Your Guise Is Slipping, Miss Pearl

Martin smiled awkwardly. "Dad, abductions are no joke. If you're caught, you could be sent to jail. Please think twice." "I don't need advice from you," Howard replied sharply.

Martin immediately shut up after Howard's firm response.

"If there's nothing else, you can go," Howard added. NôvelD(ram)a.ôrg owns this content.

Feeling defeated, Martin sighed and left.

Now, Howard was alone in the large garden. He walked into a secret room, unlocking the door with a key.

He wasn't scared of being alone there because he knew everyone inside was too weak to challenge him, thanks to the drugs he used. He was immune because he took an antidote.

Inside, he saw Pearl leaning quietly against a wall.

"Pearl," he said, approaching her with a smile. "I really don't want to use you for experiments. If you agree to learn from me, I'll teach you everything I know about medicine." Pearl didn't react with anger or words. Instead, she tilted her head and looked surprised. "You mean, you'll letgo if I agree to be your student?" "Yes, I wouldn't keep my own student trapped here," Howard assured her.

But Pearl knew better. She was sure Howard was lying, just trying to make her let her guard down for his experiments. She pretended to be naive, though. "Can you unti@me? My hands are really hurting." "Are you sure you'd be my student?" Howard was suspicious. Pearl was smart, and it seemed too easy.

"Of course. "Who would want to stay tied up and be used for experiments?" Pearl replied, acting very upset.

Howard didn't fully believe her but offered her a deal. "If you're serious, take this pill," he said, offering her a brown pill.

Pearl, who had a sharp sense of smell, immediately knew something was off about the pill. It was likely a mind-control drug, meant to make her addicted to it and dependent on Howard for the antidote. Howard was really sneaky for coming up with such a cruel trick! Seeing her hesitation, Howard acted like he was backing off a bit. "I guess you don't really want to be my student. It's just a lie." "The pill doesn't look nice," Pearl said, pretending to be upset.

"Pills aren't supposed to look pretty Take this one, and I promise I'll give you the antidote right after," he said, trying to sound kinder to hide his excitement. ŚwPearl had no choice but to get ready for Howard to put the pill in her mouth.

Just as he was about to do it, someone shouted from the doorway, "No!"