Love After Leaving: No Regret (Agnes and Raymond) novel Chapter 398

A trace of mockery tugged at Raymond's lips.

"Chose you?" he said. "I don't even know who you are. What gave you the idea you mattered enough for that?"

Clara's face had gone the color of spoiled milk. But the desperate have a hard time recognizing when the rope has already snapped.

"Mr. Newton, please. I felt something between us. All those weeks together. The hours. The quiet. You can't tell me that meant nothing."

His voice came down like a blade.

"Enough.

"Every nurse in this house came from Frank's hospital. I tolerated them because I trusted him.

"But now it seems his institution needs a thorough cleaning.

"A diseased rat managed to slip through and blend into his staff."

Clara stared at him, stunned. She had never heard him speak like that before.

He had always been distant, sparing with words, his indifference easy for her to mistake for tacit acceptance.

Her composure shattered.

"That's not true," she said, her voice cracking into something shrill. "I must have misunderstood. I'm sorry.

"I admire you. That's all. I never meant any harm.

"It's Ms. Sinclair! She's been targeting me, trying to force me out.

"I can leave if you want, but I can't leave like this. I won't carry a stain I don't deserve. How am I supposed to live with that?"

Raymond went still. Then he lifted his foot from her shoulder. Clara allowed herself a small, hidden breath of relief.

She swallowed hard, a flicker of satisfaction rising despite herself. Now he would turn to Agnes next, demand an explanation, and set things right.

Then Raymond made a small gesture behind his back.

Frank walked through the kitchen door, flanked by a team of physicians in white coats.

They moved with efficiency. Hands closed around Clara's arms, forcing her still as instruments were brought out and pressed against her skin, scanning, measuring, and recording.

Clara thrashed.

"Dr. Shaw? What are you doing here? What is this?!"

No one answered. The machines beeped and whirred.

Minutes passed. Then the devices were withdrawn, and the doctors stepped back, their expressions grave as they turned to Raymond and Frank.

"Mr. Newton, Dr. Shaw, sorry to keep you guys waiting. We've completed the toxin screening.

"Her left thumb shows a concentrated residue of a specific neurotoxin. Uncommon compound. High potency.

"It matches the substance found in Mr. Newton's food during the last incident exactly."

Clara's face emptied. The blood drained so fast she looked like a woman already dead.

"No! That's not possible! It wasn't me. I didn't do anything. Mr. Newton, don't listen to them.

"The hospital already tested everything in the house before, remember? They cleared the whole house. I heard them."

From the corner of the kitchen, Agnes laughed, a low, musical sound.

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