The Imposter Bride (Natalia and Magnus)
Chapter 293

As Dr. Frankie's voice trailed off, it seemed that the medication had begun to work. Magnus, previously wild-eyed, started to calm down.

Natalia watched Magnus' tense expression slowly relax, and she felt a weight lift from her heart. "Thank goodness, it looks like the drug is working."

Yet Dr. Frankie, standing nearby, looked grave. As a doctor, he'd already noticed the slight tremors in Magnus' hands and feet. "This isn't the reaction we should be seeing. Hold him down. I need to administer the antidote's slow-release serum," he said, before rushing off toward the lab.

James and Natalia were confused. It seemed like Magnus was calming down, so how could the antidote be wrong?

However, they soon understood. Magnus, who had been lying peacefully on the bed, suddenly began to convulse. His face turned a frightening shade of red, and veins bulged on his neck as he thrashed on the bed. "Let me go! Ahh! Let me go!" He cried, in pain or in a bid to free himself, it was unclear.

Startled by his reaction, Natalia rushed to his side. "Magnus, what's wrong? Where does it hurt? Please, hold on!"

Seeing Magnus in such agony was like a knife to her heart. "God," she silently prayed, "take some of his suffering and give it to me. Please don't torment him like this."

Her heart ached unbearably.

Magnus hardly registered Natalia's words. His head felt like it was about to explode from the pain, and he longed to lose consciousness. Tears streamed down his face, accompanied by a miserable trickle of snot. He roared weakly, "Let me go! Let me die!"

Natalia's face was wet with tears. She gripped Magnus' hand tightly. "Magnus, don't do this. I'm your wife, and I will be with you no matter what. Tell me, where does it hurt?"

Magnus stared at Natalia. "Natalia, please. Let me die. I can't stand it!"

"My heart, my head, my whole body, it's on fire! Let me die!" Magnus barely recognized that the gentle voice belonged to his wife.

Natalia shook with sobs. Disregarding the blood on her hands, she flung herself onto Magnus, hugging him tightly. "Magnus, you can't die. What will happen to me, to Jonas, if you leave us? Please, Magnus, hold on. Dr. Frankie is working on the antidote. You'll be okay soon. Please..."

Feeling like he was being torched alive, Magnus found some relief in Natalia's familiar voice. It cut through his haze of pain like a lifeline. Instinctively, he tried to move closer to Natalia. He was so strong that his bed slid slightly on the floor. "Let me go, Natalia, please save me. I'd rather die than endure this pain. Please."

Seeing Magnus in such a pitiful state, Natalia felt like she was falling apart. She wished she could take his pain away, but all she could do was watch him suffer. This feeling was like a dull knife slowly slicing through her flesh. She held Magnus' hand tightly. "Don't be scared, I'm here. Dr. Frankie will be here soon with the antidote, just hold on a bit longer."

Magnus couldn't hear Natalia's words; all he heard was a deafening roar in his ears. He felt her hand in his, like a last lifeline, and he clung to it, squeezing it so hard that he could've broken it. The pain shot through Natalia's fingers, but she bit her lip and bore it silently, knowing that Magnus was in agony. If holding her hand eased his pain, he could squeeze as hard as he needed.

James watched the scene, filled with rage. "What's taking Dr. Frankie so long? Where's the slow-release serum? If he doesn't hurry, someone's going to die!"

Natalia also looked towards the door, hoping to see Dr. Frankie. Finally, just as Natalia and James were losing hope, Dr. Frankie ran in with the freshly prepared slow-release serum. He had been unsure about the antidote, so he had prepared a serum that could neutralize it in advance.

"Quick! Hold down his arm!" Dr. Frankie ordered as he rushed in with a syringe, signaling James to restrain Magnus.

James nodded and quickly held down Magnus' arm, helping Dr. Frankie administer the slow-release serum. As the serum was slowly injected, Magnus, who had been struggling for a while, gradually lost his strength. After a while, the serum took effect, and Magnus fell into a deep sleep. Only then did Natalia pull her hand from Magnus' grip. Her hand was misshapen from his tight grip, smeared with blood. "Natalia, your hand..." James noticed Natalia's hand and was surprised at her determination. She had endured such pain without a peep.

Natalia glanced at her hand, quickly hiding it behind her back. "It's okay. I'm fine."

She turned her attention to Dr. Frankie, who was still busy. "Dr. Frankie, did the antidote work at all?"

Dr. Frankie let out a sigh of exasperation, shaking his head in defeat. "It's unclear at the moment. I need to draw a blood sample from Mr. Magnus and concoct a new antidote. But I'm not confident." James stared blankly out the window. This wasn't working. Chase and Carter had gone to investigate the source of Magnus' poisoning, but there had been no word from them yet.

"Dr. Frankie, only the one who poisoned him would have the antidote. We need to speed up the process of replaceing out how Magnus was poisoned," James suggested.

James' words struck a chord with Natalia. How had she forgotten about that? "I think the person who poisoned Magnus must be one of his secretaries or assistants. He mentioned he wanted tea, and that tea could very well be the source of the poison!"

No sooner had she finished speaking than Paul strode into the room. "Ms. Natalia, Belle left the company two days ago. Molly, who was in charge of serving Mr. Magnus his daily cup of tea, confessed that the tea had been given to her by Belle. He has been drinking that tea for nearly a month. Molly has been detained. Carter and Chase are doing everything they can to track down Belle."

Paul's words left Natalia feeling utterly drained. She slumped against the wall. All along, she had known that there was more to Belle than met the eye. She had been suspicious ever since the last time Magnus had been poisoned.