Without wasting another second, Jeremy moved to the table where all the herbs had been laid out. His hands worked with practiced precision, arranging each bundle and dried leaf in perfect order around the altar. Every plant had its place, every root and flower positioned exactly where it needed to be according to patterns he'd memorized years ago but hoped he'd never have to use again.Oliver stepped back, giving him space to work. The room fell silent except for the soft crackling of the candles and Jeremy's controlled breathing as he placed the final herb—a twisted black root that seemed to absorb the flickering light around it at the head of the altar near his daughter's still form.Jeremy straightened up, rolling his shoulders back as he prepared himself for what came next. His eyes closed for a brief moment, and when they opened again, something had shifted in his expression. The desperate father was still there, but now there was something else too—something ancient and powerful

Without wasting another moment, Jeremy reached up toward the floating crimson mass that pulsed above his daughter's still form. The red pill had finished its transformation, glowing with that impossible deep color that seemed to hold life itself within its core. His hands, still crackling with traces of blue energy, carefully guided the refined medicine downward until it settled into his palm.The heat from the pill surprised him—not burning, but warm like it had absorbed all the life force from the herbs and concentrated it into this single, perfect creation. Jeremy moved quickly to the side table where Oliver had placed several small glass bottles, each one no bigger than his thumb. The pill began to separate on its own as he held it over the first bottle, breaking apart into exactly three equal pieces, each one glowing with the same intense red light as the original.Three pills. Three chances to save his daughter's life.Jeremy capped the bottles carefully, his hands steady despit

At that moment, upon hearing what Oliver just said, Jeremy didn't even raise his head. He kept his eyes fixed on Mia's forehead, his arms wrapped around her small, cold body as he pulled her closer to his chest. The pain radiating through him felt like it was tearing him apart from the inside, and the last thing he wanted was someone trying to make him feel better about the biggest failure of his life.“I don't want anybody to console me,” Jeremy said, his voice flat and dead in a way that made Oliver take a step back. “Don't tell me sorry. Don't give me your sympathy.” His grip tightened on Mia, and when he continued speaking, there was a bitter edge to his words that cut through the air like a blade. “I'm the cause of all this. Me. I disappointed her. I failed Mia when she needed me most, and I don't want anybody to stand here and try to tell me it's okay, because it's not okay. This is my failure, and mine alone.”The candles flickered around them, shadows dancing across the wall

Immediately Jeremy's jaw tightened as he considered what still lay ahead. Mia hadn't gotten herself fully back yet. Her body was functioning now, her heart was beating and her lungs were working, but the underlying sickness that had caused all this was still there, lurking beneath the surface like a poison that hadn't been fully cleansed from her system. Without proper treatment, without the right medicine, she could relapse. She could get worse. She could end up right back on this altar, and next time even the red pills might not be enough to save her.What she needed for a complete cure wasn't something he could create in this warehouse. It required herbs that were almost impossible to find, plants that grew in only the most remote and dangerous places in the world. The king of herbs, as they were called in the old texts—legendary medicines that most practitioners spent their entire lives searching for without ever laying eyes on a single leaf.Jeremy had seen them before, years ag

Immediately, without wasting another second, his crisp voice came through the phone, carrying the efficiency and professionalism that Jeremy had come to rely on over the years.“Yes, sir,” he said, and Jeremy could hear the satisfaction in his tone that came from a job well done. “I've taken care of everything you asked me to handle. The name you provided has been dealt with completely—all loose ends tied up, just as you specified.” There was a brief pause as he seemed to be checking notes or documents on his end. “And the mansion you requested at Diamond Estate has also been secured. Everything is in order, sir. The property has been fully prepared and staffed according to your specifications.”Jeremy felt a weight lift from his shoulders that he hadn't even realized he'd been carrying. he never failed to deliver, but given everything that had happened tonight, Jeremy had needed to hear those exact words. Having a secure location ready, somewhere he could take Mia while she recovere