Chapter 158: Don’t Look
Dominic's palm was covered in thick calluses from years of handling firearms, those rough textures gently scraping against Penelope's delicate skin.
He didn't want Penelope to see the cold, clinical words in those files—records that documented how they'd dissected him like some kind of monster, how they'd drawn his blood over and over again.
He'd always worked so hard to maintain a strong image in front of her. He didn't want her to see the most pathetic, most wretched parts of himself.
The intense metallic scent of blood from his palm, mixed with the rough texture of his calluses, made Penelope's eyelashes flutter uncontrollably.
"Don't look at this garbage. It'll taint your eyes."
Dominic's voice sounded unnaturally calm, even carrying a deliberately forced lightness, as if coaxing a tantrum-throwing child.
But Penelope could feel it clearly—that large hand covering her eyes was trembling ever so slightly.
This man who never even flinched in a hail of bullets was now afraid of her seeing those unbearable memories from his past.
Penelope gripped Dominic's wrist with both hands, trying to pull his hand away, only to discover his strength was terrifyingly immense.
"Dominic, move your damn hand. I need to see exactly how much they owe you in blood debt, and I'm going to make them pay it back a hundred times over!"
She snarled through gritted teeth, scalding tears seeping through Dominic's fingers, burning his palm so intensely it flinched.
Their bodies struggled violently in front of the control panel, the surrounding air so oppressive it was nearly suffocating.
Sam and Sebastian stood nearby, not daring to intervene, helplessly watching this pair bound by fate torture each other.
Just as Penelope was about to break free from his grasp, Dominic's tall, solid body suddenly swayed violently without warning.
The veins on his neck instantly bulged, as if countless black worms were writhing frantically beneath his skin.
A deeply suppressed groan of agony escaped his throat, followed immediately by an intense, nauseating stench that spread through the air.
Dominic abruptly released his hand from Penelope's eyes, his entire body collapsing forward like a toppling iron tower.
Penelope cried out in alarm, quickly extending both arms to catch his impossibly heavy, broken body.
The massive impact forced her back two steps, her spine slamming hard against the edge of the control panel, making her gasp sharply in pain.
Dominic's chin landed heavily on Penelope's thin shoulder, and a horrifying mouthful of black blood gushed from his lips.
That viscous black blood, reeking of harsh chemicals, instantly soaked through Penelope's clothes, streaming down her back in large patches.
His body convulsed violently in her arms, that sensation of life force rapidly draining away completely panicking her.
"Dominic, you hold on. Sam, get the emergency medical team up here now!"
Penelope's voice pierced through the monitoring room's silence with a shrill desperation. She clutched Dominic's waist tightly, tears streaming down her face uncontrollably.
Dominic struggled to lift his hand, now covered in black blood, wanting to touch her cheek, but it fell limply in midair.
"Penelope, don't look. Dirty."
Those few words were like a rusty saw, viciously tearing back and forth across Penelope's heart, the pain nearly suffocating her.
She held that impossibly heavy man tightly, letting the foul-smelling black blood soak through her clothes and drip onto the floor below.
"Sam, get the emergency team up here NOW with all the equipment, move!"
Penelope's voice cracked with desperation, those eyes that usually held calculated coldness now filled with undissolvable panic and despair.
Sam scrambled out of the monitoring room in a panic, Sebastian following quickly to help, and the entire top floor instantly descended into chaos.
The emergency team rushed into the monitoring room. The lead doctor's expression changed drastically upon seeing the festering wounds on Dominic's chest and abdomen, immediately establishing an IV line without a word.
"High-potency coagulants combined with vasopressors can suppress the toxins for maybe half an hour, but the cost is the backlash will be even worse. His current state is burning through whatever life he has left."
The doctor finished speaking to Penelope in a low voice, then quickly directed the nurses to transfer Dominic to the nearby leather sofa.
Half an hour later, the air in the top-floor monitoring room of Quantum Nexus Labs remained oppressively cold.
The medical team had already administered the highest-grade pain suppressants and coagulants to Dominic, barely stabilizing the toxins raging through his system.
Penelope kicked everyone out—Sam, Sebastian, and all the doctors—then locked the heavy metal door of the monitoring room behind them.
On the wide leather sofa, Dominic lay quietly, his brow still furrowed in pain, his face pale as crumpled paper.
Penelope, barefoot with bandages still wrapped around her feet, limped to the sofa, carrying a basin of warm water and medical alcohol.
Looking at his devastated body, her eyes reddened again uncontrollably, tears pooling and threatening to spill over.
Under the harsh lighting, the crisscrossing scars—old and new—covering Dominic's body appeared particularly horrifying, each one silently testifying to years of inhuman torture.
Penelope picked up medical scissors and carefully cut away the gauze stuck to his flesh, each tug feeling like her own heart was bleeding.
Across his chest ran a dark red scar at least five inches long, clearly a lethal wound from live tissue punctures performed years ago.
Penelope's fingers traced that scar involuntarily, the rough texture beneath her fingertips making nausea churn violently in her stomach.
She took a clean medical gauze pad, dampened it with warm water, and wiped the black blood from the corner of his mouth and chin with the gentlest movements.
She remembered that classified file Sebastian had brought, remembered how at seven or eight years old, he'd forced those toxins—the kind that could drive someone insane with pain—into his own mouth.
She remembered how Dominic had stood behind her countless times like it was nothing, taking bullets and blades meant for her, never once even frowning.
She remembered the flash of pain and restraint in his eyes every time he watched her drink those so-called 'lifesaving medicines'—he'd known all along.
He'd shouldered all the guilt and suffering alone, protecting her like a hothouse flower beneath his wings.
"Dominic, you complete and utter lunatic. Do you really think you're some omnipotent god?"
She cursed him through her tears, her voice barely above a whisper, yet her hands moved as gently as if handling the most fragile treasure in existence.
When she carefully unwrapped the bandages around Dominic's abdomen—completely soaked through with black blood—his long eyelashes suddenly fluttered violently.
Dominic struggled to open those bloodshot eyes, his vision blurry as it focused on Penelope's tear-streaked face.
Instinctively, he tried to lift his hand to cover the ugly scars on his body, but Penelope firmly pinned his wrist down.