Cloudcrest, Black family Estate..
Christian lay in his bedroom, deep in a coma.
His brows were tightly furrowed, as if wrestling with some relentless nightmare.
After a rasping cough, he finally awoke, lifting his leaden eyelids with obvious effort.
"Thank God! Mr. Blake is awake!" The attendant who had been keeping vigil cried out joyfully and immediately turned to inform the matriarch.
Claire staggered into the room moments later, clutching her son's ice-cold hands.
Tears sprang to her eyes as she pressed his fingers to her cheek. "Christian! You're finally awake! You scared me to death, my son!"
But Christian's first conscious act wasn't to ask about his own condition.
Struggling against his weakened body, he forced himself upright, his voice hoarse from disuse.
"Mom," he raspe
