I Read Their Tragic Fates, and My Family Reads My Mind?

Chapter 102: Chapter 102: Touched Something That Shouldn’t Be Touched

Unaware of what was happening upstairs, Arabella Donovan was nibbling on pastries from her fourth sister and sipping freshly squeezed juice from her second brother, blissfully enjoying a leisurely late-night snack. She occasionally exchanged a few words with relatives who came over to say hello, so it wasn’t too boring.

Arabella had lived on a mountain for over a decade and had never met so many people in one day. Yet, she seemed to have an innate sensitivity to the good or ill intentions of others. Most of the time, she could tell whether someone liked or disliked her the moment they met.

Arabella could sense that while there were many guests present, at least the relatives who took the initiative to greet her held no ill will. To be precise, they were mostly just curious.

But that was understandable. A new, unfamiliar face had suddenly appeared among the relatives—and word was she had been found after being missing for over a decade. If she were in their shoes, she’d be curious too.

Because she didn’t sense any malice from these people, Arabella was taking the overly boisterous birthday party in stride. She even had the leisure to take a quick look into the recent career prospects, fortunes, and misfortunes of each relative who came to greet her.

Most of them didn’t have any major issues. Even if they were having a streak of bad luck, it was something as minor as being more likely to get hit by bird droppings when they went out.

The relative who was about to have his head attacked by bird droppings: ’...No, no, no, that’s not a minor issue. It’s a catastrophe! I’m a germaphobe!’

The moment he imagined himself getting hit by bird droppings, this young man, who was already a bit of a homebody, decisively resolved to stay home for the next few days. He was determined not to let any bird get within a five-meter radius of him!

But with so many people, there were bound to be one or two with major problems—like Rochelle Rowland just a moment ago, and now, the two men standing before her.

"This is your uncle and your cousin. Their family lives in Brynn, and they flew back just for you two. By the way, why didn’t your aunt and little Eugene come along? Josephine just went upstairs for something. I’ll have someone call her down."

"No, no, that’s not necessary." Warren Jennings’s face was visibly haggard. He waved his hand and said, "Don’t mind us. We’ll only stay for a bit. You’re Arabella, right? This is a birthday gift from your aunt. She and your other cousin had something come up, so they couldn’t be here in person. They asked us to bring their gift. You and Eloise are both good kids. You must have suffered a lot after being lost for over a decade. Now that you’re home, everything will be fine."

Mr. Donovan had known his brother-in-law for at least twenty or thirty years, but this was the first time he had ever seen him look so weathered and dejected.

Before Arabella could speak, he frowned and cut in, "What exactly is going on? You and Brandon... and your wife and Eugene..."

"I’ll explain." Brandon Jennings pushed up the glasses on his nose. "About two weeks ago, Eugene suddenly collapsed in the study. We took him to the hospital and they ran all sorts of tests, but they couldn’t find anything."

Eugene was Arabella’s other cousin, Warren Jennings’s younger son.

The Donovans were shocked to hear this. "So, how is Eugene now...?"

Brandon Jennings shook his head dejectedly. "At first, we didn’t think it was serious. But over the past two weeks, Eugene has been getting weaker and weaker, and his complexion has gotten worse and worse. No matter how many tests they run, they can’t find the cause. We’ve been to nearly every hospital in Brynn these past few days, but we still have no answers."

Hearing this, Mr. Donovan’s expression turned grim as well. The two words ’terminal illness’ uncontrollably flashed through his mind.

"Why are you only telling us about something so serious now?"

The Jennings father and son wore bitter expressions. At first, they never imagined it would get so serious. By the time they realized something was wrong, the situation was already out of their control, and they began to panic.

If they hadn’t suddenly received Mrs. Donovan’s invitation to the birthday party for Arabella and her sister, they would probably still be running around everywhere instead of thinking to turn to their brother-in-law. His business had connections to hospitals, and he might know some more skilled doctors who could save their son.

The father and son had booked the earliest flight they could, rushing over, travel-worn. Attending Arabella’s birthday party was a pretense; their true purpose was to ask Mr. Donovan for help saving their son.

"We’re truly at our wit’s end. It would be one thing if we could at least find the cause of the illness, but we don’t even know what it is. The doctors are helpless. Your sister-in-law and I already discussed it. We wanted to first ask if the hospitals here have any leads and see if we can transfer Eugene over for another look. If that doesn’t work, our only option is to go abroad and try our luck."

It was a matter of life and death, so Mr. Donovan didn’t dare to delay. He nodded and said, "I’ll call Director Quillan in a bit and get back to you with an answer as soon as possible."

Warren Jennings and his son’s expressions finally eased a little. They knew it was rather inauspicious to bring this up at a child’s birthday party, but they were truly out of options. They could only clutch at straws.

As the adults discussed serious matters, Arabella didn’t feel it was her place to interrupt. She hid behind Mr. Donovan, lost in thought.

’My cousin’s situation doesn’t sound much like an illness. It’s more like he touched something unclean that he shouldn’t have.’

Warren Jennings and his son froze. They subconsciously turned to look at each other, their eyes reflecting the same expression of utter shock. They had... never considered that possibility!

But they couldn’t be blamed. For any normal person, fainting and unexplained physical weakness would first point to an illness. Who would think to look in *that* direction?

Arabella didn’t know that her quiet inner musings had been heard loud and clear by the very people she was thinking about. She peeked out stealthily from behind Mr. Donovan and stared intently at Warren Jennings and his son for a few seconds.

’On closer inspection, both my uncle and cousin have a yellow glow on their foreheads, and the color is a bit deep. This means it’s not just my other cousin; the two of them have something wrong with their health too, just not as severe as his.’

The hearts of Warren Jennings and his son lurched. The hands hanging by their sides began to tremble slightly. It wasn’t just Eugene... they were also...?

’Huh, am I seeing things? Why is there a wisp of black, negative energy on my cousin’s left arm?’

Brandon Jennings went completely rigid, almost crying out in shock. ’Negative energy? What is that? How could I have something like that on me?’

While he was panicking, a hand suddenly grabbed his. Startled, Brandon Jennings looked up and met his father’s grave expression.

"Before we came, your mother said Eugene’s condition was even worse today. When you carried him for his check-up this morning, did you feel anything... off?"

Brandon Jennings’s pupils constricted. He instantly understood his father’s meaning.

Since yesterday, Eugene had been so weak he couldn’t even get out of bed. For the check-up that morning, it was Brandon who had personally carried him to a wheelchair and pushed him to the lab.

’Could it be that this so-called negative energy attached itself to me then? In that case, wouldn’t Eugene be...?’

Having been unintentionally reminded by their exchange, Arabella also came to a sudden realization.

’He carried my cousin? Then that must be it. This negative energy is so heavy it can be passed on through brief contact. Just what kind of death-tainted thing did my cousin get into for it to be this vicious?’