Chapter 3
1089 Words
It was written on a piece of paper that smelled murky.
Adrian snapped his head up to see if anyone was looking at him. The hospital corridor was quiet except for the humming of the machines and the distant footsteps of nurses moving between rooms.
No one was looking.
However, he wasn't excited sitting alone on the cold metal chair, because all he could feel was everything from exhaustion to confusion.
For years, he had thought of it as nothing more than a family keepsake. His mother had given it to him the day he proposed to Vanessa, telling him it had belonged to his grandmother before her.
At the time, he had believed it symbolized love and trust.
Now, after everything that had happened…
Whoever designed this necklace had made sure no one would notice it unless they were looking very closely. Slowly, Adrian unfolded the small piece of paper.
The handwriting was all cursive and Adrian recognized it immediately. It was his grandfather’s handwriting.
For a moment, Adrian felt a strange wave of emotion rise in his chest. His grandfather had passed away years ago, but he had always been one of the most important people in Adrian’s life.
Taking a slow breath, Adrian began reading.
It explained something Adrian had never known before.
Years ago, long before Adrian was born, Margaret Cole had once helped an elderly herbal doctor during a terrible storm. The man had been injured and stranded near the outskirts of the city. Many people had ignored him, but Margaret had taken him home, cared for his wounds, and helped him recover.
The man, whose name was written simply as Dr. Mateo Moreno, had been deeply grateful.
According to the note, Dr. Moreno was not an ordinary herbal doctor. He was known among a small circle of medical researchers for his knowledge of rare medicinal plants that could treat injuries modern medicine sometimes struggled with.
As a way of repaying Margaret’s kindness, the doctor had shared a secret with Adrian’s grandfather. He had hidden the locations of seven rare herbs across different parts of the city and its surrounding areas.
Each herb possessed powerful healing properties when used together. The note explained that these herbs could treat severe internal injuries if prepared correctly.
Adrian’s fingers tightened slightly as he read the last line of that part of the message.
“If Margaret or her son ever faces a life-threatening injury, these herbs may save her.”
Adrian leaned back against the chair.
Seven herbs.
Suddenly, his mother’s life suddenly felt less hopeless.
But the note was not finished.
Adrian looked down again and continued reading.
The second part of the message was stranger.
His grandfather explained that the necklace itself had another purpose beyond hiding the note. Inside the pendant, was a sequence of small numbers.
Adrian hadn’t noticed them before. Now, as he tilted the pendant closer to the light above him, he saw them clearly.
Tiny numbers, arranged in a pattern that looked almost random.
At first glance, they meant nothing.
But Adrian knew his grandfather well enough to understand one thing. The old man had never done anything without a reason.
Adrian stared at the numbers for several long seconds.
Something about them felt familiar.
Then suddenly, a memory surfaced in his mind. When Adrian was younger, his grandfather had often talked about numbers as if they were living things. He loved puzzles, probability games, and mathematical patterns.
More than once, he had joked that the national lottery system wasn’t truly random.
“Every system has patterns,” his grandfather had once said while scribbling numbers across a sheet of paper. “People just don’t look hard enough.”
Adrian leaned forward slowly.
The numbers inside the necklace suddenly began to make more sense. His grandfather had created a predictive sequence designed to analyze patterns within lottery draws.
Adrian’s heart began to beat faster.
If the formula worked the way his grandfather intended, it could be used to calculate possible number combinations for future lottery games.
In other words, he could win!
Adrian sat there silently, taking in the possibility of being a billionaire overnight. Enough money to stand in front of Vanessa Beaumont again without being treated like nothing.
But Adrian forced himself to calm down.
The note included one final warning written carefully beneath the numbers.
“Use this knowledge only after finding the herbs. When you find the last herb, you find the last number.”
Adrian folded the paper slowly.
Seven rare plants hidden somewhere in the city… he didn’t know where to begin searching, but at least he finally had a direction.
Just then, footsteps approached from the end of the corridor.
Adrian quickly folded the paper.
Clara appeared again, holding her phone tightly. Her face looked tired, but her eyes observed her brother carefully.
“I called everyone I could think of,” she said quietly as she walked toward him. “My professors, some classmates, even the student support office. People are trying to help, but… it’s still nowhere near enough.”
Adrian nodded slowly.
“That’s okay,” he said.
Clara frowned slightly. “What do you mean?”
Instead of answering immediately, Adrian held out the necklace.
“There’s something you need to see.”
Clara sat down beside him as he carefully unfolded the note again and showed her the numbers inside the pendant.
For the next several minutes, Adrian explained everything.
When he finished, Clara stared at the necklace with wide eyes.
“You’re saying these herbs could actually help Mom and make us rich?” she asked.
Adrian nodded.
“And these numbers… they might be a lottery formula your grandfather created?”
“Yes.”
Clara was silent for a moment.
Then a slow smile appeared on her face.
“Well,” she said softly, “it looks like Grandpa left us more than just a memory.”
Adrian closed the necklace again and slipped it back into his pocket.
Somewhere out there were seven herbs that might save his mother’s life.
And hidden within the same small pendant was the key to a future no one—not even Vanessa—could have imagined.
Adrian stood up slowly. “Ah!” He grimaced. His body was still aching from the crash. But his mind was clearer now.
One day, things would be different.
But first, he had a mission.
He looked at Clara.
“We’re going to find those herbs,” he said.
Clara nodded firmly.
- Writer
