Chapter 226: THE POISONING CASE

Keisha’s POV

Callum’s phone rang while we were still standing beside Nadia’s bed. He glanced at the screen, and the look on his face morphed into something blank.

Something had happened. Something terrible had happened.

I wrapped my hand around myself, watching him carefully.

He answered the call, listening without saying much as the person on the other end gave him the update.

When he finally ended the call, he slipped the phone back into his pocket and looked toward me. "Duskfen has moved from their previous camp," he said. "They’re advancing."

My heart jumped and I glanced at Nadia before looking back at him. "Then you need to go."

"I do." He looked reluctant to leave her, but there wasn’t much choice with a war approaching. "I have to return to the estate and discuss this with the others."

"I’ll stay here." I told him.

Callum immediately shook his head. "No. You’re going back to rest."

I frowned. "Callum, someone should stay with her."

"I’ll send Dane to stay with her, Keisha. She’ll be fine."

Ny brows furrowed. "I can stay with Nadia overnight."

His expression hardened, and this time there was no room for argument in his voice. "Keisha, you are supposed to be resting. You walked out of a hospital without being discharged, came here, and now you’re telling me you’re going to spend the night sitting beside another hospital bed. You’re not doing that."

I wanted to argue, but he was right about one thing. I wasn’t completely recovered. My body still felt more tired than it should, and there was a dull ache in my joints with each movement.

That didn’t mean I was willing to leave Nadia alone, though. "I’ll rest here."

"You’ll rest at the mansion." He corrected, his voice getting hard.

"Callum—"

"No." He softened his voice slightly, but his decision didn’t change. "Dane will come. You need sleep, Keisha."

I looked at Nadia again before finally giving up. "Fine. But I want something from you."

"What?"

I crossed my arms. "I want to be put in charge of Nadia’s poisoning investigation."

Callum studied me for a few seconds. He knew exactly why I was asking. I didn’t have to be going about, but I wanted to be the one who got all the information first hand. Callum could focus on Duskfen. I could handle this.

"All right," he said eventually. "You’re in charge of it."

"Thank you."

He gave me one last look before turning toward the door. Vera, who had been standing near Nadia’s bed, followed him out. I watched them leave before returning my attention to Nadia.

For a while, I simply sat beside her, my heart thumping wildly in my chest.

It was strange seeing her like this.

Yesterday, she had been the one sitting beside my hospital bed, talking to me and complaining about how long I had slept.

She had been perfectly fine then. Now I was sitting here next to her bed, watching her lie unconscious while doctors tried to figure out when she would wake up.

"I guess we’re taking turns now," I murmured, even though she couldn’t answer me.

I rested my arms on the edge of the bed and looked at her face. "Yesterday, you were telling me I slept too much. Now look at you."

The door opened some time later, and the doctor came in to check her condition. I moved aside while he examined her and reviewed the machines beside the bed. His expression remained serious when he finished.

"How is she?" I asked.

He looked at me before answering. "Her condition is still concerning. Her numbers aren’t where we’d like them to be, but we’re keeping her under observation and continuing treatment."

"Will she recover?" I asked.

"We’re going to do everything we can to make sure she makes a full recovery," he said. "Right now, we just need to give her time."

Time.

Of course that would be what he would say.

By evening, I was still beside Nadia when the door opened again. I expected to see Dane, but Rhett walked in instead.

I stared at him in surprise. "Where’s Dane?"

"He was supposed to come," Rhett explained, taking the chair beside the bed. "But I asked him to let me take his place."

"Why?"

Rhett shrugged as he settled into the chair. "I was worried about you and Nadia. I had to practically beg him before he agreed."

I looked at him for a moment before glancing back at Nadia. Rhett had been around the estate long enough for me to know I could trust him, and there was no reason for me to make an issue of it. "All right."

Rhett nodded. "Go get some rest."

I picked up my bag and gave Nadia one final look. "Take care of her."

"I will." He assured me.

I left the hospital. But I didn’t return to the mansion.

Instead, I went straight to the building where Nadia’s poisoning was being investigated.

The people working on the case looked surprised when I walked in, especially since they had probably expected me to be resting after leaving the hospital.

One of them approached me almost immediately. "Keisha, we haven’t found anything useful yet."

"What do you mean?" I asked, looking around.

"We checked the kitchen and the things Nadia had been using. We’ve questioned the people who were there and looked through what we could find, but there’s nothing unusual. At this point, there’s nothing else for us to investigate."

My lips curled into a frown. "So you’ve stopped?"

The man hesitated before nodding.

Were they kidding me? They were going to rule this as an accident? Hell no.

I looked around the room, then back at him. "Then start again."

"We’ve already—"

"Get me a doctor who is very good with herbs."

He stared at me and I didn’t repeat myself.

There had to be a reason that particular tea had poisoned Nadia.

And I needed someone skilled in the job to step in.