Chapter 2

2

No matter how much I hated them, I had to swallow the bile rising in my throat. I tasted the metallic tang of blood.

"Can you put Silas on? Our daughter is dying. We need the serum right now..."

Before I could finish, Seraphina's voice turned into a sob.

"I'm so sorry. I didn't know your child also happened to need Silas's serum the exact moment my daughter got sick."

Silas's angry roar immediately took over the phone.

"Elara Reed, what is wrong with you?! I'm just helping Seraphina for a moment. Do you have to be so jealous?"

"She has a fever! Do you know how dangerous that is? It could turn into myocarditis if we aren't careful!"

"Where is your humanity?!"

So that was it. Silas was late because he was playing nurse to his ex's child.

Did he even realize? His little act of devotion was costing dozens of children their lives. It was killing our only daughter.

I couldn't hold it back anymore. I stood up, screaming from the depths of my soul.

"I don't care if her daughter gets myocarditis! I don't care if she dies!"

"I just want my daughter to live! Silas Miller, you get that medicine here right now, or I swear I will destroy you!"

A minor cold was being prioritized over a dozen lives. My daughter was in that room, hanging by a thread. I would die to keep her safe.

But to Silas, my desperation was just a temper tantrum.

His voice turned even colder and more cutting.

"Elara, if you're sick, go take some meds. I'm a scientist, not a shrink. I can't cure your pathetic jealousy."

"I regret the day I married you. Maisie is so unlucky to have a mother who lies about everything."

"At least make your lies believable. If something that big was happening, it would be all over the news. Stop being so dramatic."

Silas didn't know that to prevent a panic, the entire hospital was under a total media blackout. Everyone inside, including reporters, was quarantined.

He sounded more and more annoyed. He threw out one last threat.

"One more word and I'll see you in court. Let's see if the judge gives the girl to a world-renowned scientist or a lowly elementary school teacher!"

I couldn't believe he could be this vile. He knew exactly where it hurt, and he didn't hesitate to twist the knife.

But for Maisie, I had to back down.

Before I could apologize to those two, the OR door creaked open. Seraphina's soft whimpering drifted through the phone.

"It's okay, Silas. Go to her."

"Even though she and the child are lying, she just wants your attention."

"I've already lost you. This time we've had together was a stolen gift. I only want my daughter to grow up healthy."

That manipulative bitch!

She was playing the martyr so Silas would stay. And of course, he fell for it.

The voices on the other end got quieter. Silas didn't even bother to hang up. He was too busy comforting his first love.

Thinking of Maisie in the OR, I felt like I was going to snap.

"I'm sorry. It was me. I was wrong."

"Can I just come and get the serum myself? I promise I won't bother you two."

Those few words felt like they took a lifetime to say.

"Please... I'm begging you."

Exhausted, I collapsed onto the floor. But my humiliation didn't move Silas at all.

He let out a contemptuous scoff.

"Elara, are you deaf? You're still using the kid as an excuse. Maisie's health is bad because she has a lying mother like you!"

"Seraphina and I are just friends. We have nothing to hide. You're the one who needs help."

"You want to check if I'm cheating? Fine. If you want the address, you crawl on your knees for a hundred steps and beg. Otherwise, no deal!"

It was the ultimate insult, but it gave me a glimmer of hope.

If I did it, maybe he'd give me the address.

Hearing me actually start to beg on the phone, Silas sounded bored. He hung up.

Thirty minutes later, a text arrived with the address of a research lab.

It was a thirty-minute drive away. Normally, that wouldn't be a problem.

But I was trapped in a quarantined hospital. Breaking past the armed guards in the lobby was impossible.

But I didn't care anymore.

I climbed out of a third-story bathroom window and jumped. My ankle twisted painfully as I hit the ground, but I started running toward the lab.

Each step was agony, but I only hoped I could run faster.

When I reached Silas's lab, I was a mess. My hair was wild, and my face was covered in sweat and dirt. I looked like a stray.

Silas looked at me with pure disgust. He let out a cold laugh.

"You really went all out for this little performance, Elara."

"Take a good look. Are Seraphina and I at a lab or a motel?"

I didn't want to argue. I knew he thought I was using Maisie to get his attention.

Fine. Let him think that. The only thing that mattered was the serum.

I held out my hand.

"Give me the medicine. I won't bother you or Seraphina ever again."

"Just give it to me, and you can do whatever you want."

Silas stopped his assistant from handing over the vial. He looked at me with a gaze that said he'd seen through my games.

"Is it really the girl who's sick, or one of your poor relatives? Unless you FaceTime me right now and show me the kid, you're not getting this."