Chapter 217

Upon hearing his response, Winnie secretly breathed a sigh of relief, thinking that he had agreed. After the engagement, the situation would stabilize, and she could be honest with her elders.

"Thank you for helping me look at the house. Shall I treat you to a meal? It's better to obey than to be respectful, and I still hope you'll support me in the long run."

Winnie couldn't help but suppress a laugh. "I didn't expect you to be so affectionate, Mr. Harrington. Alright."

"I haven't had much dating experience, so please don't laugh," he chuckled as he reversed the car. At the same time Winnie was thinking about some topics that she was going to need to discuss with him.

Once they were seated in the restaurant and he finished ordering, she finally spoke up, "For our engagement in five days, do you want to have a formal event, or should we privately announce it?"

She didn't want to cause trouble. If the Harrington Group's elders were to attend, it would be difficult for her to escape, an event, unscathed.

"I understand your concerns, but a private announcement might not be convincing enough for my uncles and aunt. The shareholders of the Harrington Group are keenly watching. We need an engagement ceremony to silence them, and keep them happy; at the very least, my parents and a few important individuals need to be invited. It has to be done."

Winnie frowned, "I won't be able to hide my pregnancy. How do we explain it to your parents? Will they agree when they see me like this?"

He poured her a glass of milk and gave her a gentle smile, "I've come up with a way to make them accept this child!"

"What way? It's not even the Harrington family's child, how can they accept it?" Winnie was curious.

He teased, touching his nose, "Winnie, I can stop my father, but my mother is really pushing for this marriage. The day after tomorrow, she insists on meeting you when we go wedding dress shopping. You'll find out then. Will you agree to meet her?"

Since the engagement ceremony had to take place, they couldn't expect to meet each other's parents, so abruptly, on the same day.

Helplessly, Winnie said, "I guess we'll have to put on a show. I've, briefly, met Mrs. Harrington before."

Rock reassured her, "If that's the case, what do you have to worry about? My mother isn't a monster. Just help me handle her, and after the engagement ceremony, we'll find a suitable time to call off the engagement."

Hearing his words, Winnie calmed down and put her worries aside. The dishes were served, and the private room door closed. Suddenly, Winnie asked, "Mr. Harrington, did my mother... Did Lawrence's mother's blood test results come out?"

"Yes." Rock took out his phone and handed it to her. His expression turned serious, "That's actually why I wanted to talk to you today. I had both families' blood tested at the full-service medical centers, and the results are the same. I think you should take a look."

Winnie immediately took the phone. After reading it, her face turned pale. Her mother's blood did indeed contain toxins! It was in a very small amount, but this insidious poison couldn't be naturally eliminated.

Just as she suspected, it would gradually accumulate in the liver and kidneys, ultimately accelerating the onset of a condition known as 'persist vegetative states'. This explained why Lawrence's doctor couldn't find any abnormality during the daily check-ups.

It also explained why, after Darcy caused her mother to become in a persistent vegetative state, she seemed unconcerned about her waking up. Based on the information that Winnie had, her mother wouldn't live for more than three years, even surviving one more year would be difficult!

In large doses, the toxin would cause kidney failure within a few hours. Darcy must have first taken a large dose, to induce her mother's kidney failure and then detoxify her. After Winnie's mother's surgery, she injected a small amount and deceived everyone!

Winnie was terrified and even more convinced that her direction, of having Olivia investigate the number of kidney transplant patients in the hospital that day, was correct. How could such a malicious woman intentionally poison her mother's healthy kidney and willingly 'donate' one?

Winnie started to doubt. In order to prevent her from harming her mother again in the future, she must reveal this truth to Lawrence. Her biggest concern, after leaving, was the toxins that were harming her mother.

She had to find a way to treat them, so that her mother, had a chance of recovery once the toxins were eliminated. Thinking of this, Winnie clenched her fists tightly, in determination, and lost her appetite.

She got up hurriedly and said goodbye, "Rock, please send me an electronic copy of the medical report. I have something urgent to attend to."

"Lawrence keeps vile people by his side, and he himself cannot see through it. You don't have to shoulder the blame," Rock sighed.

Winnie paused for a moment. If it weren't for her uncle kidnapping her mother, Darcy wouldn't have had the chance to harm her mother. She always felt guilty, about her mother, because of that.

That night, Winnie spent the entire night researching the toxin her mother had told her about.

Traditional medicine, dry needling, and pharmaceutical knowledge were her strengths. So, the next day, Olivia called Winnie. She planned to infiltrate Hospital Three, undercover, and investigate.

Winnie was worried and rushed to Hospital Three early in the morning, intending to investigate the situation of the kidney transplant patients, on that day together with Olivia.

However, Olivia refused her. "I'm even more worried about you running around with a big belly. Besides, you stand out for Darcy. It's better for me to work alone."

Olivia didn't allow Winnie to say more. "Your top priority now is to deal with your engagement to Rock. Haven't you seen the news? The Harrington Group officially announced your engagement in five days."

"That scum Lawrence actually moved up Darcy's engagement to Island Electronics four days earlier. I don't know if it was Darcy's idea to have them announce it. Anyway, now the media is hyping up their wedding to be grand and unprecedented." Olivia was incredulous.

"Tomorrow, they are even going to order their wedding dress from the most exclusive bridal store! Even if your relationship with Rock is fake, I don't want you to lose!" Olivia was clearly angry and unintentionally let it slip.

Winnie froze, her face stiffening, her heart tightening and causing intense pain. He truly kept his word, moving her and Rock's engagement, to a day later. He was determined to embarrass her in front of the whole city and humiliate her and Rock.

Seeing her face quickly pale, Olivia belatedly covered her mouth, remorsefully hugging her. "Why did I say that? You and Rock have your own engagement. Don't think too much about it."

"Oh right, didn't you have medicine to deal with? It's too risky for both of us to be here. Hurry and go." Winnie snapped back to reality, reluctantly nodded, and focused on her mother.

For this specific nerve toxin, she found thirty effective medicines. After capturing and identifying each one, and then combining them with special Western medicine, she would be able to produce pills that can cure that kind of toxin.

Meanwhile at the Island Electronics headquarters building, on the 50th floor CEO's office, the manager of the public relations department was called in. Lawrence looked up from the documents, his expression indifferent and cold, "You're the one who released the news about the engagement in four days?"

"Mr. Rodriguez, it was me..." Darcy walked in with gentle steps, a smile on her lips as she spoke naturally, "The manager came to discuss, the latest public relations initiatives with me, because netizens were pressuring us about getting engaged."

Darcy continued with a sly grin "Since you mentioned advancing it by a day while you were at the hospital yesterday, I just made the official announcement for Island Electronics."

Lawrence frowned almost imperceptibly. But since he had already voiced his displeasure, Darcy took it seriously, and he could tell that she was anxious to get engaged.

He didn't expose what she was thinking, just showing a hint of his disapproval, "Did you also make our schedule for trying on wedding dresses tomorrow public?"

Darcy anxiously squeezed her hands, fearing his stern expression. She approached him, feigning a pout, "Yesterday, reporters kept pressing me for my schedule, and I accidentally let it slip..."

She used her tone of voice, to try to diffuse his bad mood, "Mr. Rodriguez, are you mad at me? I'm sorry, I've been looking forward to this day for so long, I'm just so happy. And the Ordelia family's relatives will be coming the day after tomorrow. If my parents find out that I haven't prepared anything yet, they will scold me."

Her reasoning was sound. Lawrence looked at her affectionate face, and a trace of unresolved annoyance flashed through his heart.