Chapter 642: Mistake
With that thought, she stopped dwelling on it and returned to helping with the decorations.
Soon, Adam’s birthday celebration officially began.
When Adam entered the room, everyone immediately began cheering. "Happy Birthday!"
Adam’s eyes widened slightly. For a moment, he looked genuinely surprised.
His gaze slowly swept across the decorations, the smiling faces, and the carefully prepared feast.
Then his eyes landed on Mary. Mary was wearing an elegant dress that made her look exceptionally beautiful. Walking toward him, she gracefully extended her hand.
"Will you allow me to be your knight in shining armor tonight?"
The unexpected words immediately caused Adam to blush. A wide smile spread across his face. "Yes."
His voice softened. "I would love that."
Mary smiled. Then she took his hand. Together, they walked toward the birthday cake. Everyone watched with bright smiles.
Mary handed Adam a knife. Adam took a deep breath before cutting the cake.
The moment the blade sliced through the soft frosting, applause erupted throughout the room.
However, just as everyone was about to celebrate, a figure suddenly rushed forward. Before anyone could react, Adeline grabbed the cake.
Then... Crash! She threw it directly onto the floor.
For a moment... the entire hall froze. The applause stopped and everyone stared at Adeline in shock.
Adeline took a deep breath. When she noticed that nobody was accusing her or questioning her intentions immediately, a trace of relief flashed through her eyes.
Olivia quickly stepped forward. Unlike everyone else, suspicions crossed her mind.
She looked directly at Adeline. "Why did you do that?"
Her voice was serious. "Is there something wrong with the cake?"
Adeline looked around. Seeing everyone’s concerned expressions, she finally relaxed slightly.
Then she answered calmly. "There is poison in the cake."
The moment those words left her mouth, everyone felt their blood run cold. Poison.
Aurora’s eyes narrowed immediately. She had personally overseen almost every detail of the event.
So how had someone managed to poison the cake? A dangerous glint flashed through her eyes.
Without wasting another second, she turned toward Emily. Emily instantly understood.
She gave a firm nod. Carefully collecting the remains of the cake, she prepared to send it for laboratory testing.
Meanwhile, everyone gradually calmed down.
Since the birthday party had been a private family gathering with no business partners, colleagues, or outsiders present, they collectively decided not to make a scene.
On the surface, everything appeared normal. The celebration continued.
Yet beneath the seemingly cheerful atmosphere, everyone felt uneasy.
Throughout dinner, forced smiles appeared on many faces.
Nobody wanted to ruin Adam’s birthday any further. Adeline, however, was sitting on pins and needles.
Every passing second felt like an eternity. She constantly glanced toward the entrance, waiting for the laboratory report.
Finally, the report arrived. The moment the results were revealed, the entire room fell silent.
The poison wasn’t a mild one.
According to the report, if they had consumed enough of the cake, their lives would have been in serious danger.
For a brief moment, nobody spoke. Aurora silently read through the report. Her first thought was immediate. ’The Institute.’
The timing was too suspicious. The method was too ruthless. Whoever did this had intended to kill.
Meanwhile, Mary turned toward Adeline. Her eyes were filled with gratitude. "Adeline, how did you know there was poison in the cake?"
Everyone looked at her. Adeline paused for a moment. She recalled everything that had happened earlier that day.
Then she spoke softly. "Before the cake was brought inside, my little sister was being mischievous."
A faint smile appeared on her face. "She secretly scooped up some cream with her finger."
Several people couldn’t help smiling slightly at the image. However, Adeline’s expression soon turned serious.
"She was about to eat it. Since she’s allergic to dairy products, I immediately slapped her hand away."
Her voice lowered. "The cream fell onto the ground."
At that point, nobody understood where she was going with the story.
Adeline continued. "Later, I went outside to the garden. The cream was still there. I noticed several ants gathering around it."
She paused. "At first, I didn’t think much about it. But after they ate some of the cream... They started dying."
Adeline swallowed nervously.
"I thought I was imagining things. So I stayed there and watched. Then more ants came. And they died too."
The memory still made her uncomfortable. "I immediately suspected something was wrong."
The moment she finished speaking, everyone finally understood.
Aurora secretly let out a breath. ’Thank God.’
For the first time since receiving the report, she genuinely felt relieved.
If Adeline had ignored those ants... if she had arrived a few minutes later... if her sister hadn’t been allergic to dairy products...
The outcome could have been disastrous. The Waters family might have lost everything in a single night.
At the same time, Aurora couldn’t help wondering if this was some kind of protagonist’s luck.
Then she quickly dismissed the thought.
’This is some random coincidence. Perhaps this is simply fate balancing things out.’
As she was thinking, Olivia suddenly spoke. Her expression was grim. "I’ll personally handle the investigation."
Everyone simply nodded. At this point, there was no one they trusted more than Olivia for this matter.
The gathering eventually came to an end.
Before Adeline left, Mary stopped her. "Wait a moment."
Mary disappeared briefly before returning with a carefully prepared gift box. Inside was a beautiful jade bracelet.
The jade was smooth and translucent, carrying a faint green glow beneath the light.
Mary gently placed it into Adeline’s hands. Adeline immediately shook her head. "I can’t accept this."
Mary smiled warmly. "You can."
"No, really, I..."
Mary interrupted her. "It was because of you that we’re all alive today. This bracelet doesn’t even begin to repay what you’ve done for us."
She gently pushed the gift back toward Adeline. "Please accept it."
Seeing the sincerity in Mary’s eyes, Adeline finally gave up resisting.
She carefully put on the bracelet. The cool jade touched her skin.
A small smile appeared on her face. "It really is beautiful."
Mary smiled as well.
Soon afterward, Adeline left together with the others.
....................................
Later that night, Aurora returned to her room.
She sat before her laptop and continued investigating the incident.
The more information she gathered, the more suspicious everything became.
This wasn’t an impulsive act. It had been planned.
The chef responsible for preparing the cake had mysteriously disappeared.
It was as though he had vanished into thin air.
Meanwhile, the middle-aged woman who had introduced the chef was also nowhere to be found.
The current evidence strongly suggested that the chef had poisoned the cake.
Yet something felt wrong. The entire situation seemed overly clean.
Almost as if someone had deliberately prepared a scapegoat.
Aurora narrowed her eyes. ’Someone is covering their tracks.’
Just as she was preparing to take action, a gentle knock sounded from the door.
Knock. Knock. Aurora frowned.
At this hour? She stood up and opened the door.
The moment she did, she froze. Mira was standing outside.
Her face was pale. Her eyes were swollen and red.
It looked as though she had been crying for a long time.
Before Aurora could speak... Mira suddenly dropped to her knees. Aurora’s eyes widened.
For a moment, she was genuinely caught off guard. Mira lowered her head. Tears streamed down her cheeks. "It was my fault."
Her voice trembled violently. "It’s all my fault."
She clenched her fists. "You all could have died today because of my stupidity."
Aurora immediately frowned. "First of all, stand up."
Mira remained kneeling. Aurora sighed.
"Even if you’re feeling guilty, don’t make me feel morally blackmailed."
The unexpected response stunned Mira. A second later, she hurriedly stood up. "I’m sorry."
Aurora stepped aside. "Come in."
Mira obediently entered the room. Once they were seated on the bed, Aurora handed her a glass of water.
Mira accepted it with trembling hands. After taking several sips, she finally calmed down enough to speak.
Aurora looked at her. "What happened?"
Mira lowered her head. Her fingers tightened around the glass.
Then she began explaining everything. As the story unfolded, Aurora’s expression gradually darkened.
It turned out that the responsibility for arranging Adam’s birthday cake had originally belonged to Mira.
Wanting everything to be perfect, she had contacted one of the highest-rated pastry chefs she could find.
She wanted Adam’s birthday to be memorable. She wanted to contribute something meaningful to the family that had accepted her.
However, before the arrangements could be finalized, Mr. Davis appeared. Once again, he used the photographs to threaten her.
Mira’s voice shook as she recounted the memory. "He said that if I didn’t cooperate..."
She bit her lip. "...he would release the photos."
Aurora’s eyes grew colder. Mira continued. "He told me to transfer the cake contract to someone else. Someone who happened to be his relative."
At first, Mira had refused. However, Mr. Davis kept pressuring her.
Eventually, she learned that the relative was supposedly a professional pastry chef as well. Believing there was no major risk, she reluctantly agreed.