His Destructive, Toxic Love

Caleb stood there, arms crossed, looking every bit the professional doctor, though he couldn't turn down the question. "Go ahead, ask your questions."

"You mentioned finding traces of abortion drugs in Eliza's system. Are you absolutely sure about that?"

Caleb paused, considering. Was she questioning his expertise, or doubting the hospital's testing equipment? Or worse, did she think the hospital might have fudged the results? "What exactly are you doubting here?"

"I just want to know if the substances in her body are genuinely from drugs or if it could be some weird side effect from different things interacting?"

Those were two very different possibilities, and she needed clarity.

"It was definitely the drugs," Caleb confirmed, recalling his examination. "The only other thing in her stomach was dairy, and that's where we found the traces."

Chelsea's mind reeled. Dairy? Could it be the milk she'd prepared for Eliza was tainted? But Manuel had given her that milk, hadn't he? A chill ran down her spine as she pondered the implications. With a shred of hope, she asked again, "Could it just be that the dairy was off?"

"Are you listening to yourself?" Caleb replied with disdain, clearly losing patience. "Do you really think a milk company would lace pregnancy milk powder with abortion drugs? Use your head."

Chelsea, taken aback by the insult, couldn't help but feel her temper flare. Damn him. Always quick to belittle. Without thinking, she hurled a thick medical textbook at him. "Caleb, if you can't even explain things to your patients, maybe it's time to hang up that stethoscope."

The book hit Caleb right on the forehead, drawing blood. "Ouch... What the hell, woman? You just hit me!"

Holding his wound, he pointed at her, furious. "You're acting like a real harpy."

Damn him again. Calling her a harpy. Chelsea felt she hadn't thrown hard enough. She grabbed more books and papers from the table and flung them at him. "Caleb, just wait. I'm filing a complaint."

Still fuming, Chelsea stormed out of

the office, her mind swirling with unease. If the milk powder wasn't faulty and it wasn't some odd

reaction, then it was inteManet

poisoning. Which meant... Manuel?

The realization stopped her cold, a shudder running through her. Why would he do such a thing? He always seemed so fond of Eliza.

When she returned to Eliza's room,

she found her friend awake, her

cheeks with a hint of color.

had

of knowing her baby was lef

eased some of her tension.

"Chelsea," Eliza called softly, struggling to sit up. "Could you head home and get the milk powder tested for me?"

"You think it's the milk powder too?"

Eliza nodded. She hadn't eaten anything else, just a bit of the milk, and almost lost her baby. There had to be a connection.

"I don't get it. Why would Manuel give me that milk?" she wondered aloud, perplexed. "We've never had any issues, and he seemed like such a nice guy."

"Chelsea, please get a solid report from the testing department, fast."novelbin

Chelsea agreed, that part was easy. But what about Manuel? "Elle, if it turns out Manuel really did this, what will you do?"

Eliza looked lost. She couldn't

fathom why Manuel would sabotage her. "Chelsea, do you think he'd harm my baby just because I turned him down She wanted to believe

Manuel had no idea about the milk's condition.