Chapter 148 The New Faces

Chapter 148 The New Faces
The New Faces

Liam’s POV

One week later

I burst through the front door so fast I almost slammed into a group of people in white lab coats rushing out of Dylan’s room. They kept their heads down as they hurried past me, refusing to look me in the eyes. It was as if they’d been warned not to say a single word to me.

“Wait!”

I grabbed the arm of the closest man before he could get away. My fingers dug into his sleeve harder than I intended, but I didn’t care.

“What happened in there?” I demanded, my voice shaking. “Where is he? What did you do to him?”

The man’s face instantly went pale. Fear flashed across his eyes as he looked over his shoulder, checking to see if anyone was watching.

“I… I can’t tell you,” he whispered. “If I say anything, I’ll end up dead.”

Before I could stop him, he yanked his arm free and hurried after the others. Within seconds, they were gone, leaving me standing there with nothing but a thousand terrifying thoughts racing through my head.

A sick feeling settled in my stomach as I turned toward Dylan’s room. Every step felt heavier than the last, as though my body already knew I wasn’t going to like what I found.

The moment I walked inside, my heart broke.

Empty syringes were scattered across the floor. Some still had their protective caps on, while others had been thrown aside after being used. The room smelled sharply of medicine, and the sight alone made my heart pound against my ribs.

“Dylan…”

I rushed to the bed and gathered him into my arms. My hands shook as I cupped his face, desperately searching for the smallest sign that he knew I was there but I got nothing.

He didn’t open his eyes. He didn’t move. He didn’t even react to my touch. His body stayed completely limp, just as it had the last time I’d held him, and that terrified me more than anything.

The tears I’d been trying so hard to hold back finally spilled over. I buried my face against him, praying for a miracle that never came. I wanted him to wake up, to complain about me squeezing him too tightly, to say anything at all.

But the room stayed painfully silent.

I don’t know how long I sat there holding him. Minutes passed, maybe longer, until the helplessness inside me slowly turned into something hotter. The grief was still there, crushing my chest, but anger forced its way through it. 

Carefully, I laid Dylan back on the bed and stood. I closed my eyes, letting my senses spread through the house until they caught the familiar scent I was looking for… Rosalie.

I followed her trail without hesitation. Every step carried the promise of answers, and this time, I wasn’t leaving without them. It led me straight to her office.

The moment I walked into Rosalie’s office and saw her sitting calmly behind her desk, something inside me finally broke.

She looked completely at peace, as if nothing had happened. As if Dylan wasn’t lying unconscious in the next room while I was falling apart.

The sight of her calm expression filled me with so much rage that I couldn’t think straight.

I charged at her.

I wanted her to feel even a small part of the fear and pain she’d put me through this past week. I wanted answers, and I wanted them now.

She didn’t panic.

She didn’t even bother getting out of her chair.

Instead, she lifted one finger and lightly tapped it against the wooden desk.

The next thing I knew, my feet were no longer able to move.

An invisible force slammed into me, throwing me across the room. I crashed onto the floor hard enough to knock the air from my lungs. Pain shot through my body, and for a second I could only stare at the ceiling, trying to understand what had just happened.

I forced myself onto my knees, glaring at her through the anger burning in my eyes.

“What did you do to him?” I shouted, my voice shaking. “You experimented on him without telling me. You didn’t even ask for my permission!”

Rosalie didn’t react to my outburst. She simply looked at me with the same calm expression she’d had when I walked in.

“I was trying to save him,” she said quietly. “I knew you’d come here eventually, Liam. I’ve been expecting this conversation.”

I let out a bitter laugh that sounded more like a choke.

“Save him?” I repeated. “You call this saving him? He hasn’t opened his eyes in a week!”

“Ethan only completed half of the ritual before you killed him. That’s why Dylan is trapped like this. His body is caught between the present world and the underworld. Ever since that night, I’ve been doing everything I can to finish what Ethan started and bring him back.”

Her words only made me feel worse.

I thought about the people in white coats rushing out of Dylan’s room, the fear in the doctor’s eyes, and the syringes scattered across the floor.

“The people I just saw leaving his room…” I said, struggling to keep my voice under control. “Who are they?”

“They’re professionals,” Rosalie answered. “Vampires with years of experience handling cases like Dylan’s. I searched everywhere and brought in the best people I could find.”

I stared at her, wanting to believe she was telling the truth, but every instinct in me screamed otherwise.

Slowly, I shook my head.

“I can’t do this anymore, Rosalie,” I said, my voice breaking. “Every day I sit there hoping he’ll wake up, and every day nothing changes. I have to take him to a hospital.  Maybe they can help him before it’s too late.”

Rosalie sighed, leaning back in her chair as she folded her hands on the desk.

“And what do you think they’ll do?” she asked. “Run blood tests? Brain scans? Keep him under observation?”

She held my gaze before continuing.

“They’ll find nothing, Liam. Nothing that explains what’s happening to him, because this isn’t an illness or an injury that human medicine understands. Dylan’s condition is supernatural. No human doctor can fix it.”

Her voice softened just a little.

“I know you’re scared. I know waiting is tearing you apart. But taking him to a hospital won’t save him.”

She paused, letting her words sink in.

“You need to be patient.”

I lowered myself into the chair across from her, feeling as though every bit of strength had drained out of my body. The anger that had carried me into her office was still there, but exhaustion was stronger now. My head ached, my chest felt tight, and all I could think about was Dylan lying motionless upstairs.

Neither of us spoke for a long time. Rosalie rested her hands on the desk, her eyes fixed on nothing in particular as she thought. I did the same, desperately searching for an answer that didn’t seem to exist. Every option we had led to another dead end, and with each passing day, hope felt harder to hold on to.

Finally, Rosalie let out a slow breath.

“There might be someone else,” she said carefully. “Someone who may be able to help Dylan.”

My heart skipped a beat.

Before I could say anything, she continued.

“But going to that person comes with a price. If we choose that path, it could create problems far worse than the one we’re already facing.”

I didn’t even stop to think about it.

“I don’t care,” I said, leaning forward in my chair. My voice was rough from exhaustion, but there wasn’t a trace of hesitation in it. “Whatever it takes, I’ll do it. I’ll pay any price if it means saving him.”

Rosalie didn’t answer right away.

She simply looked at me, her eyes searching my face as though she was trying to decide whether I truly understood what I was saying. There was sadness in her expression now, mixed with a fear I hadn’t seen before.

The silence between us grew heavier.

When she finally spoke, her voice was so quiet it barely rose above a whisper.

“I’m not ready to lose you too.”

Her words caught me off guard.

I realized that this wasn’t just about Dylan. Whatever she was afraid to tell me, it wasn’t only Dylan’s life hanging in the balance.

She was afraid that saving him might cost her mine.