chapter 11: The no-reaction reaction
INT. DEL MUNDO MANSION - STUDY - NIGHT
Raphael sat tiredly on the swivel chair in his dimly lit study. The desk was cluttered with project documents and shredded reports. His obsession with taking back DM Group was burning aimlessly. He wouldn't let Dante turn his parents' legacy into a pawn for whatever twisted power play he was orchestrating.
Dante had already deprived him of his childhood, his freedom... he wouldn't take the company too.
Raphael rubbed his temples. Another migraine was creeping in. He stood, slow and deliberate, walking over to the drawer where his pillbox always sat—neat, categorized, methodically untouched by chaos.
As he opened it, a thought crept in.
Her.
That girl. Lily.
He hadn't seen her in weeks. Probably neck-deep in charts at the hospital. He hated how his mind had been replaying that moment over and over—her eyes, the panic, the way she didn't run.
Why didn't she run?
Everyone else always did.
He picked up his phone. Her name sat there in his call log. His thumb hovered, wavered, then dropped the phone on the desk again.
"Whatever," he muttered. "Why am I disturbing myself over that troublemaker?"
He shut his eyes and drifted.
---
INT. HOSPITAL - PEDIATRIC ROOM - AFTERNOON
"Ready when you are, Lily," a nurse said.
Lily sighed. "I've heard that lie before."
She stood over Jason, a familiar face in the ward. A frail boy of seven, already trembling.
"We're doing this, okay?"
Jason whimpered. "I-I don't like needles."
Lily knelt by the bed. "Jason. Wanna hear a story?"
His eyes lit up, tears drying. His parents watched quietly from the corner.
"There was this scary uncle," she said, voice low. "Cursed by a witch. Couldn't touch anyone without turning red and gasping like a fish. No one knew how to fix him—until the doctors gave him a special shot."
Jason leaned in.
"But guess what? He was scared of needles too. Just like you. And every time he cried, the witch laughed and made him itchier."
Right on cue, lightning cracked outside.
Jason gasped.
Lily held the syringe up. "So what do you say? Wanna show that witch who's boss?"
Jason nodded, face set.
Moments later, the injection was over. Jason didn't even flinch.
He grinned. "Didn't hurt."
"Told ya," Lily said.
He hugged her tightly.
---
INT. HOSPITAL - BREAK ROOM - LATER
Lily and Linda walked to reception.
"Another Jason miracle," Linda grinned.
"He's braver than half the interns here," Lily replied, dropping his chart on the desk.
"You heading home?"
"Yeah. Been here three nights. I need my bed to emotionally recover."
"Director Arthur wanted to see you before you go," Linda added.
Lily groaned. "Of course he does."
---
INT. DIRECTOR ARTHUR'S OFFICE - MOMENTS LATER
Arthur didn't look up from his file when she entered.
"Lily. I need a favor."
She stepped in cautiously. "Sir?"
"You know Mr. Del Mundo's prescription? His antihistamines, stabilizers, etc."
Lily nodded. "Yeah, I packed the new batch yesterday."
Arthur closed the file. "I want you to deliver it. To the estate."
Her face froze. "Me?"
"Yes. And don't ask why. Just go. And behave."
---
EXT. DEL MUNDO ESTATE - EVENING
She hadn't been back since that day. Her palms were clammy around the small pharmacy box. She rang the bell and waited.
The door opened.
Raphael.
He looked... different. Tired. Barefoot. No gloves.
Lily blinked.
"Director Arthur asked me to drop your meds," she said quickly, holding out the box.
He stared at it, then nodded toward the kitchen.
"Counter."
She stepped in, avoiding eye contact as much as possible.
After she finished setting up his meds, she turned around to see him sitting on his couch casually.
"I'm done setting it up."
Raphael didn't give her any response as he continued doing nothing.
Lily sighed—typical Raphael. Just as she was about to leave, the poop she'd been holding since the beginning of her shift came back again. Her stomach felt cramped, and she couldn't move.
"What's the matter?" Raphael's voice jolted her back to reality.
"Can I use your restroom?" she asked, crossing her legs, praying internally she didn't fart in front of Raphael. If that happened, she'd dig a hole and bury herself.
She continued to writhe in pain as Raphael took forever to answer. "It's right in that corner." Lily sprang off to release the mountain in her stomach.
After what felt like hours, she finished her business—but she had a problem: the bathroom smelled like a rotting corpse. That's what you get when you hold in your poop for hours.
What if Raphael walked in right after and took in this heavenly aroma of doom? She was going to die of embarrassment.
She frantically looked around for air freshener or something she could spray. She wandered into the hallway where a lot of shelves and figurines stood. A Gameboy console suddenly grabbed her attention. It looked exactly like the one she used to own as a kid.
Just as she was about to turn it on, Raphael's voice rang through the hallway.
"What do you think you're doing with that?"
Startled, Lily took a step back and bumped into a bumblebee figurine. Instinctively, Raphael grabbed her waist and she fell flat against his body.
Bam.
Pin-drop silence.
"I'm so sorry. I didn't mean to—" Lily, who finally came to her senses, apologized frantically as she tried to get up.
Raphael looked like he'd just been sent to seven heavens. No words came out of his mouth. It felt surreal—feeling someone's warmth. He didn't know how to process it.
"It's alright," he said as he dusted off his clothes.
Lily, still looking worried, asked again if he was okay, which made Raphael pause. Then it hit him.
He bolted to his study, shaky hands searching for his injector. He panicked—he couldn't find it where he thought it was.
He looked at the heart monitor watch on his wrist—and surprisingly, his heart rate was normal. He touched his neck, face, and examined his entire body.
No swelling. No pain. No change.
He was completely fine.
For the first time in seventeen years.