While Aria was safe for now, it could not be said the same about the outside world. More and more people were getting infected by the poison and were falling sick. Not only Regal Medical Hospital, all the other hospitals in the city were running out of the antidote and they needed to do something quickly to salvage the situation. Already more than forty had succumbed to the poison and had given up the battle and the fatalities were only increasing as time passed by.

The situation was only being worse and the matter had even reached the President, Luis Truman. He could not help but rub his forehead in agony. He had just finished dealing with a battle between his country and their neighbor and now, another issue had popped up out of nowhere.

Luis called his assistant and ordered him to find out what exactly was happening. He wanted to get the exact details about how the people had been affected by the poison. Also, he had seen the two statements given by the two men, one from Ian and Ronnie from Ronnie and he was thoroughly impressed by Ronnie for he had stopped people from panicking. Already there were a lot of victims who needed immediate treatment and they did not want more people coming in contact with the poison.

Luis Truman was thoroughly stressed dealing with all the matters which he knew no other Presidents had dealt with all at a time. He wondered if everything was somebody's ploy to make him resign from his seat. But he shook his head thinking how abnormal his thoughts. How could a war and releasing poison in the air be done by the same person or group of people? Not possible.

Luis's assistant returned after making a phone call. "Sir, we are ready for the press conference." He informed him and just like the President, he too had been stressed dealing with all the crucial matters. Although it seemed that the President had a huge workload only a few people knew that, more than him it was his assistant who had a lot more to deal with.

"Let's go." Luis Truman took a deep sigh before he stood up and buttoned his coat. He now had to appease the people and the media, along with the opposition. The road ahead seemed to be exhausting and troublesome, but he knew he would make it out of it somehow.

Luis Truman entered the conference hall in the Princep Hall and cast his eyes at all the reporters. He took the list of all the news agencies who were present even at this time of the night and sighed lightly. However, his weariness decreased when he noticed the name of the agency he was all too familiar with. It was the News4U agency and he instantly remembered the young lady who had impressed him the last time.

Expectantly, he cast his eyes everywhere trying to see if she was anywhere in the hall. His face fell when he did not find a familiar face, yet he controlled his expression. He was expecting to see her here as the young lady was intelligent and way better than some of the top men in his team who boasted themselves to be smarter than everybody else.

So, what if the lady he was looking for was not here? He still had her number and he could give her a call anytime and take her help if he needed it. With a resolve in his mind, he started the press conference. The questions were all based on the unfortunate event that had taken place in the city. Everybody wanted to know how the President was going to tackle the issue.

"Sir, now that such a deadly event has taken place, what will the next measures taken by the government?" One of the reporters voiced out the question and started the meeting.

This was a question Luis was expecting even before he had taken a step inside the hall. So, it did not come as a surprise to him. "My dear media friends, I know everybody here has a lot of questions in your mind. However, let me give the answer to the question of what this gentleman asked just now. We all know how bad the situation right now. It was highly unfortunate that a happy event ended up as a disaster and I hope that the people who have been affected by the poison would receive immediate treatment and they get well soon."

Luis stopped a second to a breath before he started to speak again. "Also, my condolences to the families who have lost their family members. Although we cannot bring a dead person back to life, we can only provide monetary compensation. Our main priority right now would be to save as many people as possible and stop the number of fatalities from increasing. Along with it, we will thoroughly investigate the matter and get to the core. Now, I am up for questions."

One of the reporters at the back stood up. "Sir, the poison that had been released into the air has been banned under international law. So, how was it even brought inside our country?" Although the reporter had not specified any more details, everybody present in the hall could guess what the man was hinting at. He had taken the same approach as Ivy when she had asked a similar kind of question.

Luis could only smile helplessly at the question. He could see through the reporter even though he had not been as straight forward Ivy had been. She had asked him directly if anybody from the government had been involved with the David Peters situation. However, here the man had just asked a vague question which could mean anything. The President had to give a clear answer if he had to escape from a target of condemnation.

"As I said earlier, we are yet to investigate the matter thoroughly and we will find out how the poison even entered our country. And whoever is responsible for this deadly attack will receive the punishment that he deserves. We will definitely provide justice to our people." Luis Truman's gaze was filled with determination as he stared right at the camera and declared the words.

The next reporter was just about to ask her question when Luis' assistant intervened and whispered something in the President's ear making him nod at him. "I apologize ladies and gentlemen. We will have to end this press meet right here as some urgent matters have popped up. Thank you all for coming here and please be safe."

With that, the press meet ended halfway and Luis Truman had to take his leave before he could answer all the questions. However, he had conveyed the message he had wanted to relay to the public and that was all it mattered. "What do you have for me?"

"Sir, we just found out that there had been illegal smuggling of goods fifteen days ago from our neighboring country."

"That country again. Are they trying to provoke us once again? Aren't they satisfied with the befitting reply we have given them in the war? Do they still want to provoke us?" Luis seethed, his fists clenching in anger. He could tolerate any kind of attack. But could he tolerate the attack on his nation and his people? No way. He was a patriotic man who believed in nationality. He would never allow anybody else to destroy his country. Never ever.

"Sir, what do we do now?" The assistant asked, his voice coming out cold and furious. Just like the President, he too was angry with the way things were turning out. He had been with Luis since the time the man had joined politics and he was more or less influenced by Luis's thoughts. At first, he was not that of a patriotic man although he loved his country. However, after meeting Luis and getting to know him, the man changed and become completely patriotic.

"Find out who was the one to smuggle goods from our enemy. Also, try to find out what they brought inside the country. If our assumptions are correct, then it must be the poison we are talking about."

"Yes Sir." The assistant nodded and was about to leave the President alone when the man called him back.

"Do you remember the girl who we had met last met during one of the press conferences?"

"Who Sir?" The assistant asked in confusion. They had met a lot of reporters since the time they had met ivy and he had forgotten about her long ago. So, he could not remember her that clearly.

"The girl from the agency News4U. We had a private chat too after we finished the press meet." Now the assistant remembered who the President was talking about.

"Yes Sir. Now I remember. What about her?"

"Do you have her phone number?"

"I think I do." The assistant replied still unable to understand what the President had in mind.

"Call her."

Though the man did not understand what the President had in mind, he still followed his orders. He pulled out the phone in which he stored the less contacted numbers and searched for the girl's name. He had forgotten what her name was and tried to rack his brain to remember it. However, he couldn't how much ever he tried.

Seeing his assistant's troubled expression, Luis chuckled lightly. "Ivy, her name is Ivy." His words surprised his assistant and wondered how the man had even kept her name in memory when he had a lot to deal with. What he did not know what that Ivy had left a deep impression on Luis that he could never forget her.

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Hey guys,

I am editing the unedited chapters one by one. Thank you for bearing with the mistakes and understanding my plight. Please do bear with it for some more time and in the meanwhile, do check out my new book 'Trapped for Eternity' and do give me your reviews.