Chapter 2 The Cancer!
946 Words
I didn't give Jack and the others another chance to stop me. I rushed straight to the hospital.
"Hello, how is my mother?" I asked, breathless. My heart was pounding in my chest, and I couldn't calm down.
"Mrs. Cruz, you're finally here." The nurse let out a breath of relief upon seeing me, but the worry in her eyes was unmistakable. She hesitated as if struggling to find the right words. "There's some news I need to share with you. Please, follow me."
My heart sank. In a hospital, the odds of receiving bad news were always higher than the odds of receiving good news.
With heavy steps, I followed the nurse down the corridor to an office.
She opened the door, and behind the desk sat a handsome man, his brow furrowed in concentration as he studied the paperwork in front of him.
"I'm sorry to inform you, but your mother has been diagnosed with pancreatic cancer."
"From now on, this gentleman, Joseph Klose, will be your mother's attending physician. He's one of the leading specialists in this field."
A cold shiver ran through my body like I'd been plunged into ice water. My entire body started to tremble.
"Pancreatic cancer? No, that can't be right. My mother has always been healthy."
I looked up at the handsome man with chestnut-colored hair.
He appeared to be in his early thirties, much younger than the previous doctor. With his sharp features and serious expression, he looked more like a model in a lab coat than a physician.
I desperately hoped he was some kind of fraud, that everything I'd just heard was some cruel joke.
"Mrs. Cruz, allow me to explain your mother's condition in detail," Joseph said, his tone professional as he laid out the documents before me.
"Your mother has a rare, differentiated type of pancreatic cancer. It's one of the most aggressive forms, and her prognosis is less than three months."
As a former biology prodigy who once focused on cancer research, I knew too well that pancreatic cancer was among the deadliest diagnoses one could receive.
In the heavy silence that followed, Joseph seemed to wait patiently for me to come to terms with the news.
After a moment, I nodded slowly. "I see. But I need to know, what type of differentiation is it?"
"Mrs. Cruz, perhaps you don't fully grasp... This is terminal. Even knowing the subtype won't change the outcome," Joseph replied, his gaze steady, unwilling to indulge my question.
"Is it M1 or B2, or perhaps a polymolecular malignancy?" I pressed, using terms only those in the field would understand.
Joseph looked at me, surprised, clearly not expecting me to be familiar with advanced medical terminology.
A flash of respect crossed his face before he spoke again, "The pathology indicates it's M1, the most dangerous kind. Unfortunately, there was a treatment in development that could have slowed the progression, but... the lead researcher passed away in a lab accident, and the work was halted."
At the mention of the inhibitor, I suddenly looked up. "Have you heard of the M1 inhibitor?"
Joseph's eyes lit up with excitement, and he nodded. "Of course, I conducted the clinical trials myself. I had immense respect for Professor Andrew's contributions. He was a true pioneer."
I felt a wave of shock and confusion wash over me. This wasn't how I remembered the results of that research.
Suddenly, I recalled a lesson my mentor once taught me. 'A conclusion isn't always the truth.'
A chill ran down my spine. 'Was it possible that everything I knew was part of a much larger conspiracy?'
My heart raced wildly at the thought. 'But if there was even a chance to save my mother, I have to take the risk.'
With a determined look, I asked Joseph, "If I can find the M1 inhibitor, could it save my mother?"
Joseph's face reflected disbelief. "You have the inhibitor? That's impossible. My friend Andrew is gone, and no one else knows the experimental data or how to reproduce the formula."
"I was Professor Andrew's student, the one responsible for the lab accident," I replied calmly.
Joseph's breathing grew heavy, his disbelief evident.
"If that's true, then you might be able to continue his legacy. He always spoke highly of you," Joseph said, taking a deep breath as he tried to regain his composure.
"But please, keep this a secret. If the experimental results get out, we might end up like my professor." I warned.
Joseph's eyes widened with realization.
Suddenly, he grasped my hand tightly, his face full of earnest determination.
The intensity of his gaze made my face flush, and I instinctively pulled my hand away, feeling a little flustered.
Joseph didn't seem to mind, his tone resolute as he said, "You must complete the research. This could save lives and maybe even change the world. As a doctor, I wish you the best of luck."
I nodded, my expression equally serious.
After that, I left Joseph's office, trying to act as if nothing had happened.
The nurse guided me to pay for my mother's hospital stay.
"Sorry, ma'am, but your card is maxed out. You only have twenty thousand dollars remaining."
Clearly, Jack had already started taking action after I announced I wanted a divorce.
Twenty thousand dollars... It was the last straw that broke the back of my marriage with Jack.
'From now on, I'll have to rely on myself.' I thought resolutely.
'Now, I had to retrieve the M1 inhibitor and save my mother! If I remembered correctly, my professor had a backup of the formula, one I personally delivered to his home...'
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