Chapter 27: Manipulated

Upon hearing this, Quintus set aside his current work, recalling the silhouette of Chloe leaving with a stranger last night, his gaze slightly darkening. "Who is this person?" "The man's name is Michael Rawlins, the head of the BioMed Innovations Institute. Previously, Mr. Jasper Quilliam from the Quilliam family had him check on his health." Sensing the lowered atmosphere in the office, Hudson's tone became somewhat cautious. "In addition, I found out that Michael is currently single. Miss Stanhope and him... probably don't have any special relationship. Speaking of it, Miss Stanhope studied medicine in college, and they might have met at school." Upon hearing this possibility, Quintus's expression eased slightly. "Have you found anything else?" Hudson looked somewhat troubled. "Currently, this is all we've found. As for Miss Stanhope, we only know that she recently returned to the country. We can't find much about her activities and traces abroad for the time being." Quintus furrowed his brow, a bit dissatisfied, but since there was no further information, persisting would be futile. He then shifted the topic to Jasper. "How is Jasper's health now?" Hudson was about to apologize for his inefficiency when he heard his boss change the subject. He instantly felt relieved and replied, "Not optimistic. The Quilliam family has consulted nearly every renowned doctor domestically and internationally, but none have found a solution to his condition." Quintus nodded slightly. "Cancel all my engagements for tomorrow night. I'll visit Jasper tomorrow evening." "Yes." Hudson agreed and waited for a moment. Seeing that his boss had no further instructions, he turned and exited the room. Chloe and Michael, upon returning to the research institute, immediately began contacting pharmaceutical suppliers in Phoenix one by one. Due to the insufficient supply of medicinal herbs, many projects at the research institute were currently on hold. If this continued, the losses would only increase. The matter of finding a pharmaceutical supplier for collaboration couldn't be delayed any longer. Previously, Michael had contacted almost all the pharmaceutical suppliers in Phoenix, and they were rejected every time. Now, with no other option, they had to make those calls again. "BioMed Innovations Institute? Haven't we discussed this before? The price you offered is too low; we can't possibly collaborate with you!" As soon as Chloe mentioned the name of the research institute, an immediate and resolute refusal came from the other end. After a brief pause, Chloe said, "We can increase the price by 0.5% from the original offer. Let's compromise, and if the collaboration goes well, we can discuss the price further in the future--" The voice on the other end interrupted her, "At least 3%, or there's no room for negotiation." Upon hearing the exorbitant demand, Chloe promptly hung up the phone. On the other side, Michael's expression was equally grim. "Sorry, Dr. Rawlins, all our medicinal herbs have already been reserved. We currently don't have any extra supplies for your research institute." It was clear from their response that they were giving excuses to avoid collaboration. Michael didn't insist, "Alright." After saying that, he hung up the phone. Call after call, until the next afternoon, they hadn't received any good news. The attitudes of the pharmaceutical suppliers varied from courteous to impatient, but the overall result was the same – they were not willing to collaborate. In fact, one company even explicitly told Chloe that they would never work with the BioMed Innovations Institute, without giving any reasons. Both of them knew very well that they had fallen victim to a plot. As for the puppeteer behind the scenes, it was almost glaringly obvious. Apart from Stella, they couldn't come up with another person.