Chapter 201
Noticing Zinnia’s furrowed brow, Lydia said soothingly, “Zinnia, it’s okay if you can’t find a cure.”
Lydia held little hope. If there were a cure, it wouldn’t have dragged on for over ten years.
Zinnia turned to Lydia and said, “Lydia, Ms. Hollis doesn’t seem to have a mental disorder. It looks more like poisoning.”
Lydia froze. “What?”
Zinnia said, “When we came here, I observed other patients. Their eyes showed a kind of simple–mindedness, sometimes manic, sometimes melancholic.
“But Ms. Hollis is different. Her gaze is vacant and unfocused. Her hands tremble slightly if you look closely, and sometimes her pupils seem lost.
“You said there are times when her eyes turn wild and bloodshot. That’s different from typical mental disorders.”
Zinnia’s brow still furrowed.
Lydia took a deep breath and asked, “What kind of poison?” She didn’t doubt Zinnia’s words.
Lydia couldn’t help but wonder, ‘Has the treatment approach been wrong all these years? No wonder Mom never got any better. Poisoning? I can’t believe this could happen in real life.‘
Zinnia explained, “It’s mind–eroding powder. Once someone is poisoned, it gradually consumes their mind. At first, they experience mental fog and memory loss, and would forget what happened just seconds ago.
“If they go too long without the antidote, they’ll begin to descend into madness, violent headaches, wild eyes, uncontrollable urges to hit people or smash things, and desperation to destroy everything around them.
“If the antidote is never given, they’ll eventually lose all reason, get reduced to an empty shell, and get lost in their own world.
“The symptoms are similar to mental illness, so doctors misdiagnosed Ms. Hollis.
“But in reality, she was poisoned.”
Mind–eroding powder was typically used to control people. This vicious drug ate away at the mind bit by bit, until the victim became a madman, completely unable to care for themselves.
When Zinnia was a child studying medical books with her master, she had learned about this very poison.
Her master had said, “This poison was developed by an organization to control its members. If anyone betrays them, they are forced to watch themselves go mad, step by step.”
It was psychological torture, crueler than death itself. Zinnia never imagined she would actually encounter such a poison in real life.
“Can this poison be eliminated?” Lydia asked with a hoarse voice.
She felt everything Zinnia had said matched Bonnie’s condition perfectly.
Bonnie was never one to wallow in self–pity. She had once been the most dazzling lute virtuoso.
Lydia heard neighbors recount how Bonnie comforted them even after Lydia’s father disappeared, insisting she could raise Lydia perfectly well on her
own.
But after Lydia was born, Bonnie’s personality started to change bit by bit, and her sanity gradually slipped away.
When Lydia was young, she often saw Bonnie clutching her own hair, writhing in agony as she curled up in a corner, and ordering Lydia to hide in her
1/3
Chapter 201
room.
As Lydia grew older, Bonnie’s condition deteriorated. Her mood swings became more violent, and she would often smash their belongines to piece 2.
Sometimes, Bonnie’s eyes would turn completely bloodshot as she lost control. She would strangle her own neck, desperately trying to restram ha from hurting Lydia.
Terrified Bonnie might fatally injure herself, Lydia would step closer and offer herself as a target for Bonnie to vent her rage.
The neighbors all claimed that Bonnie had been driven insane by depression.
The worst time, Lydia was beaten within an inch of her life and left lying on the floor. When the neighbors found her, they called the police, and Bonnie was declared mentally ill and committed to a psychiatric hospital.
None of them had ever imagined that Bonnie was actually poisoned. Lydia wondered why that was possible.
Rummaging through her bag, Zinnia replied, “Yes. I have the panacea with me. It can counteract any poison.”
Ever since Zinnia was drugged in Yannis’s office that time, she had started carrying panacea pills with her wherever she went, just in case it ever happened again.
Over a decade ago, mind–eroding powder was nearly impossible to remove, but Zinnia’s master had developed an antidote for it.
Zinnia said, “Lydia, once Ms. Hollis takes the pill, she will forget everything from her past.”
Zinnia had to explain the side effects before Bonnie took the panacea.
“There’s nothing worth remembering. Maybe it’s better forgotten,” Lydia said, glancing at Bonnie on the hospital bed.
Lydia thought, ‘What happened before shouldn’t be remembered anyway. Even after Mom lost her mind all these years, she would still think of that man. Maybe it’s truly for the best that she can finally forget.‘
Zinnia took out a small bottle, tapped out a pill, and handed it to Lydia. Zinnia said, “You can give this to Ms. Hollis.”
She explained, “Once Ms. Hollis takes it, the poison in her body will gradually be neutralized and should be cleared within three to five days.
“But her mental recovery will be slower. After all, she has suffered mental deterioration for over a decade. It will take a long time for her to fully recover.”
“During this period, she’ll behave like a child and need to be taught everything again,” Zinnia added.
Zinnia hadn’t expected to find Bonnie poisoned when she arrived.
But poisoning was easier to handle than mental illness. At least she had an antidote for that. If it really were a mental disorder, she would have to figure
out how to treat it.
Lydia took the pill, walked over to the bedside, and bent down gently.
Bonnie was still clutching the rag doll tightly. She murmured, “Don’t cry. Mommy will take good care of you.
“Lydia, Lydia, my dear daughter.”
“Mom, I have some candy. Let’s have one, okay?” Lydia coaxed, while her heart was aching.
“Candy. I want candy,” Bonnie murmured childishly and opened her mouth.
“Here. Let me feed you.” Lydia placed the pill in Bonnie’s mouth.
Having taken bitter medicine for years, Bonnie had grown to dislike it and much preferred sweets. Once she got candy, she would be more obedient.
2/3
Chapter 201
As the bitter taste of the pill spread through her mouth, Bonnie instinctively opened her mouth and wanted to spit it out
“Mom, this is candy. Once you swallow it, it’ll be sweet.” Lydia held Bonnie’s mouth shut.
She added, “If you take the medicine, you’ll get better, and then we can go home.”
But Bonnie stubbornly refused to swallow it. She struggled violently, kicked Lydia with all her might, and flailed her arms wildly at her.
Lydia made a struggling sound.
“Lydia.” Zinnia rushed forward to help, grabbed Bonnie’s flailing arms, and pinned them down.
Bonnie saw Lydia still covering her mouth. With her hands pinned down, she sank her teeth deep into the back of Lydia’s hand in desperation. Veins stood out, and blood immediately welled up from where Bonnie bit.
“It’s okay,” Lydia said. Though the pain was sharp, her expression remained unchanged.
She gently raised her hand and titted Bonnie’s head back. With a convulsive swallow, Bonnie finally forced the pill down.
After that, Zinnia firmly pinched Bonnie’s cheeks, forcing her mouth open and finally freeing Lydia’s hand.
Blood continued to seep from the deep bite wound on Lydia’s hand.
After swallowing the pill, Bonnie clutched the rag doll tightly to her chest. Her eyes were red–rimmed from distress, and tears fell one by one.
The sight was truly heartbreaking.
“Don’t be afraid. Mommy will keep you safe.” Bonnie clutched the doll tighter to her chest and whispered between sobs.
Zinnia pressed her lips together, and her heart ached as she watched Bonnie. Zinnia thought, ‘Even after she lost her mind, her instinct to protect her child remains unbroken.‘
AD
