?Chapter 572:


    Hugh, on the other hand, was over the moon. Heather’s soft, fragrant hand in his made his thoughts go nk. He’d follow her anywhere—even into a lion’s den.


    Heather didn’t care what anyone thought. She led Hugh to the back garden, sat on the grass, and pulled out a deck of cards. “Come on! Let’s get in a few rounds while Cole talks business with Elliana.”


    “All right,” Hugh mumbled and sat down clumsily.


    And just like that, their card game began.


    Inside the house, Elliana got straight to the point. She handed Cole a document featuring the DNA test results. “Your mother was once my mother’s patient.”


    The words hit Cole like a jolt. He grabbed the document and quickly read it. When he finished, he looked up. “So, our mothers were once close? My mom had an episode when I was three, and sheter regained rity because of your mother’s medicine?”


    “Exactly. Seven days after my mom disappeared that year, your mom vanished too. I suspect they nned their departure together,” Elliana said.


    Cole nodded slowly. “So you called me here to exchange information?”


    Elliana replied, “Of course. Our mothers had a bond. We shouldn’t be searching for them separately.”


    “You’re right. But I don’t know much about my mother. She never talked about her past. The only clue I have is the viper totem.”


    “The one we saw at the end of Victor’s secret passage?” Elliana asked.


    Cole answered, “Yes. That mark must mean something. The night my mother had an episode, she turned into someone else—a killer. She tried to murder my father and me. That was the first time I’d seen the viper totem on her wrist. Her skin was clear before that. Butter, when she came back to her senses, it disappeared.”


    He looked at Elliana. “From a medical view, could you exin that?”


    Elliana knew exactly what the symptoms meant because she hade across them while reading the Medical Codex.


    Elliana said, “Based on my knowledge and experience, your mother hase into contact with a rare toxin. Whenever she suffers an episode, this toxin reacts, and the snake emblem appears.”


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    Cole’s knowledge of medicine was limited, and concepts like this seemed impossible for him to grasp. “What kind of toxin could make someone change into an entirely different person?”


    Elliana was still unsure about the connection between her mother and the Medical Codex, so she hesitated to mention what she’d read in it. To exin the appearance of the snake emblem to Cole, she needed to find another way. “Medicine and toxicology have advanced greatly over the centuries, reaching profound levels. However, these advanced practices are beyond everyday life, so they remainrgely unknown. Just because they are not widely known doesn’t mean they haven’t been passed down. Even now, some continue to learn and master these techniques, but they are few and far between.”


    Hearing her words, Cole gave a nod, showing he epted her exnation. Her answer made sense to him.


    “The Psychephrenia gene didn’t always exist in humans,” Elliana continued. “It came about after people were exposed to a certain toxin, which triggered a change in their genes. I still have no idea when Psychephrenia first appeared. Whether it’s this gene or the snake emblem you’ve noticed, both are clear signs that your mother is anything but ordinary. She must be guarding an astonishing secret.”


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