Chapter 20
Zina was jolted awake by a phone call in the first grey light of dawn.
Only after pulling an all–nighter had Zina finally finished verifying the components of the newly developed drug. Now, jolted awake this early, she looked utterly drained, dark circles etched under her eyes.
Zina rubbed her eyes and asked, “Who’s this?”
Kellan’s urgent voice came over the phone, “Can you make it to the hospital? Looks like my father took a turn for the worse.”
Zina shot up like a bolt, snapping into action. “Be right there.”
Without another word, Zina hung up. She didn’t even stop to tell the Lamberts where she was going and just dashed off toward the hospital.
Inside the hospital’s VIP ward, Kellan struggled to keep himself together. His heavy gaze rested on the motionless figure in the bed as his fingers dug into the edge of his chair.
Nearby, Hayden could see Kellan’s face had gone frosty. It felt like the whole room had dropped ten degrees.
Hayden shrank back a little and spoke up cautiously, “Kellan, we’re friends. Turn down the deep freeze, will you? If I hang around much longer in this icebox, I swear I’ll catch arthritis.”
Kellan shot Hayden a look.
Hayden instantly snapped his mouth shut and inwardly cursed himself, ‘I never should have spoken up. Pissing off the Grim Reaper? That’s a surefire way to bring hell down on myself!
“But that’s really got me beat. Mr. Carter was doing pretty well just the other day.” Hayden rubbed his chin.
Hayden was at a total loss. He had no choice but to bank all hopes on the Masked Doctor.
Hayden thought, ‘If she’s in a good mood, I might even get a chance to pick her brain.’
Just then, Kellan’s phone was ringing.
“Alright, I’ll go meet you.” Kellan said as he hurried out, leaving Hayden sitting alone in
the room.
With nothing else to do, Hayden found his gaze drifting toward Mr. Carter lying in the bed. The old man looked more fragile and weathered than ever.
Hayden let out a heavy sigh. ‘I’m completely helpless this time! he thought, ‘But is it just me? By all rights, Mr. Carter should have burned out long ago. Yet he is unconscious, his vital signs are holding steady. Could this be that Doctor’s doing?”
Moments later, voices drifted in from outside the room.
“What’s the situation?” asked Zina.
“He remains unconscious. We’ll need your take on the specifics once you’re in there.” Kellan replied, his voice still carrying a
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Chapter 20
faint, cold edge.
As she pushed through the door, Zina, wearing her Bauta mask, knitted her brows tightly.
The smell in the room didn’t sit right with her. It seemed that a chemical tang mixed with the lingering traces of some gas that hadn’t quite cleared.
“Something off in here?” Kellan asked, taking in Zina’s expression. He could tell right away that there was something more complicated at play.
Zina didn’t answer instantly. Instead, she darted over to the bed and started rifling through the pile of medicines on the side
table.
But the more she looked, the darker Zina’s expression got. Her brow furrowed deeper and deeper until her whole face sank.
“Are all the medicines Mr. Carter used right here?” Zina’s voice was cool and detached. Her features were hidden behind the mask, yet that tiny mole beneath her eye was faintly visible, adding a layer of mysterious allure.
For a heartbeat, Kellan’s breath hitched, leaving him speechless.
Only when Hayden spoke up did Kellan jolt back to the present, though he still found no words.
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