Chapter 15
Lydia clamped down hard on her bottom lip, watching Zina and Yvonne have their sweet little mother–daughter moment. Her chest just felt hollow. But sharp little jabs of pain kept hitting her right there anyway.
Lydia spun around and headed back to her room. She flung herself on the bed, grabbing a pillow and burying her face in it as muffled sobs started shaking her shoulders..
Suddenly, her phone buzzed. Struggling to wipe her eyes, Lydia reached for it. It was Adrian.
“Adrian?” Lydia’s voice hitched, thick with tears. “When are you coming back? I can’t stay in this house anymore. I’m wrecking things for them, like some kind of villain. It hurts so bad.”
The words tumbled out, trembling and raw, like Lydia was finally spilling out years of pent–up hurt all over the phone.
Hearing Lydia’s crying, Adrian felt something wrench inside him. He glanced at his assistant working beside him in the lab. The assistant caught his look, gave a quick, understanding nod, and slipped quietly out of the room.
Only then did Adrian focus fully on soothing Lydia, his voice dropping to a gentle murmur, “Lydia, sweetheart, don’t cry. Tell me what happened. I’m right here. I won’t let anyone hurt you, ever. You have my word on that.”
That just made Lydia cry harder, all hiccups and snot.
“Zina tricked Mom into giving her the family bracelets. What if, what if Mom ships me off now? I don’t wanna leave you guys. Swear I’ll be good! Please don’t dump me.” Lydia was almost pleading.
Adrian had never seen Lydia so gutted, which hit him like a sucker punch. His fist clenched so tightly that the knuckles turned bone–white.
Adrian had still be chilling if the lab hadn’t urgently recalled him about the Masked Doctor who basically counted as his mentor after all.
Adrian thought, ‘I was barely out the gate when Lydia got hit with that soul–crushing hurt. Zina? A walking disaster for our family.‘
“Listen, Lydia.” Adrian said, his voice steady and calm, “I won’t let anyone mess with you. And kicking you out? Zero chance. You’ll always be my sister. Always.”
After finally talking Lydia down from the edge, Adrian dropped everything to head home. But before he could even step out the door, his assistant came in yet again.
The assistant blurted, “Dr. Lambert, the surgical videos of the Masked Doctor and her custom instruments are all gone. Hackers wiped the servers remotely while a crew physically breached the lab. What do we do now?”
“Nothing left at all?” Adrian froze mid–stride, his brow furrowed like storm clouds.
Adrian wondered, ‘How could the Masked Doctor be so capable? Even breaking into a state–classified laboratory?‘
The assistant swiped sweat off his forehead. “Yes, they breached us last night. The surveillance was killed during the intrusion. The blood sample in your hands is our sole remaining clue now.”
Adrian paused, processing the hospital records he’d reviewed days ago.
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Chapter 15
During surgery, the Masked Doctor had transfused her own blood into the patient. This woman possessed not just mastery of medicine, but a heart of profound compassion.
A deep respect settled within Adrian–for her skill, and for that extraordinary act of selflessness.
Yet the blood bank held no DNA profile for her and no way to trace her identity. All they knew was that she possessed the rarest blood type on earth, Rh–null.
And Adrian possessed the same golden blood.
Adrian’s mind raced, suspicion coiling tight. ‘Who on earth could she be?”
Adrian’s voice sharpened with command, “Track all underground markets and monitor for any Rh–null blood traces. If nothing surfaces, investigate The Pit.”
After all, it might be the only place where answers could be found.
“Understood.” The assistant gave a sharp nod and made an efficient exit.
Adrian pulled his thoughts into focus. Without another word, he left the lab and headed straight for the Lambert mansion.
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