Hollywood Immortal

[Chapter 351: The Truth]

Linton had no interest in gaming anymore; he hurried back to the estate.

Soon after, Madonna and her entourage returned as well. Fortunately, she was only slightly shaken and her state hadn't suffered much. Through Linton's spiritual perception, he confirmed the baby Madonna was carrying was perfectly fine.

Seeing Linton, Madonna clung to him like a child who'd been wronged, bursting into tears. "Honey, I was scared to death today! That hospital must be in on something; they wanted to harm me and our baby."

"Baby, it's okay now. Don't worry, take your time and tell me what happened," Linton comforted her gently.

After Madonna detailed the hospital incident, she suddenly realized the doctor, Dr. Cornell, might have been hypnotizing her. However, oddly, Dr. Cornell and Dr. Field themselves seemed hypnotized.

She remembered the quartz pendant she carried had seemed to glow faintly (though she didn't notice it clearly at the time). Recalling Linton's repeated instructions never to take the pendant off, she asked, "Honey, is this quartz pendant some kind of magical artifact?"

"How did you figure it out?" Linton asked.

"When Dr. Cornell hypnotized me, the pendant got warm, then those two doctors just fell asleep. I can't think of any other explanation except this pendant activated some power."

"Yes, I'm telling you now, it's a magical item that automatically protects you when you're in danger."

"Really? That's amazing, darling! You're so good to me; I love you so much."

"Remember what I told you? Under any circumstances, the pendant should never leave your body."

"I remember. I will wear it 24/7 from now on," Madonna said, happily touching the pendant on her chest.

"Also, keep it a secret. Don't let anyone else know. Otherwise, it could bring tons of trouble."

"Got it; I won't tell anyone. Oh, do the other girls' pendants have the same powers?"

"Yes, they all work the same."

"Do they know the pendant's secret?"

"Not yet, and don't tell them just yet either."

"I understand; it's our secret then?"

"Right, only the two of us know for now."

---

Linton called in Madonna's assistant bodyguards and Danny for a detailed debrief. He pieced together the truth: someone had clearly bribed the Cedars-Sinai Medical Center to target Madonna. The people behind this must be influential -- likely the shadowy group of powerful and wealthy older women that Hillary mentioned.

But whoever they were, no matter how powerful, since they had crossed him, they were in deep trouble.

"You all did a great job today. Danny, make sure everyone, including those still handling the traffic accident, gets a $20,000 bonus."

The group cheered, appreciating the generous boss.

"You may all leave now."

Once Danny and the others left, the shaken Madonna looked up at Linton and playfully planted a kiss on him. "Honey, my legs are still a bit weak. Shouldn't you comfort me?"

"Sure. I need to give you a thorough checkup to make sure there are no after-effects," he said, lifting her in his arms, heading upstairs to the third floor.

Sweet and lively singing filled the air...

---

That afternoon, Linton changed his appearance and arrived at Cedars-Sinai Medical Center. Using his spiritual awareness, he quickly located the director, who was working alone in her office. This was perfect timing for his plan.

He made his way to the director's office without obstruction. When security staff questioned him, a single glance from Linton made them let him pass immediately.

"Who are you? How did you get in here? Where's the security guard?" the director demanded, noticing a stranger in her office.

Linton wasn't in the mood to argue. He formed a hand seal and chanted an incantation. Soon an invisible slave mark formed and landed on her forehead; she instantly fell into a deep sleep.

Ten minutes later, Linton observed the slave mark had enveloped the director's entire mind. With a snap, she opened her eyes, shook her head in confusion, and immediately knelt before Linton. "Your servant Caroline, at your service."

"Caroline, I have some questions for you."

"Please ask, master. I will tell you everything I know."

---

Thanks to Caroline's confession, Linton finally uncovered the whole truth.

Just as Hillary said, Madonna's reversal of aging had brought her back to the peak beauty of an 18-year-old, which sparked wild public obsession. Ordinary people might just be curious or jealous, but there were some wealthy and powerful older women who felt envy and covetousness.

They believed Madonna's reverse aging held a secret. Could they unlock it to make themselves young and beautiful?

In August last year, these powerful older women pooled resources to create a secret project codenamed "X," investing heavily to study human reverse aging.

Caroline, a female medical doctor specializing in genetics at Cedars-Sinai, was chosen to lead the project. But progress was slow; they didn't even know where to start. They decided to focus on Madonna herself.

Madonna's security was tight, plus she was a global public figure, so they never found a chance to get close. When they decided to take more aggressive action, a perfect opportunity struck when Madonna came to the hospital for a pregnancy checkup.

They took extra blood samples, skin tissue, and hair from her during the visit. Tests confirmed Madonna's body and blood activity resembled that of someone in their early 20s -- not just youthful appearance from makeup or skincare.

Unfortunately, despite their experiments -- applying her blood externally, drinking it -- nothing replicated the effect. They knew Madonna was truly younger inside and out but had no clue how.

As a last resort, Dr. Sandra was assigned to lure Madonna back to the hospital under the pretense of another prenatal check. They brought in Dr. Cornell, an expert hypnotist, to hypnotize Madonna deeply and try to extract the secret of her youth.

---

"Just questioning?"

"Also blood draws, subcutaneous tissue, hair samples, and we even planned to take a small piece of her flesh for study."

"What about the surveillance car following her?"

"That's Plan B. It was for if Madonna stayed near her guards and no solo opportunity presented at the hospital."

"What was Plan B?"

"They would stage a traffic accident to injure her and then bring her to our hospital for treatment. It would give us more access for research."

"Aren't you worried about her baby?"

"That's not our concern. For the future of humanity, what's the loss of one child?"

"Aren't you scared she might come after you later?"

"Master, do you know who's behind this research project?"

*****

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