After my entire body is sprayed with disinfectant and dried under ultraviolet light, I'm finally allowed to enter the room where Jennifer lies.
They've given me a green surgeon's gown—my clothes were definitely crawling with germs and bacteria. Dressed in the sterile outfit, I walk slowly into the room.
There she is.
Gracefully lying on the bed.
If it weren't for the cables connecting her to the machines, I might have believed she was simply asleep. Peaceful. Still. Beautiful.
But my heart clenches tightly the moment I see it—that iron spike still embedded in her chest. Left side. Piercing too close to her heart.
"Why haven't you removed that from her?" I snap, grabbing a man in a white coat as he passes behind me.
"I… I…"
"Take it off. Now," I growl, my teeth gritted, fingers tightening around his arm.
"We… we can't, sir…" the man finally stammers. Then, suddenly, his expression shifts—from fear to stunned recognition. "I know you."
"Deathstalker is dead," I mutter coldly.
"No! I know you!" he insists, eyes lighting up. "You're the man who saved my son."
My eyes narrow.
He continues, more animated now. "Two years ago. There was a fire in an apartment complex in City W. My son was trapped—alone. The fire crew couldn't reach him… their ladder couldn't even get close…"
The memory returns, clear as day.
It was two years ago. I had just eliminated a target and was climbing down from the rooftop when I saw the building below engulfed in flames. On my way down, I spotted a little boy in one of the windows. The apartment was at the same level as the fire's origin. Smoke was thick. The boy was coughing, crying—terrified.
I shattered the window, slung him over my back, and continued my descent down the building. The moment we reached the ground, a man—probably his father—rushed to his side.
I slipped away before anyone else could spot me.
That man… is now kneeling before me.
"Thank you… thank you…" he says, his voice cracking as tears spill down his face. "You saved his life. I owe you everything. I'll do anything—anything—to repay you."
I stand there, still stunned, unable to respond at first.
Then I find my voice.
"Then remove the iron from my wife," I say quietly.
He flinches. "That… we can't, sir. Truly…"
He sighs and lowers his head. "It's for the baby's sake."
I freeze.
"…What?"
"The iron—it's embedded deep into her heart. To remove it, we'd need to perform major surgery. And that would require stopping her heart for at least ten minutes. We can temporarily replace it with a machine, yes—but it won't pump blood strong enough to support the baby in her womb."
His words drop like lead into my chest.
A baby.
Our baby.
He sees the anguish in my eyes—sees how hard those words hit.
He places a hand gently on my shoulder. "Don't worry, sir. As soon as your baby is born, we'll remove the iron. I swear it. I, Paresh, promise to care for your wife with everything I have. I will make sure she—and your child—are safe. I promise you that… with my life."
I look into his eyes.
He means every word.
It hits me harder than any punch ever could.
I nod slowly. "Thank you."
Mr. Paresh begins to kneel again, but I stop him this time. "Please… don't," I say softly, helping him back to his feet.
He bows his head respectfully instead and expresses his gratitude several more times before excusing himself from the room.
After I'm left alone, I turn my gaze once again to the 'sleeping' Jennifer.
For what feels like five minutes—maybe more—I just stand there in silence, the soft beeping and hissing of machines filling the room. I don't even dare to touch her. It's as if one brush of my hand could shatter her, or worse… kill her.
That's how fragile she looks to me.
"She's beautiful," a voice says behind me.
I turn my head instantly—though I already knew whose voice it was.
Mrs. Rauss stands a few feet away, dressed in the same sterile green gown. The cut on her cheek has already been treated.
When I don't respond, she steps closer.
"Did you know she's the daughter of the greatest warrior this organization ever had?" she says—rhetorically, I assume. "I guess it's fate that you two ended up together."
I offer her a crooked smile. "And I guess you think you're above fate, so you decided to tear us apart."
"No… Quint… No…" she replies, shaking her head.
Out of the corner of my eye, I catch movement—shadows—entering the room.
"Death!!" a man shouts.
Fred.
Younger than me, same energy as always. He charges forward and hugs me like an overjoyed little brother.
I don't hug him back.
My eyes go past him—to the others.
Albert. Sarah. Bruno.
Bruno's eyes flicker with guilt, just for a second.
I push Fred off me with a firm grip on his shoulders. "I'm not Deathstalker," I say coldly, loud enough for all of them to hear.
Gasps ripple through the room.
"I'm here to take my wife," I continue, eyes narrowing at Bruno, "and to kill Lily."
"You…!" Bruno snarls, ready to lunge—but Albert and Sarah hold him back.
"Death…" Sarah tries to say.
"I'M NOT DEATHSTALKER!" I cut her off, my voice sharp, final.
"We—It's my fault," Sarah says anyway, her voice trembling.
"No. It's not your fault!" Albert snaps, defending her. "It's Viper. She's the one who started all this."
"She couldn't have done it without Black!" Bruno growls.
I turn my attention back to Jennifer and tune out the argument behind me. Their voices fade into background noise.
I feel Mrs. Rauss step beside me again.
"I want to bring her home," I say quietly, still staring at Jennifer.
"You can't," Mrs. Rauss says.
"I insist."
She sighs. "It's not that I forbid you, Quint… You just can't. She won't survive without these facilities."
"You're lying."
Another sigh. "I'm not."
"You lied to me when I was a kid. You lied about the brain surgery. You brainwashed me into joining this organization. You manipulated me into hurting my own sister."
I finally turn to face her. My voice lowers, but it's razor-sharp.
"Tell me—how am I supposed to believe anything you say now?"
She doesn't flinch. Instead, she asks calmly, "Do you remember the truth serum?"
My eyes narrow. "What about it?"
"Come to my office," she says. "We'll have that conversation… with the serum."