A Replacement Bride

Chapter 224

As Katherine gaped at Marcus, she pressed her lips together and fell silent. Unable to figure out what had happened to the other party's offspring, she said, "Tell me what his offspring are going through, but first things first—I might not be able to help them."

Seeing that Katherine was interested to find out more, Marcus breathed a sigh of relief. He quickly told her everything he knew. "I don't know the details, though. About three years ago, all the Frasers were struck by a strange illness. They went to the hospital for examinations, but none of the doctors could ascertain what the problem was. There are faces on their bodies. They even said that they would hear some laughter at night. It's very strange." This is from NôvelDrama.Org.

Marcus had only met the eldest young master of the Fraser Family, Zak Fraser. He had never come into contact with the others.

Also, he had seen the face on Zak's body before. It looked like a baby's face the size of a palm, and it was located on his abdomen. It was an eerie sight to behold. He wasn't sure if it was a hallucination, but he felt that the face had been smiling at him back then. He was troubled by nightmares for days after seeing it.

Since Katherine had saved him previously, he felt that she might be able to lend the Frasers a hand; that was why he came to seek her help.

"Faces on their bodies?" Katherine fell into her thoughts briefly. "Bring one of them to my place. I'll have a look."

She was unable to determine the illness with such limited information. Since her interest had been piqued, she decided to make one of the Frasers come over.

An agitated Marcus nodded. Since his mission had been completed, he decided to leave the house and arrange a meet-up between Zak and Katherine in a hurry.

Three days later, Katherine finally met one of the Frasers.

Zak was a man in his early forties. As he had always been in an authoritative position, he was noble and slightly dispassionate. He seemed to dismiss Katherine as another conperson, so he wasn't that keen to visit her.

If not for the fact that all the Frasers were down with this illness, and several people had already passed away in the last two years, he wouldn't have come to Katherine's place.

Zak glanced at Katherine and questioned directly, "Miss Cornell, right? I'm sure you're aware of my condition. Do you have a way to help me?"

Katherine shot him an impassive look. Without minding his attitude, she ordered, "Take off your shirt. I'll have a look at it."

Zak stiffened and fell silent for a moment before lifting his shirt to reveal his abdomen.

He had been exercising regularly over the years, so he had a lean body. Presently, there was an eerie- looking face on his abs. Not only that, its mouth was lined with sharp teeth, making it look as though the face could bite someone at any moment.

After staring at the face for a while, Katherine walked over and touched it.

The moment her finger came into contact with the teeth, she felt a slight pain. Arching her brows in surprise, she retracted her hand and looked down at her finger. There was a barely visible hole on her finger with no trace of blood.

After remaining silent for a moment, she said to Zak, "You'll have to stay here." Then, she turned to Keith. "Pack up and stay in Joaquin's house for two days."

Hearing that, Keith obediently went to his room and packed his stuff. After getting the house key from Joaquin, he headed to the latter's house with his belongings.

Zak silently eyed Katherine for a while before asking, "Do you know what illness it is?"

"It's not an illness," Katherine replied dispassionately. Without further explanation, she returned to her room and rummaged through her stuff. Finally, she found a delicate black porcelain bottle with intricate carvings on it. The bottle was sealed with a piece of paper, and it seemed like there was something valuable inside.

With the bottle in her hand, Katherine returned to the living room and gave an order without sparing Zak a glance. "Come into my room."

Zak didn't move, whereas Joaquin eyed him for a moment and pursed his lips. "If she's unable to treat you, no one else in the world can. Go ahead."

Seeing that Joaquin had said so, Zak hesitated for a bit and entered the room with Katherine.

After that, Katherine tossed everything on the bed frame away and pointed at it. "Lie down here."

Zak looked at the bed frame with no quilt and mattress as the corners of his lips twitched. Still, he lay down on it. The wood was too hard, and he felt a little ticklish on his back.

Just as he was about to speak, Katherine opened the cap of the black bottle and released a red centipede. His expression changed, but before he could react, Katherine picked up the centipede and placed it on his abdomen.

An astounded Zak barked, "What are you doing? Ahh!"

The moment he spoke, the centipede came into contact with the face on his abdomen and bit it, causing him to wail in pain.

Katherine ignored him and fished out a silver needle from her clothes. Seeing that Zak's abdomen had turned red and the face had shrunk, she lifted the needle and jabbed it into him.

The instant the needle penetrated the face, it contorted and started crying like a toddler. It sounded spooky.

Zak felt so much pain in his abdomen that his entire body was soaked in sweat, but he was unable to let out a sound.

Katherine gaped at him with a scowl. A moment later, she picked up a scalpel and cut the man's abdomen in a circular movement. Then, she pulled the face off his abdomen and stuffed it into a box she had prepared beforehand. She also sealed it with a piece of paper.

After she was done with all that, her forehead was beaded with sweat, and her face was slightly pale.

On the other hand, Zak had passed out. Katherine went over to check on him and confirmed that he was fine; he had just blacked out after going through so much pain. She then treated his wound and left the room.

Joaquin had been standing outside the room. When he saw Katherine's pale face, he approached her with a frown and supported her weight. "Are you alright?"

"I'm fine. I only need some rest. Don't bother him and let him sleep." Katherine shook her head without much explanation, then turned to Marcus. "There's something I need to ask you."

Upon learning that Zak was fine, Marcus breathed a sigh of relief. He glanced at Katherine with a bright smile and had the urge to bend his back. "What do you want to know, Miss Cornell?"

Katherine silently stared at Marcus for a while before saying, "Go through his recent schedule and give me a list of people he has come into contact with."

Marcus' expression changed when he heard that. He panicked and asked, "Are you saying those people have been affected as well, Miss Cornell?"