Back in the mansion, Quinn kept checking Saint’s condition to see how the toxin was reacting within him. All his medical instruments were placed beside him at this point; he had emptied three syringes into his body.
One excess could make him run wild and become feral when he wakes up. "We’re losing time," Dr. Quinn reminded them. "No more syringes, pills, or anything else. He might wake up becoming a different person entirely."
"Is it possible to force Saint to respond?" he asked, his voice barely above a whisper.
"We can’t do anything reckless with an unconscious mind. Experimenting on him or forcing him isn’t a good idea to even try," Dr. Quinn emphasized. "We need a genuine emotional or instinctive trigger."
"Then let’s use Alyssa then. Oh, fuck." He cursed, remembering Alyssa had just left for school.
"Let’s use her then," Milo suggested.
"Who?" Both Quinn and Dax asked in unison.
"Aurora." They went quiet for a moment, considering this idea. "I have a feeling she might trigger Saint the way she did that day." ••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••
Immediately the car swiveled into the penthouse, Aurora didn’t wait for the guards to open the door before darting up the stairs to bathe. On her way up the stairs, she met Nina. "Um, can I have cherry and vanilla shampoo for..." Aurora stammered.
A nanny informed her that the shampoo and any other necessities, including the clothes to wear, had been placed in her room following the order Saint had given them days before he went into a coma.
She nodded, muttering her thanks while she rushed into her bathroom, throwing herself into the tub filled with warm water.
The nanny had helped her prepare the bath. She washed up, her shampoo’s scent filling the room. When she was through, she applied cream on her body, including the exact perfume she loved, put on her underwear, and wondered how they’d managed to know her size.
Aurora stared at the knee-length gown, squinting her eyes before pulling it over her head and sprinting out the room again to meet Dax and check on Saint. "How is his condition?" she asked as Dax let her stepped into the room to see for herself.
"His condition hasn’t improved yet. In fact, the toxin is progressing through every part of his body," he revealed, pulling out a seat beside the bed.
She scratched the back of her neck, thinking of a better way to phrase the question. "Um, is there anything I can do?"
Dax hesitated for a moment, his gaze moving between Milo and Dr. Quinn as though asking for their permission to speak.
"Maybe. According to Milo here, we think you could help him." "How?" "We need to trigger Marchetti through scent or memory, and you seem to be able to do that because you’ve done it before."
Aurora blinked several times, her mind trying to catch up with what Dax had just said. She didn’t remember doing anything before, and who the hell was Marchetti?
"I don’t think I’ll be able to, and who’s Marchetti? Why trigger him if we can just try to..." she trailed off.
"Marchetti is the name Saint gave his mind. Don’t think much of it; he’s just good at naming aspects of his psyche. So basically, we need to wake his mind," Milo muttered while Aurora nodded.
"Is there anything I’m supposed to say to trigger him, or should I just ramble?" she inquired.
"No, just don’t expect an immediate response from an unconscious mind. It might take up to an hour to get even a little reaction from him, given how stubborn Saint can be even in his deep slumber," Milo chimed in before rushing out of the room.
Aurora stared at his retreating back as he headed down the stairs. Her gaze flickered between the two men standing beside her, one with eyes fixed on the monitor.
Her mind struggled to piece together what they weren’t quite saying.
"Just stay with him and talk," Dr. Quinn said quietly, his attention already drifting back to the monitors beside Saint’s bed.
Aurora nodded slowly and approached the bed, settling into the chair beside it. She reached for Saint’s hand without thinking. His skin was still warm but limp. She started speaking softly, her voice uncertain at first.
"Alyssa went to school today," she said, running her thumb across his knuckles.
"She asked me to go with her. She didn’t want to leave me behind." Her voice wavered slightly. "She’s worried about you, you know. She keeps asking when Uncle Saint will wake up." Nothing changed.
Saint’s chest continued its steady rise and fall. Aurora became frustrated, her fingers tightening around his hand. "Saint, you need to wake up. Alyssa needs you to wake up. I need..." She stopped herself, swallowing hard. "Please."
Dr. Quinn’s eyes were fixed on the monitors, watching the delicate spikes of Saint’s vital signs. For a fraction of a second, there was a minute elevation, barely perceptible, but it was there.
"There," Quinn murmured. "Did you see that?" Dax leaned closer, his sharp eyes catching the small fluctuation on the screen.
"Keep going," he urged Aurora. Aurora continued, recounting all the things that had happened in his absence. The monitors showed another small spike. Then another.
It was working. Barely. But it was something. Milo appeared in the doorway twenty minutes later, his expression grim. He held a folder and gestured for Dax to step into the hallway.
Quinn continued monitoring Aurora’s presence, noting each tiny physiological response from Saint. It wasn’t enough, not yet, but it was proof that the emotional trigger theory had merit.
In the hallway, Milo laid out what his team had discovered. The champagne bottle had been traced back to an upscale liquor supplier three districts over. More importantly, four other bottles from the same batch had been distributed to exclusive clientele.
"Someone deliberately poisoned that bottle," Milo said flatly.
"Or someone poisoned an entire batch and hoped it would reach him." Dax’s jaw tightened. "Get samples of the other bottles. All of them. And get me everything on the supplier: who owns it, who works there, who had access to inventory."
"Already on it," Milo confirmed. "But Dax, if this was intentional..."
"Then someone wanted Saint dead." Dax’s voice was ice. "And they might try again." ••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••
Dr. Quinn worked methodically in a guest room that they had quickly arranged into a mini lab while Aurora remained with Saint, her voice becoming hoarse from talking. Quinn injected a small amount of the champagne’s contents into laboratory rats, just to confirm what they already suspected.
Within thirty minutes, the rats began showing tremors and lethargy identical to Saint’s symptoms. One collapsed entirely. Another bled. Some went completely still before dropping dead. "It’s the champagne," Quinn confirmed, his voice tight with anger at the deliberate nature of the poisoning.
"This is worse than I had anticipated. If this poison can kill rats in five minutes, I’m wondering how Marchetti is coping."
Dax stood in the lab doorway, his entire presence radiating controlled fury. "Where did it come from?"
"Stellano’s Fine Wines. The owner is a man named Marcus Stellano. Mid-fifties, runs the business with his son."
Dax’s expression hardened into something dangerous and absolute. He pulled out his phone and made a single call, his voice deadly calm.
"Find the owner of Stellano’s Fine Wines. I don’t care if he’s having dinner with the Governor. Bring him to me. Now. Alive so he can taste his own medicine. And get Nicole also."