"Smoking?" Luca's voice was raised a few pitches higher. If what Johann said was true, then Leia had really made a big mistake.
Luca knew Leia had the habit of smoking, but she should have quit smoking after knowing that she was sick. She asked, "Hasn't
she quit smoking yet?"
"Yes, but she smoked a cigarette after the woman convinced her to do so. That one cigarette almost took her life away. The
nurse persuaded her not to smoke in a serious tone. She was unconvinced, but she stubbed out the cigarette when she had
smoked half of it. The nurse took the rest of the cigarette out of her ward. The doctor on duty saw it and asked the nurse to keep
the rest of the cigarette. If anything happened to the patient, this would be considered evidence. I bet you know why," Johann
explained to her.
For someone with a social status like Leia, if something happened to her and the doctor could not find out the reason, everything
she did and every meal she took might become the reason.
It was because the doctor on duty yesterday was attentive enough and that was why they were able to know why Leia's
condition worsened.
"Was it because of that cigarette?" Luca wondered. She never heard that Leia had any friends here after she came back.
Although Leia had left the entertainment industry, she took advantage of Jack's fame. Hence, many men were willing to be in a
relationship with her. However, Leia secretly came back here this time. Luca never saw anyone visiting her. After all, it had been
kept a secret when she was admitted to the hospital.
"Yes. The head nurse mentioned this to me after she was rescued. Then, I took the cigarette to the lab and asked them to
examine it. Although the cigarette is available in the market, two types of herbs were added to the cigarette. Here's the result."
Johann handed Luca another hard copy report.
Luca knew about herbal medicine and pharmacology. She was able to understand it with just a glance, so Johann did not say
anything much about it.
Luca frowned when she looked at the ingredients on the report. Many people were smoking cigarettes for kicks these days. They
would add some herbal ingredients to the cigarettes too. People would usually get a thrill after smoking the cigarette, and it
worked better than coffee in lifting one's spirits.
However...
The ingredients of the herbs could damage the organs in the human body once they were taken excessively. Although they were
herbal ingredients, they also contained poison.
Leia ended up like this only because she smoked cigarettes that were added with the herbs.
"Does that friend of hers intend to harm her?" Luca asked.
"I'm not sure about that, but the nurse told me that Leia seems to know that something was added to the cigarette. She
emphasized that it could lift someone's spirits. She can't get it in the market, and she even refused to surrender her cigarette to
the nurse at first..." replied Johann. He had seen many patients who had made mistakes that affected their health, but he had
never seen someone make such a big mistake.
Luca put the report down and shook her head. The cigarette was not supposed to be so harmful, but Leia was a patient now. Her
body's reaction to such things was strong if she used them.
"Dr. Park, do you think I can perform dry needling on her?" Luca asked. She was lacking confidence.
“I think you can give it a try. Actually, other than performing dry needling on her and giving her medications, there's no other way
to treat her. Once she stops taking the medications, I assume that she'll be transferred to the ICU right away,” answered Johann.
He believed in Luca's skills.
"Let me give it a try, then.." Luca let out a sigh.
"I requested this document from the director of the hospital. You're allowed to perform the procedure on her now." Johann took
the related document out. He knew Luca would not decline Queenie's request.
Queenie wanted to save Leia, and Luca was her only hope.
"You're fully prepared for this," Luca said self-deprecatingly. It would be great if she could help Leia, but if things did not turn out
well, she could not bear to see Queenie being sad.
"These are the basics for a doctor." Johann put on his white coat and walked out of his office together with Luca. "I was about to
get off work. There's no operation today. Dr. Craw, you don't mind if I learn some techniques from you, right?"
"I don't mind," replied Luca. She thought that she might be able to find some confidence in herself with Johann by her side.
The two of them came to Leia's ward.
Queenie was not the only one in Leia's ward. There was another woman there.
Luca's gaze fell on that woman, and she frowned.
Johann looked at the woman who came and furrowed his brows. Then, he shot a glance at Luca. The woman looked similar to
Luca.
However, it was not a strange thing. There were many people in the country, and there could be people who bore a resemblance
to another person, especially their eyes.
Besides, this was not how Luca looked in the past. It seemed like that woman had done plastic surgery before. That was why
they look similar to each other. It was normal.
"Mrs. Norman, this is." Luca frowned and asked.
"Oh, she's Leia's friend. She came to visit her yesterday." Queenie sniffed. Queenie was worried when she saw Luca and
Johann coming here together. She was afraid that they would bring bad news to her.
"Yesterday?" Johann frowned. Leia had been staying in the hospital for such a long time. Other than the Norman family, who was
taking care of her, no one else came to visit her. Only one other woman had come to visit her, and that was yesterday.
One cigarette from that woman made Leia end up in this situation. She could no longer easily get out of bed.
Mandy looked at Johann. A hint of admiration flashed across her eyes. She considered herself lucky these days as she kept
running into handsome men. Furthermore, they were young, wealthy, and goodlooking men.
“Hello, I'm Leia's friend. May I know what happened to her? Wasn't she doing well yesterday? Why did —" Mandy expressed her
concern for Leia.
"You're the one who gave Ms. Norman the cigarette, right?" Luca interrupted her with a cold voice. The woman did not leave a
good impression on her.
Mandy was startled for a moment, and she gave Luca a dirty look. Who was this woman? Why was she here questioning her?
She was not wearing a white coat, so it looked like she was not a doctor.
"What do you mean?" Queenie frowned and asked. She had no idea what happened yesterday.
"Yesterday, Ms. Norman smoked a cigarette. The cigarette is the reason that caused her liver failure. You're the one who gave it
to her, right?" Luca looked at Mandy. This woman had this seductive aura on her as though she could easily charm a man.
However, what Luca hated was not the alluring aura that she gave off but the troubles she had caused for the Norman family.
Mandy was about to deny it when Johann chimed in, "Although there are no security cameras in the ward, cameras are
everywhere outside the ward. The nurse who was on duty yesterday can prove it too. Miss, do you know that the cigarette you
gave Ms. Norman is the reason why she became like this now?"
Mandy took a step backward and immediately shook her head. "I don't. The cigarette? Leia told me that she was craving a
cigarette and she wanted to smoke. I didn't know things would end up like this..."
"You let Leia smoke?" Queenie widened her eyes, refusing to believe what she had heard. The gentleness she used to have was
no longer on her pale-looking face, and she questioned Mandy, "How could you let Leia smoke a cigarette when she's already in
such a condition?!"
Mandy did not expect a cigarette to put Leia on the verge of death. She slowly explained, "It was just an ordinary cigarette.
Besides, cigarettes affect the lungs, not the organs in the human body. Is this the nonsense the doctors are coming up with to
shirk the responsibility of failing to save her?"