Chapter 78 *
Scarlett's POV
My mind went somewhere else. Back to the beginning.
I was born broken.
Cerebral palsy. Severe brain damage from oxygen deprivation during birth.
The doctors told my biological parents I'd never be normal. Never speak properly. Never think clearly.
I'd be a vegetable. A burden. Something to be hidden away.
When I was three years old, a rival crime family kidnapped me.
I should have died that day.
Would have. If Simon and Victoria Quinn hadn't found me. They pulled me out of that river. Brought me back to life.
And when no one came looking for me, they took me in.
For a year, I was their daughter.
The girl who couldn't speak. Who stared at walls. Who barely understood her own name.
I remember fragments of that time. Blurry. Disconnected.
Victoria's gentle hands. Simon's quiet voice. The smell of their clinic.
Then I fell out of a tree.
Fractured skull. Internal bleeding. The local hospital said I wouldn't survive the night.
My parents faced an impossible choice.
Let me die. Or try something desperate. Something dangerous.
They injected me with Cosmos-1. The one he'd secretly kept.
It worked.
God, it worked better than anyone could have imagined.
Within days, the brain damage started reversing. The cerebral palsy disappeared.
Within weeks, I was speaking in full sentences. Reading. Learning.
Within months, I was testing at genius level.
The broken little girl who couldn't think became someone who could outthink almost anyone.
My body changed too. Strength. Speed. Reflexes beyond human limits.
But there was a price. The serum rewrote my DNA. Changed me on a fundamental level. Made me incompatible with normal human reproduction.
I couldn't have children.
My genetics were too different. Too alien.
Any pregnancy would fail. The embryo wouldn't be viable.
That's what the doctors said. What the genetic counselors confirmed.
You're sterile, Marina. I'm sorry.
I'd accepted it. Made peace with it.
Then I met Damon.
And somehow, impossibly, I got pregnant.
Maybe it was his genetics. Maybe it was pure chance.
Maybe it was some cosmic joke.
But now I was carrying a baby.
And I had no idea what that baby would be.
Normal? Human?
Or something else. Something wrong.
The fear was constant now. A weight in my chest that never lifted.
What if the Cosmos-1 in my system affected the fetus?
What if my altered genetics created something monstrous?
What if my baby was born broken? Like I was supposed to be?
My parents had searched for years. Trying to find answers. Trying to find a solution.
They'd contacted every researcher who'd worked on Cosmos-1. Every scientist who might know something.
Nothing.
Every sample had been destroyed. Every lead went cold.
The government had been thorough.
But now there was a hope. Even though just a synthetic copy.
It probably wouldn't help. Probably wouldn't change anything. But it was better than nothing.
I came back to myself. Focused on the present.
Patterson was still standing there. Holding the case. Watching me.
I pushed off the wall. Walked toward the door.
Started moving the heavy filing cabinet they'd pushed against it.
"What are you doing?" Patterson's voice cut through the silence.
I kept pushing. The cabinet scraped across the floor.
"Leaving."
"You can't go out there." He moved toward me. "It's too dangerous."
"More dangerous than staying here?"
"Yes." His voice was firm. "Those men downstairs. If they realize what happened up here—"
"They'll come investigate," I finished. "I know."
"Then why—"
"Because staying here is worse." I kept pushing the cabinet. "They have explosives rigged throughout the building. If they think they're losing control, they'll detonate."
Patterson went pale.
"We'd all die," I continued. "Everyone in this hospital. Blown to pieces."
"But if you go out there—"
"I have a chance." I stopped pushing. Looked at him. "Here? We're sitting ducks. No weapons. No way to fight back. Just waiting for them to come finish us off."
He opened his mouth. Closed it.
"You know I'm right," I said quietly.
Patterson was silent for a long moment. Then he nodded. Reluctantly.
"At least let me help you move this."
Together, we pushed the cabinet clear of the door.
I stepped back. Breathing hard. My shoulder screamed in protest.
Patterson was watching me. His expression conflicted.
"Take the case," I said.
"What?"
I gestured at the metal case in his hands. "Give it to me."
"Why?"
"Because I need it."
"The research—"
"I'm not asking." My voice came out flat.
Patterson hesitated. Then slowly extended the case toward me.
I took it. Set it on the desk.
Opened it.
Five vials. Glowing faintly blue in the dim light.
Patterson moved closer. "What are you doing?"
I pulled out one vial. Held it up to the light.
"Scarlett—"
"I'm taking this." I tucked the vial into my bra. "One vial. That's all."
His face crumpled. "Please. You don't understand—"
"I understand perfectly." I met his eyes. "I need insurance." My hand went to my stomach.
"If anyone finds out—"
"They won't." I kept my voice steady. "This conversation never happened. I was never here. You never saw me."
Patterson stared at me. His hands were shaking.
I pulled the door open.