Chapter 2 - The Fading Miracle
The unnatural warmth in Ethan's legs began to fade the moment they returned to their luxury penthouse.
Robert paced frantically across the marble floor while a private team of elite doctors examined his terrified son.
The lead neurologist stepped out of the bedroom, his face completely pale and slick with nervous sweat.
He informed Robert that Ethan's nervous system was currently experiencing a massive, unprecedented electrical surge.
If they did not stabilize the boy's rapidly dropping heart rate, the temporary healing would permanently damage his vital organs.
Robert realized that whatever magical condition the girl had triggered was now actively killing his only child.
He immediately fired the doctors and deployed his massive corporate intelligence division to track the mysterious child.
His ruthless Wall Street analysts used illegal facial recognition software across every public camera in New York City.
Within three agonizing hours, they found a single, blurry match entering an abandoned subway station in deep Brooklyn.
Robert grabbed his personal firearm from the safe and rushed out the door without bothering to call for police backup.
He navigated the dark, flooded tunnels of the forgotten subway line with only the harsh light of his smartphone.
The damp air smelled heavily of rust and decay, a world completely foreign to the billionaire CEO.
He finally reached a hollowed-out maintenance room illuminated by a dozen flickering wax candles.
The little girl was sitting calmly on a filthy mattress, eating a stale piece of bread she had dug out of a dumpster.
She looked up at the desperate billionaire without a single ounce of fear in her amber eyes.
"You took too long, Mr. Sterling," she said, her voice echoing unnaturally in the underground chamber.
Robert aimed his weapon directly at her chest, demanding that she fix whatever she had done to his dying son.
The girl smiled sadly, reached into her faded hoodie, and tossed a heavy, encrypted USB drive onto the concrete floor.
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She told him that healing requires a fair trade, and food was no longer enough to balance the universe's scales.
She promised to save Ethan only if Robert publicly released the horrific secrets hidden on that drive.
