that car. He even had to pay extra to make sure it was delivered to Jadeborough in time.

Nathalia had already finished having a makeover when he finally got off the call.

She had chopped her long hair into a neat neck-length bob. A few stray hairs rested on her face, making her look confident and attractive. The red shade of her lipstick added to the overall sexy vibe she oozed After that, they got ready to go to a restaurant. The woman snatched the key from Cooper and went to the driver's seat herself.

She took Cooper's Bentley as a sports car, speeding at places where there were no speed traps. Her driving skills brought Cooper to his knees.

Back when they were at the hospital, some part of him suspected that Genevieve was putting up a show to trick Jack, but after spending a day with Nathalia, he could confidently say she was not Genevieve. Her behavior and preferences all showed she was marching to a different drummer.

Even after speeding to the restaurant, Nathalie's thirst for adventure was still not satiated. She threw the key to the valet before turning toward Cooper.

"Bring me a sports car. I'll show you how something can feel even more thrilling than having sex," she declared, combing her short hair with her fingers. Cooper was at a loss for words.

This woman can be anyone but Genevieve.

Just as he was caught in a dilemma, Cooper suddenly received a call. He looked at his phone screen and moved away from Nathalia.

"You brought Genev to the mall?" a voice asked.

"Yes."

"What's going on?" Armand could sense something was off from Cooper's voice.

Cooper took a look at the woman who had just sat down by the window seat in the restaurant. Chuckling wryly, he answered, "I'm at a restaurant with her, so I'll call you back. I hope you don't go crazy when you find out what's happening."

After dinner, Cooper brought Nathalia back to Regality Gardens.

"Ms. Rachford. Mr. Sutton," Rosa greeted.

The housekeeper immediately perceived some abnormality when Nathalia did not respond to her but headed straight to her room.

"Is Ms. Rachford okay, Mr. Sutton?" the housekeeper asked carefully, taking the shopping bags from him. "I feel she's different."

Before he could answer, Nathalia came out of the room. "Rosa, please tidy up my room. Get rid of the green curtains, the couch, the jewelry in the wardrobe, and all the clothes."

"What?" Rosa was stunned.

"Well..." Cooper interrupted. "She's not feeling well. Just do as she says. Oh, and don't throw those stuff away, by the way. Keep them all in one place," he said softly.

When Rosa finally snapped back to her senses, she nodded and went to carry out the orders.

Chapter 728

Since Cooper figured he should not leave Nathalia unattended, he asked Rosa to make a room for him as well.

Once the guest room was ready, Cooper checked the place before calling Armand to tell him about what had happened that day.

They talked for about two hours over the phone until Cooper felt exhausted.

Seeing that Armand did not respond, he took a sip of water to moisturize his throat. "Jack choked Genev twice out of anger in the hospital the day before," Cooper added.

"Bring Genev to see Timothy tomorrow. Let's see what he says," Armand replied calmly.

Cooper sighed in helplessness. "But Timothy is a brain surgeon. What Genev needs now is a psychiatrist. She has dissociative identity disorder. How are these two anything alike?"

Armand was silent for a moment. "I'll give him a call in a bit."

After breakfast the next day, Cooper asked Nathalia to go to the hospital with him, saying that she did not look good.

Nathalia knew what he was trying to do. "Cooper, it's not gonna work. It's useless even if you get the best psychiatrist in the world, so why waste your time and energy?" she uttered with a smile, toying with his car key.

Cooper ignored her.

When Timothy received Armand's call the night before, he thought Armand was trying to pull his leg. However, when he finally saw it for himself after taking leave from work the next morning, he arranged for the most experienced psychiatrist he knew to look into this case.

After they went into the consultation room, Nathalia sat on the couch and folded her long legs. "You guys don't have to eavesdrop from the next room. Y'all can just stay here and see for yourselves what happens," she ordered, pointing at the two men.

She looked around at the devices in the room before turning toward the old and retired doctor. "I'd like to try the galvanometer."

"Sure," the doctor agreed.

He asked her to take off her shoes and socks and went on to check if she had anything else on her before connecting the sensor to her body. It was as if he was afraid that she would cheat on the lie detector test.

Nathalia sat casually on the couch as she answered all the questions the doctor asked.

The doctor initially thought he would be able to talk Nathalia into putting down her guard, but he ended up opening up to her instead.

This patient was more intractable than he imagined.

Nathalia flashed the two men a victorious smile. "So, you guys still want Genevieve back? Over my dead body," she announced, her lips curving provocatively.

Despite how casually she spoke, everyone was aware of the severity of the matter. If Nathalia died, Genevieve would die as well.

The woman stretched her body. "Have fun talking. I'll go get some water."

The three men looked at each other for a while before Timothy licked his lower lip and spoke first. "Is she roleplaying?"

"What do you think?" Cooper asked with a scoff.

Timothy shrugged.

Since Armand's acting had been so good that Timothy had not realized a thing, Timothy thought Genevieve could actually be doing the same.

Knock knock! The door opened, and a nurse entered to pass a document to Cooper.

The man quickly read through it, and his face fell. "Genev's mother delivered her child at General Hospital, and her records show that she was indeed pregnant with identical twins. The two shared a placenta. The elder sister started feeding on the younger for nutrients until the other vanished."

"This is even scarier than an alter that appears because of traumatic and uncontrollable events. I've seen patients like that before," the elderly doctor said in a serious tone.

Cooper stared at the doctor when he sensed things were going down south. He finally gathered the courage to ask, "Could you tell us more about it?"

The doctor looked up, trying to recall the distant past. "The case was about identical twin brothers. Both the fetuses were already developing limbs when the younger one started growing faster and stronger, taking up more space. The younger brother eventually devoured his brother for survival. Later on, the younger brother had a traumatic encounter and accidentally woke the elder brother up. At first, the patient still had control. He kept telling me that he would forget things that he was sure he had done. That went on until his deceased brother manifested one day."

Chapter 729

The alter told the doctor spitefully that he would never let the patient break free because the alter was killed and trapped in that body his whole life.

Since the younger brother had had the body for twenty over years, the alter thought it was only fair that he could own the body for the rest of his life.

"I tried finding the weakness of the alter so I could summon the patient back, but my hypnosis did not work at all. The alter never came back to me after that. I ran into the patient at a mall later on, but it turned out that the alter had completely taken over the patient's body," the doctor recounted grimly.

He watched Cooper, who looked deeply affected, and continued, "In this case, the younger sister hates the elder one. If we allow things to drag on, the patient's consciousness might never return. We're working against time. We need to make her break down and hypnotize her so we can bring the patient back."

"How do we find her weakness?" Cooper asked helplessly. "We actually consulted another specialist before we came here. That doctor also ended up being played by her. You heard what she said. She would never give up the body unless she's dead."

When Timothy saw that the doctor had done his best, he figured they should let him go. After all, he was advanced in years, and dealing with Nathalia would be bad for his heart, so he sent the elderly man off after chatting for a little longer.

When Timothy returned to the room again, he saw Cooper pointing quietly at the ball pen he had just disassembled. There was a built-in spy earpiece in it.

"Has the doctor left?" Cooper asked, putting the pieces back together as if nothing had happened.

"Nathalia is a handful, so I sent the old man off. I'm afraid he might die of rage before we even succeed in curing her," Timothy replied with a sigh.

"Genevieve had a breakdown because she was imprisoned at the hotel for days, right? Why not we lock her up for a few days again?"

Cooper snorted. "Well, Nathalia was caged up for twenty years. Do you think she'll be afraid of a dark room?"

They continued talking as they went out of the room.

It was not until they finally reached a corridor where there was almost nobody that Timothy finally let down his guard. "F*ck! I thought Jack was so angry he almost killed Nathalia? Why does he still want to know what happens during her consultation?"

"He still doesn't fully believe what he saw." Cooper did not expect Jack's men to be that undetectable.

"I don't care if he believes it or not, but I do," Timothy stated with a sigh. "Well, do you want to have lunch together? We should think of a way to get around this. Jojo will go berserk if she hears about this. To be honest, I've never seen anyone as unlucky as Armand."

First, Armand had to fake his own death to save Genevieve. Then, he could only live by her side using another person's identity.

Just when Genevieve was about to recover after getting the antidote, Nathalia happened.

There was no way Armand would be able to accept this if even someone who loved Genevieve as deeply as Jack could not bear to spend another second with Nathalia.

Cooper kept quiet, but his heart felt burdened by a crippling weight.

He finally understood why people said the most painful thing was neither losing nor never being able to be with your loved one but not being able to hold each other even when both were deeply in love. When they got in the car, Cooper finally spoke. "Do you know why Genev chose Armand?"

"Because he loves her a lot?" Timothy asked.

"That aside, Armand respects her and fixes all his mistakes." Cooper had found out about quite a number of things that happened from Steven.

"He respected her decision when she wanted a divorce. When he found out the reason for her departure years back and the deal she made with Jack, he still did everything he could to save her, although he clearly knew it was already too late to get her back. Children should grow up happily with both their parents, but it's been five years, and he still can't be with them."

Cooper teared up the more he spoke.

He turned his head away and continued, "He's a successful man who has all the riches of the world. Any woman would love to have him, but here he is, teetering along the edges of death because of this woman. Does he think it's worth it? Yes, he does. Because Genev still chose to bring his children into this world and went through so much for him."

Chapter 730

Cooper's words tugged at Timothy's heartstrings.

He and Johanna loved one another, but the worst they had gone through together was a divorce. Things were different between Genevieve and Armand. They had been apart for years and never had the chance to be together.

"Speaking of," Timothy said, opening the car door, "I think I should go see Asel. I haven't seen that kid for some time. I'll eat there. Call me if you need anything."

Cooper peered at the man from inside of his car. "Do you want me to send you over?"

"It's okay," Timothy answered and waved without turning back. When he saw a cab outside the hospital, he went in and gave the driver Johanna's address.

He gave her a call to give her a heads-up, but she did not pick up, so he went ahead to the mansion.

He rang the doorbell after he arrived.

In about two minutes, the housekeeper came out hastily to see who it was. When she saw Timothy, she quickly opened the door.

"Sorry for the wait, Mr. Jensen."

Timothy was surprised. "How do you know me?"

"Ms. Joule mentioned you," she replied, taking Timothy's jacket and the things in his hand. "She showed us your picture and told us to open the door for you if you ever came."

Her words made Timothy feel as if his position in the household had been affirmed, and that put him in an exceptional mood.

He smiled and followed the housekeeper into the house. "What is she doing?"

"Oh, a man came at nine, and Ms. Joule went to get him herself. I guess she brought him to the greenhouse. They're probably working."

"I'll go check on them then," Timothy remarked, his expression visibly turning gloomy.

After the housekeeper went away, he walked toward the greenhouse.

The flattop greenhouse was located next to the mansion. It was made solely of glass. Since the weather was good, an abundance of sunlight penetrated the glass, lavishing the flowers with warmth.

Before Timothy even reached the greenhouse, he could smell the fragrance of the flowers and hear someone's laughter.

He held his breath and lightened his steps. Upon his entry, he saw two people standing at the brightly-lit work table.

Johanna's fair skin appeared even more so due to the contrast of the navy blue skew-collared sweater and skirt she was wearing. Beside her, the 1.84-meter tall young man formed a congruent picture with her in his navy blue sweater.

Johanna scribbled something on her notebook and held it out toward the man. A peal of laughter left her upturned lips when she heard his comments.

She looked gentle and charming when she smiled under the sun.

Instead of going closer, Timothy leaned against one of the shelves in the greenhouse. He was lost in Johanna's smile as he tried to recall if he had ever seen it in his memories.

It occurred to him that she had never looked this happy when she was with him.

Meanwhile, Johanna spotted Timothy standing by the shelf when she was talking to the man. She instantly straightened her back. "Why are you here?"

Timothy waved his phone at her. "I called you, but you didn't answer."

Johanna started looking for her phone on the desk, only to find it buried underneath a pile of cloth. She tapped on it and realized she had three missed calls from Timothy. "Ah. I think I accidentally silenced my phone, and it was covered up by all these materials."

"It's okay," he replied, glancing at the man beside Johanna. Seriously? A navy blue top? It's ugly.

For a moment, Timothy felt as if he was the third wheel.

He wanted to pull Johanna into his arms to show the man that she belonged to him, but the thought was not acted upon.

Stuffing his hands into his pockets, he asked, "Are you not going to introduce your friend?"

Before Johanna could answer, the man extended his hand gladly with a smile. "Hector Lee. I'm a designer at Renamarc. Johanna's my friend and partner at work."