Chapter 3

"We can't cause any more trouble for Stuart — this is just our fate!"

"This is God's test for us. Maybe, just like the priest said, we're paying for our sins."

"Diana, you're such a good girl. You've been in our home for so many years — we've long thought of you as my own daughter."

"I've never heard of anyone beating cancer. Looks like I'm done for. Stuart's still in prison, and our family has fallen this low — we can't waste any more money, especially not the money you've saved up."

In the hospital room, an old man with blond hair and a slightly heavy build lay in the bed, barely hanging on.

His name was Ryan Schulz — Stuart's father.

Just the day before, the man his daughter-in-law had been seeing behind everyone's back had shown up with a group of men, driven them out of their own home, and broken his legs.

Some kind strangers had helped them get to the hospital. After a checkup, the doctors delivered more bad news — Ryan had cancer, already in its final stage, with less than three months to live. The only silver lining was their adopted daughter Diana, who was there by their side. Without her, the old couple wouldn't have known how to carry on.

Diana was in tears, her pretty face streaked with them. After all those years, Diana had long since come to see the two elders as her real parents and this house as her true home.

Just as the three of them were crying and losing hope, the hospital room door suddenly swung open.

Stuart stepped in, a gentle smile on his face. "Mom, Dad, Diana. I'm back."

Confusion, surprise, and shock all flashed across their faces at once — and then burst into pure joy.

"My boy! You're back!!"

"Stew!!!"

Diana was the first to react. She laughed through her tears and threw herself straight into Stuart's arms.

Same as always, this girl.

"God bless you — look how tall you've gotten, Diana!"

Stuart ruffled her hair. She was nearly up to his shoulder now. But as he held her, something felt off. There was something pressing against his chest — two soft, round somethings — and it hit him all at once what they were. He felt a sudden rush of awkwardness and quickly stepped back, holding her at arm's length.

This girl had grown up.

"It's so good to have you back, Stuart. It's been so long since we've all been together."

"Mom, Dad — I know you've been through so much today. I've heard everything that happened."

At that, the joy faded from Diana's face, replaced by the same despair from before. She hurried to the bedside table, grabbed a piece of paper, and handed it to Stuart. "Stuart, our dad..."

Stuart noticed the expressions on all three of them and unfolded the paper. The words "late-stage pancreatic cancer" stared back at him.

Diana started crying again, tears streaming down her face. "Stew, what are we going to do? Does late-stage cancer mean there's no way to treat it?"

Stuart didn't panic. He gently ran a hand over Diana's hair, his voice calm and steady. "It's okay. I'll get father better." He turned to look at Ryan. "Dad, don't worry. I have a way to treat your illness."

The words had barely left his mouth when a scoff came from outside the room. "Treat late-stage cancer? Why not say you can raise the dead while you're at it?"

Everyone in the room turned to look. Two doctors in white coats were walking in through the door — one appeared to be the attending physician, the other a recently graduated medical assistant.

"From a medical standpoint, what the patient needs most right now is rest. Please try not to disturb him too much." The attending physician spoke carefully. "Late-stage cancer remains one of the conditions that modern medicine has yet to fully overcome. That said, I've already reached out to my mentor, Dr. Wilson from the Royal Medical Center — he finds your case of great interest and may be able to play a very meaningful role in your ongoing treatment. Please rest assured — while a complete cure may not be possible, we can absolutely work to improve your quality of life in this final stage, so that you can spend your remaining time in greater comfort." His voice dropped slightly toward the end. "However..."

"However what?"

"However, the costs are quite high. But there's no need to worry — our hospital can arrange a loan to cover the medical expenses."

At those words, Ryan, Stuart, and Dani — Stuart's mother — all felt their hearts sink.

Their financial situation made the fees the doctor described completely out of reach.

As for a loan — did they even qualify for one large enough to cover the costs? And even if they did, could they ever pay back the interest?

"There's no need for any of that." Stuart's voice remained calm and reassuring. "Dad, I can bring in a far more elite medical team to treat you. Cancer is something they've already solved. It just hasn't been made public — only a very small number of people have access to it."

The same ill-timed scoff cut through the room. "Please. What a load of nonsense. Do you have any idea how hard it is to cure cancer? That's just scientifically impossible."

It was the medical assistant — clearly a fresh graduate doing his internship. His name tag read: Cambridge University, General Clinical Medicine — Frank Leonard.

Stuart had no interest in arguing with him. Honestly, he didn't even consider him worth the effort. He didn't bother explaining himself.

Instead, he pulled out his phone and made a call.

"Send Owen Carter over. My father needs him. Tell him to bring his whole team."

Stuart's voice was clear and even — just loud enough for everyone in the room to hear.

Frank Leonard burst out laughing. "Ha! You should really do your homework before you start making things up. Do you even know who Owen Carter is?!"