When Family Became a Place I Couldn’t Return To novel Chapter 298

Nelly remembered that the Watson family was the biggest investor in all of Westhaven’s healthcare. If she needed the best doctors, all she had to do was ask.

Sheila’s tricks were honestly pretty basic. She just knew how to use people’s weaknesses against them.

And Nelly’s soft spot was always Carrie.

If anything happened to her daughter, Nelly would lose her cool in a heartbeat. Looking back now, she could see all the cracks in Sheila’s plan.

Carrie’s allergic reaction was just too much of a coincidence. And since it was about her daughter’s health, Nelly knew she had to get to the bottom of it herself.

Thinking it through, she realized Carrie’s emotional stress couldn’t have come from just one bad day. Sheila had been with Carrie nonstop, especially right before everything went wrong. She’d taken Carrie out, and now her mood had changed completely. It couldn’t just be a coincidence.

But with the company’s launch event right around the corner, Nelly couldn’t handle everything at once. She decided to call Jonah and ask for his help.

Jonah listened quietly as she explained everything. When she finished, his voice came through, deep and steady. “Alright. Let me handle this. Don’t worry about it.”

“Thank you,” Nelly said, her voice soft with relief.

“It’s the least I can do,” Jonah replied. His voice was lower than usual, a little rough around the edges. Right after he spoke, she heard a quiet cough.

“Are you getting sick?” Nelly asked, a hint of concern slipping in. The weather had turned cold and rainy, and everyone seemed to be coming down with something.

Just yesterday, Nancy was supposed to come in for some promo photos, but she’d called out sick with a cold. Was Jonah next?

Dr. Lee, the team leader, stepped forward. He had sharp eyes and striking silver hair as he handed Nelly a thick report. “Ms. Stewart, these are Miss Garland’s results. We screened for allergens, did a blood toxicology panel, and included a psychological assessment. Everything was handled discreetly. No one else knows about it.”

Nelly flipped through the papers quickly. Her hand tightened when she saw the last page: “Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder Assessment.”

“The substances that triggered Miss Garland’s allergy were benzyl alcohol and phthalates,” Dr. Lee explained. “We found high levels in one of the perfumes she was exposed to. It takes prolonged contact to cause such a severe reaction.”

Nelly’s eyes grew cold. “It has to be Sheila.”

“I’ve already had someone pull Sheila’s recent shopping history. Once we match the perfume ingredients, we’ll have proof,” Jonah added. He had already started looking into it, no prompting needed.