Hearing Professor Walsh's explanation, Raven nodded and smiled. "Oh, I see. Thank you so much, Professor Walsh! You've really thought of everything."

Padgett replied, "You're too kind, Ms. Raven. It's my duty."

What doctor doesn't want their patient to recover as quickly as possible?

Padgett continued, "Ms. Raven, Dr. Lynn will be here at two this afternoon. You should get ready. Asa and I will be leaving now."

"Okay," Raven nodded, walking Padgett and his assistant, Asa, to the door.

She didn't close it until their figures had vanished down the hall.

Inside the elevator, Asa asked curiously, "Professor Walsh, why do you think Dr. Lynn suddenly agreed to this?"

Just three days ago, Dr. Lynn had flatly refused Padgett's request.

Even Padgett himself had thought it was a lost cause.

But unexpectedly...

Today, she suddenly agreed.

And it was Dr. Lynn who had initiated the contact with Padgett.

It all struck Asa as a little strange.

Padgett's eyes narrowed slightly. "A doctor's heart is a compassionate one. Dr. Lynn is no different."

The assistant nodded and didn't press the matter further.

At two in the afternoon, Dr. Lynn arrived at the recovery center right on time to examine Raven.

Raven removed her mask, her nerves palpable as she sat across from the renowned surgeon.

Dr. Lynn studied Raven's face carefully, her brow furrowed in concentration.

Already on edge, Raven grew even more anxious seeing Dr. Lynn's serious expression. "Dr. Lynn, is my condition very severe?"

"It is quite severe," Dr. Lynn confirmed with a nod. "Although the initial treatment was timely, the toxins have settled deep into your facial tissues."

Raven's heart sank. "Then... is there any hope for me to recover?"

"There is, but the risks are substantial. I can only offer a fifty percent chance of success."

A fifty percent chance...

"If the surgery fails, what are the risks?" Raven asked, her voice trembling slightly.

"If the surgery fails, you will be left permanently quadriplegic. Therefore, before the procedure, you and your family must sign risk acknowledgement and consent forms."

Quadriplegic!

At that word, the color drained from Raven's face.

Disfigurement was already terrifying.

But to be paralyzed, unable to do anything, confined to a bed...

It was a horrifying thought.

Before Raven could fully process it, Dr. Lynn continued, "However, if the surgery is successful, combined with a prosthetic eye, I can guarantee that your appearance will be restored to how it was before the incident."

Restored to how she was before?

Raven's eyes lit up again.

She had been undergoing treatment for half a year, and Professor Walsh had only ever promised to do his best to restore her features, never that she could look exactly the same as before.

The temptation was immense.

Raven pressed on, "When can the surgery be scheduled?"

"Once you've signed the consent forms, I can schedule you for tomorrow morning," Dr. Lynn said, then looked directly at Raven. "Alṣò, I have flight back to The Rhelasia the day after tomorrow so I need your decision by eight o'clock tonight, Ms. Raven."

Raven nodded.

Dr. Lynn picked up her bag from the table and looked at Padgett. "Professor Walsh, I've said everything that needs to be said. I have other matters to attend to, so I'll be going now."

Padgett stood up to see her out.

Raven remained seated, her mind reeling, unable to react for a long time.

She was still in the chair when Padgett returned.

He broke the silence. "Ms. Raven, what are your thoughts?"

Raven shook her head. "I don't know."

She desperately wanted the surgery, to reclaim her beauty.

But she was terrified of the consequences.

The thought of spending the rest of her life in bed if the surgery failed filled her with absolute panic.

Padgett offered a reassuring smile. "Ms. Raven don't think you need to worry too much. This is Dr. Lynn we're talking about, a master of cosmetic surgery! In all my years in this field, I've never heard of a singl failed case from her."

"When she says there's a fifty percent success rate, it means the actual probability is over ninety percent. I'm a doctor too, and I know that in our line of work, we never over promise before a procedure is complete. Even for something as simple as an appendectomy, we'd only state a ninety percent success rate."

"No doctor would ever tell you a procedure is one hundred percent guaranteed."

His words shifted something in Raven. He was right; doctors always left themselves

a safety margin.

Someone as brilliant as Dr. Lynn couldn't possibly have a success rate of only fifty percent.

She couldn't let this opportunity slip away.

With newfound resolve, Raven looked at Padgett. "Professor Walsh, please contact

Dr. Lynn for me. I'll do the surgery!"

"Of course," Padgett nodded. "I'll arrange everything for you."

The next morning, Raven was lying on the operating table.

The anesthesiologist was at work. "Don't be nervous, Ms. Raven. Just close your

eyes and have a nice nap. When you wake up, you'll see a brand-new you."

Raven managed a smile and a nod. "Okay."

Soon. Very soon, she would be whole again.

Meanwhile, Raven's mother waited anxiously outside the operating room.

Four hours later, the doors swung open.

Dr. Lynn emerged.

Raven's mother breathed a sigh of relief and rushed forward. "Dr. Lynn, was the surgery a success?"

Dr. Lynn shook her head. "Mrs. Cartwright... I'm sorry. The surgery failed."

What?

Failed?

Raven's mother froze on the spot. It took several seconds for the words to register before she asked in disbelief, "S-so... my daughter... will have to spend the rest of

her life in bed?"

Dr. Lynn nodded grimly.