As Ryan carried Eleanor to the door, lan smoothly took her into his arms.

"Ryan, it's on you from here," Ian entrusted to him.

"Mr. Goodwin, Eleanor is exhausted. You should get her to a room to rest as soon as possible," Ryan said.

lan felt the woman in his arms. She was terrifyingly light, her face as pale as a sheet of paper. Though her forehead was slick with sweat, she had already lost consciousness.

Garth hurried over, his voice filled with concern. "lan, get Eleanor to a room now."

lan nodded, already carrying her toward an available hospital room on the same floor. His handsome face was tense, a flicker of panic in his eyes.

"Doctor, quickly, take a look at her."

A doctor immediately came to check on Eleanor, hooking her up to various monitors to check her heart rate and blood pressure.

"From the looks of it, Dr. Sutton has just fainted from physical exhaustion. We'll start an IV drip immediately and let her rest quietly."

lan gazed at the lifeless Eleanor on the bed, his heart feeling as if it were being squeezed by an invisible hand. His mind flashed back to the final moments of his father-in-law's life.

He, too, had holed himself up in the lab without rest, ultimately suffering a sudden heart attack from which he couldn't be revived at the hospital.

Now, that same familiar, suffocating feeling of helplessness and panic washed over him again, even stronger than before.

She and her father were so alike—just as dedicated, just as stubborn, willing to give everything for their goals, even if it meant pushing their bodies to the breaking point.

Was history about to repeat itself right before his eyes?

lan's breath caught for a moment. He instinctively tightened his grip on Eleanor's cold hand. *No, I won't let that happen again. Absolutely not.*

Later, Principal Maxwell came to check on Eleanor himself. Seeing lan sitting by the bed with a heavy expression, he offered some comfort. "Ian, don't worry. She just needs to rest."

lan nodded and looked up at him. "Mr. Maxwell, how are things over there?"

Principal Maxwell let out a long sigh. "He's awake. All his vitals are good." "Her efforts weren't in vain," lan said, his eyes on the pale woman in the bed. "No, they weren't. She's created a medical miracle," Principal Maxwell said with emotion. Her work would bring hope to many similar cases in the future.

Noticing how tightly lan held

Eleanor's hand and the worry etched between his brows, Principal

Maxwell sighed to himself. It wanet?

though though

obvious to him that evelings for

they were divorced, dan's divorced lan's

Eleanor were still there.

He didn't say more, simply patting lan's shoulder gently. "I'm going to check on Mansfield. You take good care of her."

After Principal Maxwell left, the room fell silent again, punctuated only by the rhythmic beeping of the monitoring equipment.

lan's gaze rested on Eleanor's face. He reached out to tuck a few stray strands of hair behind her ear. He held her cold hand tightly, trying to transfer some of his own warmth to her.

Over in Mansfield's room, Principal Maxwell informed everyone of the situation but omitted the part abou

Eleanor collapsing, fearing the news Eleanor might be too much of a shock for Mansfield given their relationship.

Garth, dressed in sterile scrubs, walked in and sat by the bed. Mansfield's hoarse voice called out, "Dad."

The single word brought tears to Garth's eyes. He nodded repeatedly. "You're awake. That's all that matters."

Mansfield's gaze moved across

everyone in the room. He didn't see Eleanor, and a look of confusion and disappointment crossed his face

Then his eyes fell on

fell on the

massive

piece of equipment next to him. He blinked.

FindNovel.net

"That's the brain-computer interface device," Principal Maxwell told him.

"Eleanor's research." A faint, gratified smile appeared on Mansfield's face before he seemed to realize something. With difficulty, he asked, "Did she... collapse from exhaustion?"