Chapter 179 - Making Plans

For a long second Finland was able to forget their current problems and enjoy the friendly atmosphere around her. She was forever grateful to be able to see the people she loved around her.

"After this we have to make a plan," Caspar said after they finished eating. "I want to hear what's on your minds..."

Lauriel nodded, followed by Jean. They then stood up and followed Caspar to the library. Finland, who did not want Aleksis to hear their conversation, took her daughter outside and sat in the spacious balcony garden of the penthouse with a book. They basked outside enjoying the warmth of the sun that she had missed so much since living in San Francisco.

In the library, the three men sat down and started discussing strategies on how to deal with the situation they were facing. They were tense and fully concentrated. Earlier, in front of Finland, they managed to hold back their stress and did not show any signs of worry because they did not want to scare Finland and Aleksis.

However, now that there were behind closed doors, both Caspar and Lauriel no longer covered their feelings. Their faces showed extreme anger.

"What can I do for you?" Jean asked softly. He knew that he had the least resources compared to Lauriel and Caspar, but he was eager to help them.

"Hmm... you can come to Ned and Portia's party, but for the moment there is nothing you can do," Caspar said. "I think it would be best for you to return to Normandy and continue working as if nothing's happened."

"But Terry just finished his transplant procedure, I wish to know if the procedure was a success..." Jean said. "I can't just leave."

"I checked his condition this morning before breakfast," Caspar said. "I have arranged for the best doctors to monitor him every day. So far his condition is very stable. Did you forget that I'm a doctor?"

"Oh..." Jean was stunned. He had almost forgotten that one of Caspar's many professions in his long life was a highly skilled surgeon.

Caspar, who could not sleep, got out of bed early that morning and did various things he could do while waiting for everyone to wake up and start their day. He thought of the child suffering from leukemia and wanted to make sure that the bone marrow transplant by Finland was not done in vain.

He was relieved to know that so far Terry was doing fine. He did not want Finland to undergo the operation for the second time in the future. He made sure that the doctor in charge reported to him daily.

"You can visit him this afternoon with Finland and say good-bye. I will be more relaxed if I don't have to think about your safety too. That is why it would be better for us if you stay away first."

"I understand..." Jean finally said. Also, he had left his job for long enough and he must think of other actors and film crews involved in their new film project. He realized that he was not very useful for Finland this time. Therefore, he followed Caspar's suggestion.

"Ivan has kidnapped Karl Furstenberg and brought him to Germany. I am curious if Katia would rather see her friend die or offer an antidote for my child," Caspar said again. His eyes blazed with fury and his hand gripped the table in anger. "We will immediately go to my place and wait there. I will bring Finland and Aleksis with me to Germany. Do you want to come with us?"

Caspar turned to Lauriel who seemed to shake his head with a heavy heart.

"I need to make two poisons... One for Alexei and Katia, and one for Aleksis... I will send The Wolf Pack to infiltrate and poison the two and then I will make a deal to exchange antidotes..."

"What potion do you want to make for Aleksis?" Caspar asked, not understanding.

"Have you ever heard of the Mother of Poisons?" Lauriel asked in return. "You must have at least heard about that from Aldebar."

"Medusa?" Caspar frowned. "That is the most dangerous poison ever made. Are you thinking about giving it to Aleksis?"

"If all else fails, I will be forced to give Medusa to Aleksis. Medusa will neutralize all kinds of poisons below its level, and then all we have to do is to give an antidote for the Medusa poison." Lauriel explained.

"Do you have a Medusa antidote? Then why don't we try it now?" Caspar asked quickly.

Lauriel shook his head with a faint smile. "I can make Medusa's antidote, but only if I have to. We should try other ways first."

Caspar frowned and tried to judge the meaning behind Lauriel's words.

He could treat Aleksis by fighting poison with poison, and then treating the effects of his own poison. But he chose not to do it unless it was their last resort. Was the Medusa antidote that difficult to make?

Caspar finally decided to trust Lauriel and follow his words.

"All right. When will you start making your poisons? Will we meet you in Scotland or will you stop by in Germany?" Caspar asked later.

"I will leave tomorrow morning. I am waiting for Marion, Esso and the other to arrive. I will entrust them to you to coordinate while I go. If I have time, I will stop by Germany, if not... we will meet in Scotland."

"OK."

There was then a soft knock on the door and Jadeith entered with Finland and Aleksis.

"I have contact from Ivan. Karl has been taken to your castle in Germany, uncle. They are waiting for us there. Alexei and Katia disappeared in England, but we are still looking for them," Jadeith reported. "Do you want to use the Academi?"

"Have the director meet me in Germany," Caspar said, nodding. "We will leave tonight. This afternoon we will be in the hospital for a while. Please prepare everything."

"All right," Jadeith was just about to excuse himself when there was a sudden knock on the library door.

Three people came walking in casually. There were two young men and a girl. The two men were very casually dressed with shorts, sandals and sunglasses. They looked like European tourists who were traveling in the hot Southeast Asia.

The woman was a very beautiful girl with brown hair to her shoulders and a very slim body. She wore a pair of torn jeans, a casual white T-shirt, and leather boots. Her blue eyes shaped like a cat's eye reminded Finland of Jean's eyes. Her eyes were radiant with intelligence. Her face was adorned with a broad smile as she looked at Lauriel's figure and rushed at him.

"Lauriel! I'm very glad to hear that you are looking for me. I miss you so much !!" she exclaimed, hugging Lauriel. "I thought you were still in Brazil, I saw the news about the crop circle you made there last month."

Lauriel patted her back and smiled slightly, "How are you, Marion?"

"I'm fine. I just happened to be venturing in China when Charlie called me, so I came straight here. Esso was on vacation in Thailand, and Petra immediately flew from Australia. The others are still on their way," the girl replied eagerly. "I didn't think I'll ever see you again."

"Hmm..." Lauriel just nodded. After Marion released her embrace, Lauriel hugged the two men who came with the girl in turn. "Esso... good news? Petra? I'm glad you came."

Finland stared at the sight of Lauriel the loner who apparently had such close friends. In the two years she had known Lauriel, she had never seen him meet any friends. The man had always been openly showing his dislike for other humans. Finland now saw another side of Lauriel that she had never seen before.

As a woman, she also noticed how Marion looked at Lauriel. The girl must have fallen in love with him, but Lauriel politely kept his distance.

Jadeith, who had been stunned by their sudden presence, finally found his voice and stammered at the girl and asked, "H... how did you get in? The security here is very tight..."

Caspar smiled to see his shocked nephew. They implemented his security system and he must have been very surprised to know that his security system was easily penetrated by these three intruders.

"Don't be embarrassed, Jadeith. These three are the best wolves from the Wolf Pack, they can break even the most sophisticated defenses. Our system is not designed to withstand infiltration from them." He waved his hand towards Jadeith to calm him down. "Do you know who stole and switched the Monalisa painting in Louvre?"

"Monalisa is still in Louvre... It was not stolen..." said Jadeith, frowning.

Marion looked at him with pity and then burst out laughing. "Hmmm... the copy is really good, isn't it? I exchanged it ten years ago. The real one is now in my house. I'm an art lover."

Jadeith looked at Marion sharply, trying to see if the beautiful girl was joking, but a moment later he realized that Marion was serious. His expression immediately went dark. He had to re-examine the security system he made and find out how these three people could enter without his knowledge and prevent that from happening again.

"I need you to help Caspar," Lauriel said. "His daughter is my goddaughter. She was poisoned by Alexei from the Meier family and we must get the antidote within 10 days. Tomorrow I will go to make my own poisons. I want you guys to coordinate with Caspar to find Alexei. Meanwhile, I will formulate a formula to poison Alexei and Katia. After you find him, I will come and we will secretly poison them. Then we will arrange for us to exchange antidotes. If we don't succeed, I'll give Medusa and Medusa antidote to Aleksis."

Marion's expression immediately changed. "Lauriel... are you really going to use that method?"

The tone of her voice was very anxious and made people wonder.

"I will use it only as a last resort," Lauriel said firmly. The look on his face showed that he didn't want to talk about it anymore and Marion was forced to remain silent.

"All right... then we'll get ready," Caspar decided. Everyone looked at him and nodded.

"If you go to the hospital, leave Aleksis with me," Lauriel said before everyone left the library. "A child shouldn't be around sick people. Besides, I need to say goodbye to her before going to America to make my poisons."

Finland nodded. She handed Aleksis to Lauriel and whispered, "Thank you..."

"Hmm..."

Lauriel took Aleksis to Jean's suite, while Caspar ordered Jadeith to bring Finland's and Aleksis' stuff from the suite to his penthouse. Jean immediately packed his bags because he would directly leave for the airport from the hospital and return to France.

Marion, Esso and Petra accompanied Lauriel in their suite and engaged in a warm long-awaited conversation. They hadn't seen each other for decades!

At 3 pm a small group consisting of Caspar, Finland, and Jean drove to Raffles Hospital to see Terry and bid their goodbyes.

Caspar no longer harbored ill feelings toward Jean for having a biological child with Finland. He already had Aleksis with Finland and his happiness couldn't be expressed in words.