Page 47 of Koroleva

Ciba gathered doctors and the media to deny those effects, claiming clioquinol could not be the cause because it was insoluble and the body did not absorb it. They managed to camouflage it and, for four more years, it continued to be sold with total impunity.

It was later proven that the drug was absorbable and that the pharmaceutical company had told a blatant lie. Ciba had to disburse a whopping four hundred and ninety million dollars,

in addition to having to withdraw the drug from sale.

"Bastard," muttered my husband.

The article branded the industry as the new mafia intending to dominate the world, with Romeo and I appearing as heirs.

"I know where he is right now. That's why I need the car."

"And what do you hope to achieve?"

"To stop him from spreading toxic content. This is garbage. I admit that Mentium has side effects, that it's highly addictive and designed to be hard to quit, but I also know that in the trials Yuri conducted, it didn’t cause a single death; in fact, it was very beneficial. I’m sick of my family’s name being trampled!"

Romeo took another step and did something I didn't expect. He hugged me.

I was stiff as a board. That display of... whatever it was took me by surprise. He gently stroked my back and murmured in my ear, "We'll fix this together, don't worry."

"What are you doing?" asked a child's voice, striking me like a bolt of lightning.

Adriano was on the last step of the staircase, watching us with a not-so-friendly expression.

"We're just hugging," his father clarified without letting me go. I was short of breath. Unconditional hugs were not part of the plan.

"Why? She doesn't need them, she doesn't have nightmares, and she doesn't love you."

I looked at the little boy, who watched me with disdain. I did nothing to approach him; on the contrary, I had been avoiding him all week. I didn't want any ties, especially not with a sullen child who could disrupt my plans.

"You don't need to have nightmares to need a hug; sometimes you just need one, and Nikita needed it." Romeo skipped the part about love, which I appreciated. It wasn't a time to lie to the child. Although I didn't need any hugs, that wasn't true. "Do you want one too?" he asked.

I was grateful when he let go of me to crouch down and extend his arms towards him. The little one shook his head.

"What I want to know is when she's going to leave. She's been here too long. And I think Brutus is allergic to her. Every time he sees her, he rubs against her because she makes him itch."

His remark almost choked me. The dog seemed to adore my legs and always came to me seeking relief. When Adriano asked why the dog did that, his father told him it was because he was scratching against me.

I looked at the child chewing over the answer.

"I'm not going to leave."

"You will," he insisted. "They all leave."

"That's enough, Adri!" his father exclaimed. I assumed he said it because Irene hadn't set foot in the house since I arrived. How many women had Adriano seen parade through the house?

"What?! It's true! They all leave, that's why I don't have a mother or a grandmother." His response threw my thoughts into turmoil. Romeo's expression softened.

"That's different."

"It's not, they all end up dying, it's the law of life, they say it on TV." Wow, so the little one was watching documentaries about death... I decided I could add a pearl of wisdom.

"Statistically, you guys die first," I informed him. "What happened with your mother and grandmother isn't the norm. Men die much sooner, by a large margin."

He widened his eyes.

"Am I going to die?" he inquired, looking towards his father.

"No!" his father exclaimed. His eyes wandered to me with reproach.

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