I Slept with My Boss and Ran Away
Chapter 424: The Agitated Duo

Meredith invoked the police, and the hospital, not wanting to cause trouble, had no choice but to comply with Meredith's demand for an autopsy. Chloe felt powerless to stop it, wary that a strong reaction might cast suspicion on her. The request for an autopsy was clearly aimed at her.

The results of the autopsy were not yet available. Meredith and Julian decided to head back home. Chloe, too, took Joy Chaucer and returned to the Chaucer family residence. Both Chloe and Joy were anxious. "Mom, what if the autopsy results come out? Will they discover I poisoned her?" Joy fretted. She knew using the toxicity of food could harm unnoticed, but an autopsy was far more thorough than routine checks; it could reveal the true cause of death.

"Don't panic," Chloe comforted Joy Chaucer. "Who would suspect the toxins produced by food? You didn't directly poison anyone. Even if it's discovered, it can only be blamed on Bianca eating the wrong thing-food poisoning has nothing to do with you." Food elements creating toxins required a combination of several types, ingested over a long period, making them undetectable and unavoidable.

This type of poison wasn't a directly extracted toxin; food elements vary, some harming the body while others are expelled. Joy Chaucer remained uneasy. "Mom, I don't want anything to happen." "Nothing will happen to you," Chloe silently vowed, determined to protect her daughter. Yet, she was more worried about herself; she had increased the infusion rate, unsure if it would be detected in the body.

Waiting for the results was agonizing for the mother and daughter. It was equally tormenting for Meredith. The grief of losing her mother had taken its toll, making Meredith fall ill. Back at Ravenwood, Meredith developed a fever. Being pregnant, she couldn't take medication, which worried Stella and Julian immensely.

Meredith fell into a fitful sleep and dreamt of her mother. In her dream, she could finally embrace her. Her mother's smile was tender and warm. She was back in her childhood, not growing up in an orphanage but with her mother, running happily in a field of flowers. Her mother gently cautioned, "Meredith, slow down, be careful not to fall."

She fell, cried out in pain as she bled, and her mother comforted her with a warm embrace. Meredith, in her feverish daze, didn't realize she was actually being held by Terrence Sterling. Hearing of the trouble, Terrence had rushed back and was by her side, comforting her as she cried and called out for her mother in her sleep.

"Meredith, I'm here now, with you," Terrence Sterling whispered, holding her close, wiping her body with a cool towel periodically throughout the night to reduce her fever.

By noon the next day, Meredith's fever broke and she regained consciousness. Seeing Terrence, she thought she was still dreaming and weakly reached out to touch his face. "Meredith," Terrence grasped her hand, pressing it against his cheek, overjoyed at her awakening. "You're awake, you must be hungry. Mom made some millet porridge, it's gentle on the stomach after a fever. I'll have her bring some up."

Meredith felt a deep hunger but also emotional, feeling her pillar of strength had returned and she didn't have to endure alone anymore. "My mother's gone. We had just recognized each other, and I hadn't had a chance to do anything for her," Meredith sobbed, her tears soaking into the pillow, disappearing as if they were never there.

Terrence tenderly wiped her tears away. "Meredith, I believe that your mother's spirit is at peace, content because she had no regrets. She met her biological daughter."