Chapter 115: I Am Dawn

Ophelia ignored Emily's snide remarks. Hearing broken sobs coming from the living room, she paused mid-step. "What's wrong with Geraldo?"

She walked over to the couch and asked gently, "Mom, what happened?"

Cynthia looked up at her, tears streaming down her face. "Geraldo... he was shot during an arrest operation. The doctors say his condition is critical — if he doesn't get surgery soon, he won't make it. Every specialist they've brought in is at a loss. The only hope is finding the miracle healer Dawn, but no one knows where she is..."

Ophelia's brow furrowed. A flash of last night's firefight on the outskirts of the city crossed her mind — so Geraldo had been the one who took a bullet for his teammate.

"Geraldo's job is that dangerous?" she pressed.

"I only found out last night that he works for the National Security Agency," Cynthia said, shaking her head weakly. "He kept it from all of us. No one expected him to get hurt this badly..."

Before Cynthia could finish, Emily cut in with a look of irritation. "What's the point of telling her any of this? Mom, the only person who can save Geraldo is Aunt Qiana. She knows everyone and has connections everywhere. If we ask her for help, she'll find Dawn for sure."

Ophelia laughed inwardly. "Do you actually not know, or are you just pretending?"

Emily looked confused. "What do you mean? What am I supposed to know?"

"Aunt Qiana has been committed to a psychiatric facility," Ophelia said, her voice calm but the words landing like a bombshell. "You two were so close — practically mother and daughter. You really didn't know?"

"That's impossible!" Emily's face went pale. "Stop making things up! Aunt Qiana is perfectly fine. There's no way she'd be in a psychiatric facility. Ophelia, are you so threatened by our happiness that you'd just lie like this?"

Ophelia replied evenly, "She went to extreme lengths to destroy her own niece. If that's not losing her mind, what is?"

Emily froze. It all clicked — Qiana had said she'd arranged for someone to teach Ophelia a lesson, but there had been no follow-up. It wasn't that nothing had happened. The plan had just failed.

Thank God Qiana hadn't given her name up. Otherwise, she'd be done for.

After a few seconds of barely-contained panic, Emily steadied herself and met Ophelia's gaze. "I never heard anything about this."

"Oh," Ophelia said with a slow, knowing smile. "I figured you two were so close you'd know everything. Guess the bond wasn't quite what it seemed."

The two of them were going back and forth, but Cynthia's mind was entirely on her son, barely clinging to life. "Stop arguing, both of you. What do we do now? If nothing else, maybe we go to the care facility and ask Qiana? She has connections — she might actually know where to find Dawn."

"That won't be necessary," Ophelia said, waving it off. "I know where Dawn is. Mom, which hospital is Geraldo in?"

"The Military Medical Center!" A flicker of hope lit up in Cynthia's eyes. "Ophelia, do you really know Dawn? Can you reach her and ask her to operate on Geraldo?"

At that, a look of hesitation crossed Ophelia's face.

At a regular hospital, she could have slipped past the checks and performed the surgery herself. But the Military Medical Center was a different story — tight security, no unauthorized access, let alone the chance to actually operate.

The brief silence gave Emily exactly the opening she was looking for. She burst out laughing. "I knew it — you're lying again! Ophelia, can you stop making things up? Dawn has been impossible to track down. The NSA and the Jones family have had people searching everywhere and come up empty. And you think you can just casually claim you know where she is? Geraldo's life is on the line. We don't have time for your games!"

Just then, steady footsteps came from the entryway. Liam walked in, looking completely worn out.

Cynthia rushed to him immediately, her voice shaking. "Liam, you're back — how's Geraldo?"

Liam let out a heavy sigh and pressed his fingers to his temple. "Not good. Geraldo's in the ICU — no visitors allowed. The doctors said if they can't find the miracle healer Dawn within twenty-four hours, once the toxin reaches his heart and lungs, there's nothing anyone can do."

A wave of despair washed over the room.

Every contact, every channel they'd tried — not a single lead on Dawn.

Cynthia broke down sobbing. "How did it come to this..."

"I'm not giving up on Geraldo!" Emily cried, tears running down her face. She spun around and made for the door. "I'm going to find Aunt Qiana. She knows people — she'll find a way to locate Dawn!"

But she barely made it to the doorway before Brandon grabbed her by the wrist and pulled her back into the living room.

"Where do you think you're going?" he said, his tone a mix of frustration and exhaustion.

"Brandon, let go of me! I'm going to find Aunt Qiana — she's the only one who can save Geraldo right now!" Emily struggled against his grip.

"Don't be stupid." Brandon pushed her down onto the couch. "Qiana is completely useless. What exactly is she going to do for Geraldo? Will you just think for a second?"

"You're wrong. Aunt Qiana is capable and well-connected. You don't know her like I do." Emily's face was flushed with indignation.

Brandon looked at her — still so sheltered, still so naive — and sighed. "Mom, Dad, there are some things Emily needs to hear. Emily, that fifty million dollars Aunt Qiana said would buy the Reversion Pill? That was a lie. The money went straight into her own pocket."

"And Ophelia was attacked a few days ago. Aunt Qiana was behind it. She's not the person you think she is. I don't want you having anything to do with her anymore."

"That can't be right... it can't be!" Emily kept shaking her head, her face drained of color. "Aunt Qiana loves me. She would never do that to me. Stop trying to turn me against her!"

Crying and shouting filled the living room. Ophelia took a deep breath and cut through the noise. "Everyone, stop. Dad, Brandon — come with me. I need to talk to you."

Emily exploded. "Why do you need to pull them aside? Why can't you say it here? What are you up to, Ophelia? I know exactly what this is — you're jealous that Geraldo cares about me and looks out for me. You're scared that when he wakes up, he'll come after you. So you're stalling on purpose. You want to just stand there and watch Geraldo die. You're sick, and I won't let you get away with it!"

Ophelia just smiled. "You're reading way too much into this. I don't even know what your relationship with Geraldo is like."

Liam rubbed his temple again, exhausted. "Ophelia, we're family — no secrets. Emily's old enough to hear whatever it is. Just say it here."

Every eye in the room turned to Ophelia. She slowly looked up, her cool gaze moving across each face in the room, and said the words that left everyone speechless.

"You can stop looking. I'm Dawn."