Chapter 996:

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Lianne’s POV:

I gave Ethan a small smile and waved away his concern. “Alright, I won’t keep asking. I’ll wait until you have something good to tell me.”

Ethan looked over at me. The corners of his mouth moved as though he wanted to reassure me with a smile, but the attempt barely lasted a second.

The tension in his face remained, his brows drawn together and his whole frame rigid with unease.

Unable to watch him worry like that, I got to my feet and moved behind him. I placed my hands on his shoulders and worked my fingers into the tense muscles, applying a little pressure. He released a quiet groan but made no attempt to stop me.

After a few moments, he reached back, caught my hand, and pulled me forward until I was sitting securely in his embrace.

“That’s enough. You’ll hurt your hands,” he murmured.

Something warm spread through me. Wanting to distract him, I deliberately put on a playful expression. “If you keep looking so serious, you’ll end up with wrinkles. What should I do if my handsome mate suddenly loses his charm? Your face was one of the reasons I fell for you, so you need to look after it properly.”

That finally worked. A faint smile appeared on his face. It wasn’t much, but at least I’d managed to break through that gloomy expression.

I rested against him and spoke gently. “We don’t have to solve everything at once. Let’s handle whatever comes next when it arrives. Worrying yourself sick won’t make things move faster, so take a breath and give it time.”

His arms tightened around me. He lowered his head, remaining quiet for what felt like a long while before finally answering, “I can’t just relax. This concerns your life.”

My chest ached at the words. I immediately understood what was troubling him. “Did Melisa refuse to give you the antidote?”

Ethan didn’t answer right away.

𝖱𝗼𝗆а𝗻𝘤e аnd ра𝗌s𝘪оn о𝘯 𝗴al𝗻𝗼𝗏𝖾𝗅𝘴.𝗰𝗼𝘮

When he finally did, his voice sounded rough with exhaustion. “She’s vanished. Her phone is switched off, she isn’t at home, and nobody at the laboratory has seen her. We can’t find her anywhere.”

My stomach dropped.

Melisa was the one person who possessed the antidote. If she had disappeared, then our only lead had suddenly been cut off.

Still, Ethan looked far more shaken than I was, so I forced myself to remain composed. “Don’t assume the worst,” I told him. “She’s completely fixated on you. If she sees your number, she’d never deliberately ignore you. Something unexpected must have happened, or maybe she simply can’t get to her phone right now.”

Ethan sat heavily on the sofa, his expression still dark and troubled.

I continued trying to reassure him. “She’s only recently arrived here and doesn’t have many connections. I can’t imagine why anyone would target her. If she had enemies, you’d probably be the first person on that list. Don’t let your imagination run wild. She’s fine — probably just lost connection for some reason.”

“I know.” He exhaled heavily. “But I can’t stop worrying.” He picked up the coffee sitting on the table, took a distracted sip, then began drumming his fingers against the side of the cup.

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