Seeing Amanda standing in the doorway, Orion quickly walked over. "Let's talk inside your room."

But Amanda refused to budge. "Don't lie to me. I'm a grown woman, not a fragile child. You don't need to hide the truth."

Thaddeus stepped in smoothly. "Amanda, you're overthinking it. It's really not like that."

Amanda shook her head, keeping her eyes locked on her son. "No. I want to hear it from him."

Orion let out a slow breath. "There was a complication with the organ donor match. We can't proceed with the surgery right now."

Hearing the news, Amanda's shoulders actually relaxed a fraction. "I thought it was something much worse. If the surgery is off the table, then so be it."

Thaddeus quickly interjected, "Just because the surgery is delayed doesn't mean we're out of options. We have a new treatment plan."

"I thought you said previously that there were no effective alternative treatments? Stop trying to comfort me with false hope."

Orion looked his mother in the eye. "There were alternative methods before, but I didn't consider them reliable enough to risk your health."

"And now you've found one that is reliable?"

Thaddeus chimed in, "Amanda, it's not the treatment itself that's the wild card, it's the doctor. The person managing your recovery will be Lemira's brother, Rowan Langston."

At the mention of the Langston family, Amanda's expression stiffened. "Are you sure about this? Is anyone in the Langston family actually that capable? I thought they only got as far as they did by leeching off Lemira's talent."

Amanda had thoroughly investigated the Langstons in the past. To her knowledge, the brothers lacked any real substance and had coasted entirely on Lemira's genius, only to turn around and bite the hand that fed them like a pack of ungrateful opportunists.

She instinctively doubted that this 'Rowan' possessed any genuine medical prowess.

Orion's lips curved into a faint, reassuring smile. "I've vetted Rowan Langston personally. As of right now, he does have the credentials. The research facility backing him is highly advanced."

Thaddeus laughed softly. "Exactly. At first, we thought the Langstons were just blowing hot air too. But right now, we have to take this one step at a time."

Amanda visibly relaxed, the tension draining from her posture. "Does Lemira know about this?"

"Of course she does. She's the one who brought him in. You know our relationship with the Langstons is toxic at best, and we've been aggressively suppressing the Langston Group's market share. They have every reason to hate us right now."

Amanda's eyes softened as she looked at her son. "Have the two of you reconciled?"

"Not yet. But she's an incredibly kind-hearted girl."

Whenever Orion spoke of Lemira, a subtle warmth lit up his eyes.

Catching that look, Amanda smiled warmly. "Well then, I won't turn down her help.

It's not like we won't all be family in the future anyway."

If Lemira was willing to go out of her way to secure treatment, it meant the ice between her and Orion was finally starting to thaw.

Given enough time, those two were destined to find their way back to each other.

Orion cleared his throat awkwardly. "You should go back to bed and rest. We'll finalize the details for the treatment lab."

Amanda nodded and finally turned back into her room.

As Orion closed the door behind her, he walked down the hallway, only to spot Matthew Everhart sitting dejectedly on the staircase, looking utterly hollowed out.

Orion approached him. "What are you doing out here?"

Matthew looked up, his eyes red. "I know about Mom being poisoned."

Orion frowned sharply. Thaddeus stepped up behind him. "How did you find out?"

Matthew's voice was hoarse. "I

overheard you guys talking earlier. Then I saw Director Harrison

storming through the halls with

security detail, so I listened in on his orders."

Thaddeus sighed deeply. "Kid, this isn't something any of us wanted to happen But at least we've identified the root cause. We just need to focus on her recovery now."

Who in their right mind could have anticipated that Amelia—Amanda's supposed

best friend—would orchestrate such a vile assassination attempt?

Matthew ground his teeth. "I want to rip the Sinclair family apart."

"Whoa, back it up. Murder is a felony, kid. Besides, Amelia is already in custody for trying to hire a hitman. She's going to face the music for everything she's done."

Matthew was still young, and the sheer injustice of it all burned like acid in his veins. "Are we really jus supposed to swallow this?

mother treated them like gold. How could they do this to her?"