Chapter 3 The Mysterious Boy

“What?” the doctors gasped together, their voices bouncing off the hospital hallway.

Skr rolled her eyes, picking at her ear. “Wow, nice choir,” she said, deadpan. “Did you hear me?”

Hector gritted his teeth, his voice stiff. “That’s a bit extreme, don’t you think, miss?”

“Oh, is it?” Skr shrugged, not fazed. “Fine, figure it out yourselves then.”

She waved a hand, signaling Leon to follow as she started to walk away.

A momentter, Hector’s grudging voice cut through.

“Fine!” he snapped, the word heavy with resentment.

Skr stopped, ncing back with a smirk.

“That your decision, or do the others agree?” Her tone dripped with sarcasm.

Hector leaned in toward the group, lowering his voice. “I’ve seen the guy with her—he’s a big shareholder. The director’s been after him for CardioShield. Her story holds up.”

He added, “If she messes up, it’s on her. We’re off the hook.”

Even Jade, still steaming, got the message. The group swapped nces and nodded reluctantly.

Three minutester, Skr, now in surgical scrubs, walked into the operating room.

Hourster, quick footsteps echoed down the hall.

A sharp-looking woman in a tailored designer suit hurried toward the OR, her face tight with worry.

“Mrs. Lambert, what are you doing here?” Jade blurted, stopping short when she saw Yana Lambert.

Yana’s face hardened, her voice cutting.

“My husband’s fighting for his life in there. You think I wouldn’t show up?” Her wordsnded like a p.

Hector jumped in, trying to ease the tension. “Mrs. Lambert, Jade didn’t mean it like that. She’s just concerned you’re stressed…”

“Right,” Jade chimed in, scrambling to save face. “Mrs. Lambert, we were about to call in every doctor in the hospital for Mr. Lambert.”

She paused, then pushed on. “But this so-called ‘medical genius’ showed up, demanding to take over. If anything goes wrong with Mr. Lambert, our hospital can’t be med…”

Her words stopped short as the OR’s glowing sign switched off.

Skr stepped out, directing nurses to wheel the patient’s bed out. The group headed to a private room.

“He should wake up within twelve hours,” Skr said, noticing Yana and guessing she was family. “Someone close needs to stay and keep an eye on him.”

Jade, lingering behind, couldn’t help herself.

“Twelve hours?” she scoffed, her voice thick with sarcasm. “How are you so sure?”

She crossed her arms, smirking. “I’ve seen top surgeons, and none of them can predict when a patient wakes up.

“Don’t make promises you can’t keep, or you’ll look pretty foolish.”

Before Skr could answer, Yana’s icy stare locked onto Jade.

“Is this your business?” she snapped. “If not, get out.”

She added, her tone firm, “Don’t disturb my husband’s recovery.”

Jade blinked, shocked. ‘The richest woman in the country just met Skr and she’s already backing her?’

But she didn’t dare argue with Yana Lambert and slipped away quietly.

Skr caught Leon’s eye, giving him a nod to leave as well.

Once the room emptied, Skr turned to Yana.

“I’ll stay at the hospital until Mr. Lambert wakes,” she promised, her voice calm and sure.

As Skr turned, Yana’s eyes widened.

A red birthmark on Skr’s neck—exactly like the one her long-lost daughter had.

Even before seeing Skr’s face, Yana had felt a strange warmth, a deep, instinctive pull, like a mother’s gut feeling stirring in her bones.

Yana was lost in thoughts.

“If there’s nothing else, I’ll wait in the lounge,” Skr said, pulling Yana out of her thoughts. “Have a nurse let me know when Mr. Lambert wakes.”

Yana nodded, watching Skr leave.

Then she grabbed her phone, her voice quiet. “I need you to look into someone.”

Outside, Skr picked up the phone Leon had left her. His text lit up the screen.

Leon: [Ms. Stone, VIP lounge is set! Head upstairs, everything you need’s there. Shareholder perks!]

She took a few steps, then stopped cold. Something tugged at her leg.

“Mom… Mommy… help me…” a small voice whimpered.

Skr looked down, her heart skipping. A chubby little boy, pale and shaking, was clinging to her.

She knelt, checking his heart beat. He’s in bad shape—critical.

Without a second thought, she scooped him up and rushed to the VIP lounge, following Leon’s directions.

Inside, sheid the boy on the bed, scanning the room for supplies.

She checked his airway, noted his pallor, and started gentle chestpressions.

The boy’s uneven breathing steadied, his pulse settling under her skilled hands.

“Mo… mommy?” The boy whispered, his voice weak and shaky. His eyes fluttered shut, and he drifted into a deep sleep.

Skr let out a breath, relief flooding her as his breathing evened out.

She turned away, but a hot tear slid down her cheek,nding on her wrist.

Her heart tightened, a heavy ache spreading through her chest.

If her baby had lived, he or she should be this age now. The thought struck her like a blow, clouding her eyes.

Five years ago, she’d survived that prison nightmare, taking daily beatings. All for one reason: to protect the child growing inside her.

But the man she’d loved—he hated her so much he didn’t care about their own child.

He’d sent people to take her blood for Elianna’s treatments, month after month. Then, when her baby was eight months along, he killed it to save Elianna’s life.

That day, the other inmates had beaten her nearly to death.

She woke on a cot in the prison infirmary, her stomach t and empty.

Louis, the prison doctor, had sat beside her, his sigh full of sorrow. He told her the truth—her child was gone.

She’d wanted to give up right then, to let the grief pull her under. She didn’t know what was left to live for.

But Louis’ voice broke through the haze.

“Live, Skr,” Louis had said, his words fierce. “Live so you can make them pay. For you. For your baby.”

From that moment, she’d poured herself into learning.

She studied medicine under Louis, absorbing his knowledge. Through the prison’s shadywork, she picked up other skills, ones that made her deadly.

Those who’d hurt her? She’d hunted them down, one by one. She’d grabbed them by the hair, her fistsnding blows so precise the guards couldn’t trace the damage. Internal injuries, hidden but brutal.

Her eyes fell on theptop in the corner of the VIP lounge.

That was Leon’s work, and she knew it.

Pushing down the pain and anger gripping her heart, Skr sat down and turned it on.

Her fingers moved quickly over the keys, logging into her ount with ease.

One minuteter, across the city in the massive Campbell Mansion, a panicked voice rang out through the halls. “Sir! Our firewall’s been hacked!”