Dr. Aldous Mercer was an authority in internal medicine, and in his professional opinion, acupuncture was nothing more than an elaborate parlor trick devised by Eastern charlatans to swindle the gullible.
After the ninth needle descended, three seconds passed in silence. Then the old man's body gave a sudden, violent tremor. Quinn Thorne moved instantly, pulling the oxygen mask away from the patient's face.
A wretched retching sound filled the room, and the Ashford patriarch turned his head to the side, expelling a mouthful of blood so dark it was nearly black. The viscous fluid splattered against the sterile white sheets, and then, as if a dam had broken, his chest began to rise and fall with increasing rhythm. Shallow at first, then deeper, steadier, until his breathing settled into so
