Obsession: Fight For the Billionaire's Life

Chapter Fourteen

I know Dr. Robinson isn't joking, so I hurry into Liam's room to see how he is.

The drugs are working just as I'd hoped, and Liam is still deeply asleep. People underestimate the power of food and rest when weak or ill. Still, the results to his health will be phenomenal if he can continue this way without any interruptions.

Which is why I must make sure he stays at home. At least for a couple of more days.

It's crucial for me to see whatever Dr. Robinson has since this may give me clues to help with Liam's treatment.

I check the IV and see it is nearly empty. An IV bag empties in about an hour, but the nutrients and chemicals will continue to work on the body for weeks.

Before I leave, I will place a new bag; if I'm not back in an hour, Liam will continue to sleep until I return.

I lean over Liam and adjust his position so he is now lying on his side. I place his hand on a pillow to make sure he doesn't mistakenly shift the needle in his hand.

I doubt Liam will wake up while I am gone, but I will leave some instructions with Philip if he does.

I lift the bedding, and I see Liam's catheter is full. I quickly replace it with a new one, then hurry to take a shower.

The fresh bite scars on my arms remind me of what I am, and I turn away, stepping into the shower. Twenty minutes later, my hair is freshly washed and dried, and I'm dressed in a long-sleeved white dress shirt and black jeans with an old pair of Converse sneakers.

I return to take one last look at Liam, who is sleeping so peacefully that despite my resolve to keep our relationship professional, I lean and kiss him on his cheek.

Then the most incredible thing happens. Liam smiles in his sleep and whispers 'Emilia'.

His voice is soft and quiet, but I hear it clearly. Emilia. And it has this effect on me that I have never known. I feel good in my chest. And I feel that hand's grip, which constantly chokes and suffocates me, loosen a little.

I feel myself breathe. And it's a new feeling for me. I am swimming upward and feel hope that I perhaps I will not drown after all.

I whisper, "I love you, Liam."

Then louder, I say, "Lights. Jazz instrumental".

The lights dim, and soft music fills the large room. The theme switches to landscape. Mountains and rivers flow on the walls of the room.

I grab my purse and phone and shut the door quietly behind me.

I am not more than a few minutes downstairs when Philip opens the front door and announces that my car has arrived.

I let him know where I was going, slipped him the paper with instructions, and whispered, "Make sure he isn't left alone, but don't disturb him. Let him sleep. I don't expect him to wake up before I get back, so call me immediately if he stirs."

Philip nodded. "Understood, Ms. Emilia."

I step out into the bright sunlight and blink to adjust my sight.

The drive to the hospital is quiet, and I do not see any city views because my thoughts are filled with Liam's results with Dr. Robinson. What could it be?

Several people say hi to me. And I wave back with a smile. I am good at acting normal.

I hurry to Dr. Robinson's office after stopping to say hi to the nurses on duty.

"We miss you so much, Dr. Emilia." One of the nurses says.

"I mean, yesterday there was a case, and the patient stopped breathing during surgery. Everyone was at a loss for what to do, and we knew that if you'd been here, we would have saved that patient."

I smiled politely, but I knew that statistically, that couldn't be true. Given Dr. Robinson's success rate during surgeries and the number of his patients that have died, and of the other doctors on our team, it was more likely that the patient would have retired anyway, whether I was there or not.

I gave the door a light tap and stepped in at Dr. Robinson's sharp "come in."

"Emilia. Finally, you're here."

I smile politely. Dr. Robinson was not someone I pretended too much with.He was very good at telling people upfront that I had a condition, so I let him enjoy the brunt of it more than anyone else.

He ushers me into a chair opposite his desk but comes to my side with a large envelope. My heart begins to race. Those envelopes were only available from specialized cancer centers.

"How is Liam?"

I shrug. "He's okay, I guess. He keeps getting these unusual reactions that aren't symptoms of cancer at all. And he's getting weaker instead of stronger. But I placed him on an IV treatment for 3 days so that he has to rest. Let's see what happens then."

Dr. Robinson quietly hands me the envelope. When I study the documents inside, I have to reread them for a second and then a third time.

"How is this even possible?"

There is no sign of cancer in Liam's body. I lift the lab results up again. There are no signs that Liam ever had cancer, which is unusual since there should have been residual scar tissue.

Dr. Robinson shrugged. "This is what I called you in to explain. Was the diagnosis wrong? Did he never have cancer?"

"Then what did we remove during his surgery?"

"That, my dear, is the million dollars question. And something tells me only Liam can give us the answer."

"Except…except if he did something after our surgery and it somehow wiped out any sign of cancer. And maybe that's why he is having these side effects."

"He didn't tell you anything?"

I shook my head.

But I was beginning to get a good idea of what was happening. I only needed some more information.

"Can I see the tests we did before we did the surgery?"

Dr. Robinson nodded and reached for his phone.

I was still studying the results he's handed me when Dr. Jonas walked in.

"Hey, Dr. Emilia." He smiled his sweet, good-guy- best -friend smile. He handed the file to Dr. Robinson.

I smiled up at him.

Jonas has been asking me out on a date for two years and even though I liked his brilliance and his Ashton Kutcher looks, I couldn't risk anyone seeing my scars or seeing me when I was in a depressed state. So I'd continued to turn him down, even though he never stopped asking.

"How are you, Jonas?"

"Not so great now that I don't get to see your face every morning to brighten my day."

His comment made Dr. Robinson look up sharply. He glanced from Jonas to me.

"Thank you, Dr. Jonas. How is your reconstructive patient doing?" As he spoke, Dr. Robinson was gently guiding him toward the door.

Dr. Jonas managed to say, "See you soon, Emilia," before Dr. Robinson closed the door.

"What's that about?"

I shrugged.

"He seems to like you a lot."

I stared at Dr. Robinson and reached for the file.

I stood up to get a good look. Sure enough, I could make out cancerous cells in Liam's body.

I flipped to the next sheet. I clearly could see how it was spreading. In fact, from this result, it was clear that Liam could live only a few more months.

Now I flipped to another sheet, which was the result immediately after the surgery. Post-surgery scars were evident on his body. I picked the new results Dr. Robinson had just shown me.

There was no sign that any surgery had been done on Liam. His body was as fresh as a nine-year-olds.

"Incredible!" I exhaled. Letting the two documents fall back on the table.

I stood up. "I have to get back."

"What do you think happened?"

"DNA regeneration."

"I thought that was still experimental."

"It is, but some private capitalists have been doing it behind the government for years. There have been some horrific results. In some cases, the patients have had their DNA completely altered to manifest animal traits."

"Have you seen anything untoward in Liam's behavior?"

"Thank God no!"

"This boy is like my own son, Emilia. I can't let anything happen to him."

"I can't let anything happen to him either."

I grabbed my purse and fled the room, Dr. Robinson's voice calling behind me. "Make sure I know everything going on, Emilia, or I am moving him here to monitor him myself."

I glanced back. "Yes, sir."

I had to take some samples from Liam and see how I could control any side effects of what he's done. I only hope I am not too late.

Oh, Liam. Why didn't you just tell me? Then I would have known what to do from the start.