Contract Marriage with My Secret Partner in Crime
Chapter 121: The Beggining

Chapter 121: The Beggining

Flashback 25 years ago

Diamond Private Hospital’s elite ward was bathed in cold fluorescent light. Monitors beeped steadily, IV bags hung beside the hospital bed, and a metallic scent of antiseptic lingered in the air.

On the bed, a three-year-old boy named Reynold lay still, his small chest rising and falling faintly. His skin was pale, nearly translucent, and a mess of tubes connected him to machines that hummed as they monitored his weakening condition.

Beside the bed, a woman sat, clutching the child’s tiny hand. Her eyes, rimmed red from hours of crying, kept shifting from the door to the clock mounted above it. Every second ticked louder in her mind. She kept glancing at the boy, then back to the doorway as if willing someone to appear.

"Where is Soren?" she finally asked in a shaky voice, trying to steady her breathing. Her eyes moved to the two men sitting on the couch near the far wall. "Our son needs him now!" Her voice cracked at the end, a mix of desperation and exhaustion.

Cassius Varen, dressed in a dark tailored suit, crossed one leg over the other and gently placed a hand over his mouth. Beside him sat Larman Diamond, his eyes observing the situation with a calm that bordered on unsettling.

Larman gave a slight nod to one of his guards by the door. The man immediately turned and stepped out into the hallway, clearly on an errand.

Cassius looked up at her, his voice low and even. "He’ll be here soon, Annie. Soren will save Reynold. He has to."

Mrs. Annie Draven’s lip quivered, her grip on Reynold’s hand tightening. "He promised me. He said he’d protect him. He said he’d never be late when it mattered."

Cassius offered no further comfort. He simply nodded once, as if to reassure her that he still believed in Soren’s promise.

Suddenly, one of the monitors let out a shrill, irregular beep. Then another. The machines around Reynold came alive with alarms. Nurses and doctors rushed in, working swiftly and shouting instructions.

"He’s crashing! BP’s dropping fast. Heart rate erratic. Prepare the defibrillator."

The mother screamed, standing abruptly. "Reynold! No! Please, no! Don’t do this, sweetheart. Hold on. Hold on."

Cassius stood from the couch, his expression changing for the first time, tight with concern. Larman straightened and walked over to stand beside her.

Annie turned back toward him, panic written all over her face. "Where is Soren? I need him! Our son needs him!" Then she looked down at her son. "Rey, my baby, Daddy’s coming. He’s going to save you. Please hang on. Please."

Cassius stepped out into the hallway, pulling out his phone before spotting someone coming from the far end. He pocketed the device immediately.

Sophia, his assistant, strode towards him briskly, her heels clicking against the polished floors. As always, her posture was composed, but her pace betrayed urgency.

"Sophia," Cassius said before she could speak. "Where is Soren? He’s needed now. It’s critical."

She nodded, her voice cool and precise. "He just came out of the lab. They told me he’s already rushing here."

Cassius’s shoulders eased slightly. "Did he make it? The serum?"

She gave a curt nod. "According to the report, yes. They confirmed it stabilized in the final stage."

Cassius exhaled sharply, placing a hand over his heart. "Good. That’s good. He needs to move faster. Reynold is barely hanging on."

Just then, from the far end of the hallway, the sound of hurried footsteps echoed against the white-tiled walls. Soren came into view, his lab coat flaring behind him, eyes sharp and focused.

"Cassius!" he called as he approached, breath short from running. "How’s my son?"

Cassius didn’t answer. Instead, he grabbed Soren’s arm and ushered him toward the room.

"See for yourself."

As they stepped inside, Soren froze for half a second. Doctors were working frantically, trying to stabilize Reynold. A nurse was applying pressure, another adjusting the oxygen mask. The chaos was deafening.

His wife stood nearby, face soaked with tears. The moment she saw him, she ran to his side. "Honey! Hurry. Save our son! Please!"

Soren didn’t hesitate. He moved toward the bed, voice strong and commanding. "Everyone, step back. Now."

The lead doctor blinked, hesitated, then gestured for the team to give space. "Make way. Let Dr. Soren through."

Soren reached into his coat pocket and pulled out a vial filled with a faintly glowing serum. He flicked the syringe expertly, drawing the contents, then inserted it directly into Reynold’s IV line.

The room held its breath.

One second. Two.

Then, Reynold’s monitors began to change. The beeping slowed to a more regular rhythm. His oxygen levels ticked upward. The erratic spikes on the screen smoothed into calm lines.

The color slowly returned to the boy’s cheeks.

His mother gasped, covering her mouth with trembling hands. "Oh my god."

One of the nurses stepped closer, eyes widening. "Vitals are stabilizing. He’s coming back."

A wave of relief washed over the room. A few of the nurses exhaled audibly. The lead doctor looked at Soren in disbelief, then nodded slowly. "You did it."

Soren didn’t respond right away. His hand hovered over Reynold’s chest as if making sure the rhythm remained steady.

Finally, he turned to face his wife. "He’s out of danger."

She didn’t say anything. She simply lunged into his arms, sobbing against his chest. Soren held her tightly, burying his face in her hair.

Cassius, still standing at the doorway, gave a faint smile. "Told you he’d save him."

Larman returned to his seat without saying a word. But somehow it was obvious that he breathed a sigh of relief.

Sophia stood behind Cassius, watching silently, her arms folded. Despite her composed face, her eyes betrayed a subtle warmth.

The beeping of the monitors slowed to a steady, rhythmic pattern. Life had returned to the small, fragile body on the bed.

Cassius gave a nod of approval. "Now let’s hope he grows strong enough to never need saving again."

Soren, still holding his wife and glancing back at their son, whispered quietly. "He will. I’ll make sure of it."

The room was quiet again. But this time, the silence was filled with hope.

And for a brief moment, in that hospital room full of machines and beeping monitors, nothing else in the world mattered more than the heartbeat of one little boy.

Reynold lived.

---

Back in the high-tech room, Sophia stood quietly in front of Kendrick. He remained sitting in his chair, surrounded by countless monitors glowing faintly in the dimly lit space.

His piercing gaze fell directly on her. "Why did you give me those files?" Kendrick asked again in a firm but calm voice. "Are you sure you gave me the right files?"

Sophia pressed her lips together and remained silent for a moment. She seemed to be thinking carefully about her answer.

Inside her mind, she wrestled with herself.

Should she tell Kendrick the whole truth now, or should she keep it from him just a little while longer?

There were things Kendrick hadn’t remembered yet, things that were hidden in those files and in their past. Sophia contemplated this quietly, letting the silence hang heavy between them.

Kendrick remained patient. His piercing eyes were fixed on her, not in suspicion but in a deep, careful observation. He was trying to read her, trying to piece together whatever it was she seemed unsure about.

Inside his mind, a rush of questions crossed his thoughts.

Did Cassius really switched those files without her knowledge?

Or were there details in those documents that were related to what Kendrick was searching for all this time?

He remembered going through every page, trying to find a link, a hidden thread tying it back to Barmon and the incident 12 years ago. But there seemed to be no direct connection. So what was it?

Finally, after a deep sigh, Sophia broke her silence. "I gave you the right files." Her voice was firm and calm, a reflection of her resolve.

Kendrick furrowed his eyebrows in disbelief. "For real?" he asked quietly. "Do you know what those files are? You know I was asking Cassius about Barmon’s case and how I suspect it’s related to what happened 12 years ago. But those files you gave me are dated way back 25 years."

Sophia remained composed. "I know." She nodded slowly. "I honestly know what those files are. Cassius also knows I gave you those, and he agreed."

For a moment Kendrick fell silent, confused more than ever. "So... what are those for?" he asked quietly. "What is their relation to what I’m looking for?"

"It’s where everything started." Sophia’s tone remained calm, nearly icy, but there was a thread of understanding beneath it.

Kendrick pressed his lips together and fell into deep thought. His mind seemed to spin as the puzzle started falling into place. "Barmon’s men back then weren’t normal. They seemed... enhanced."

His knuckles tightened on the armrest of his chair. "So they took a drug from the experiment." His piercing gaze fell back on Sophia. "You mean the experiment of the drug Barmon’s men took started way back 25 years ago?"

Sophia nodded quietly. "Exactly."

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