An Honest Conversation [2]

I stare deeply into Mrs. Rauss's eyes, searching for any sign of a lie in the promise she made just seconds ago.

Then I remember—we're still under the influence of the truth serum. She shouldn't be able to lie. But still...

"Is it a promise?" I ask anyway, needing to hear it again.

She raises an eyebrow.

"That you'll save both my wife and baby. Is that a promise?"

"Every single word I said back then was," she replies.

I stare at her again, harder this time. I can feel it—there's something behind her words. Something she's not saying.

"Are you hiding something from me?" I ask.

"It's my turn," Mrs. Rauss reminds me.

I exhale, collecting my patience. Eventually, I nod.

"Bruno told me you re-entered the sound-speed space," she says. "That means your brain cells have become active again. How did that happen?"

I shrug. "An accident. I was exposed to a shockwave from an explosion, then nearly drowned in a lake. I guess one of those two reactivated it."

Mrs. Rauss's eyes widen.

I ask again, "Are you hiding something from me?"

She smiles faintly. "I hide a lot of things from you… my son."

I chuckle. "If you ever thought of me as a son, you wouldn't have dumped me in a dumpster."

"I dumped you because I considered you my son," she replies.

I laugh in disbelief.

"What..? Are you saying you prefer to be dead?" she snaps.

"Why not? You killed your own daughter," I mock coldly.

"I am not!" she shouts, voice cracking.

For a moment, I see it—guilt. Regret. Slipping from her eyes before she composes herself.

"Anyway, my turn," I say.

"What? I haven't asked you a question."

"You did," I smirk. "Didn't you just ask whether I'd prefer to be dead?"

She groans. "You're tricky."

I ignore it.

"You promised me you'd remove the iron from Jennifer's heart and fix it," I say. "Is there anything else your staff knows that could still threaten her life?"

She looks at me for a long moment, then sighs.

"The iron spike may have caused more damage than just piercing her heart," she admits. "Right now, we don't know the full extent. That's the whole truth. You can ask Paresh yourself if you want proof."

I say nothing.

"If you had agreed to rejoin us," she continues, "we were planning to give her a new heart. It would've solved everything. But since you didn't… and—" she pauses as I tense, "remember, the original deal was to save only your baby. But in exchange for eliminating Lily, I agreed to repair Jennifer's heart too."

I stay quiet.

As much as I hate to admit it… that's fair. Knowing the accident wasn't deliberate, I have no real leverage beyond what I've already pushed for.

"Well?" she presses.

"…Okay," I finally say.

She exhales in relief and smiles.

A knock interrupts the room's silence.

"Yes, Zack?" she calls.

The door cracks open, and Zack's upper body leans into view.

"Derrick called, Madam. He says your husband is in a panic over your kidnapping," he reports, tone neutral—but his eyes shoot daggers at me.

"Oh, right… I forgot about that," she murmurs, rubbing her temples. "Bring us the antidote, Zack. Right away."

"At your service, Madam," he replies and exits.

"Sorry," she says to me, "we'll have to end this conversation. You know your father—he's always been overprotective when it comes to family. He was heartbroken when he thought you were dead… and then Mila…"

She exhales again. "Now he's even more protective over me and Penny. I wouldn't be surprised if he's already mobilized the army to find me."

Her words make me think of my father.

The poor soul. One of the nation's greatest heroes—yet still just a puppet. Persuaded and bent again and again by his wife… and maybe even by Mila. Who knows what state his mind is in now?

I snap out of it when Zack returns with two vials of clear liquid. He hands one to each of us.

I down mine in a single gulp. Almost instantly, the mental haze lifts.

The serum is out of my system.

-

With Mrs. Rauss busy handling the chaos I caused, Zack escorts me back to the Health Facility—since clearly, I can't enter it on my own. He leaves me at the entrance, then heads back to the main building.

So now, I'm alone.

And I'm walking back to Jennifer.

When the elevator doors open at the basement level, I step out without hesitation. I don't bother slowing down. I just want to get through the disinfection process and be by her side again.

I move down the long hallway, my boots echoing softly against the floor.

I glance to the right first.

The glass rooms here are exposed—no curtains—giving full view inside. It's clearly a research section. Computers line the walls, blinking softly. Machines hum quietly. People in white gowns move efficiently from station to station. Some peer into microscopes. Others jot notes onto tablets or check digital monitors. No one looks up.

Then I turn my head to the left.

There, behind transparent glass walls, is a row of clean, quiet rooms. Most are closed off by drawn curtains, offering no visibility inside.

Except one.

At the far end of the row, the curtain is pulled wide open.

Jennifer's room.

And as expected, I see her lying there—still unconscious, still heartbreakingly still, wrapped in machines.

But what I don't expect—what I would never have imagined, not even in my darkest nightmare—

Is who's standing beside her.

Lily.