The Shadow from His Past
Chapter 6
My mom had been rushed into the emergency room.
The doctor furrowed his brow as he addressed Chandler.
“Are you family? The patient's condition is critical. We will do our utmost to save her, but you need to sign these consent forms first.”
Chandler hesitated but eventually signed the document.
He then sent me another voice message: [Where on earth have you been? Don’t you know your mom is dying?]
Pauline tried to soothe him. “Maybe Mariah has something important to handle. Let’s not disturb her.”
But Chandler ignored her and kept trying to reach me.
I, however, remained unresponsive.
With no other option, he called the hospital's reception. “Could you please connect me to Mariah Corey in Room 1032?”
The duty nurse looked taken aback. “Miss Mariah Corey? She… has already passed away…”
Chandler froze in disbelief. “How is that possible?”
He refused to accept that I was truly gone, even doubting the accuracy of the phone number he had dialed.
Without wasting a moment, he hung up and began searching for another number to call.
“What’s wrong?” Pauline asked anxiously.
“Nothing. Some scammer claimed Mariah is dead… How could she possibly be dead? Didn’t she receive the new miracle drug to keep her alive?”
A flicker of visible panic crossed Pauline's face.
She quickly squeezed Chandler's hand.
“Don’t worry, we’ll cross that bridge when we come to it—”
But she didn’t get to finish her sentence before Chandler’s phone rang again.
This time, it was his assistant, Ben.
Chandler wearily answered, “What is it?”
Ben swallowed hard as he deliberated about how to deliver the next piece of news.
Taking a deep breath, he finally said, “Professor Rotterdam, do you remember the female corpse sample we examined this afternoon?
“I verified the details, and her sample code is A167, belonging to Pauline’s laboratory.”
Chandler’s body went rigid, his expression darkening.
“A167?! Are you sure you didn’t make a mistake?”
“I’m sure…” Ben sighed. “That was your wife, Mariah’s trial number, Professor.
“And the child she carried… We’ve confirmed it as well.
“It was a girl. Mariah had been pregnant for nearly four months, but due to the effects of the experimental medication, her limbs were almost completely deteriorated, resulting in fetal demise.”
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