The Blood Contract-Chapter 15: Absolutely nothing

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When Serena gave permission for whoever was at the door to come in, Darrell stepped inside with a warm smile on his face. His presence was as unassuming as ever, but there was a glint of excitement in his eyes that caught Serena's attention.

"It's me again, madam," he announced in a cheerful tone. "Boss has agreed to get us a flight ticket to Viera." He kept the smile on his face, clearly pleased with the news he was delivering.

Serena wasn't sure she had heard him correctly. Her brows pulled together in confusion as she asked, "Us? Who exactly is 'us'?"

"You and I, madam," Darrell explained, his smile unwavering. "Boss said it's not safe for you to go alone, so he insisted I go with you and bring you back safely."

Serena let out a disbelieving laugh, the sound sharp and bitter. "This is unbelievable. I am not going to Viera with you. It's either I go alone, or he accompanies me himself. Go back and tell him that."

Before Darrell could begin explaining the situation all over again, Dr. Marlowe spoke up, her voice calm and measured. "I can go with you if you want. I don't have much to do at the moment. I'm pretty sure Lucian may not have the time to go with you right now because he's quite occupied."

Another objection was about to fly out of Serena's lips, but she quickly held herself back. She knew it was no use. She was angry, and she was taking it out on the wrong people.

After a moment of tense silence, she finally relented.

"Fine. I'll go with the doctor," she agreed, her voice firm but resigned.

Her decision brought visible relief to both Darrell and Dr. Marlowe, their shoulders relaxing as the tension in the room eased.

Serena wasn't sure why, but she felt a strange sense of comfort with Dr. Marlowe—more than she had with anyone else she had met in the house. The woman was soft-spoken and exuded a motherly aura, something Serena hadn't had the advantage of enjoying in her early life. Besides, with the doctor around, she wouldn't feel like she was being followed or monitored, something she was sure she would feel if Darrell were the one accompanying her.

"All right, that's settled then," Darrell said, clearly relieved. "I'll relay the message to Boss and get back to you." With that, he turned around and walked out of the room, leaving Serena and Dr. Marlowe alone.

"You need to take your medicine," Dr. Marlowe informed her, her tone gentle but firm.

Serena's gaze hardened as she turned to face the older woman. "What's the medicine for again?" she asked, her voice laced with suspicion.

Dr. Marlowe sighed, realizing she needed to explain fully to put Serena's mind at ease. "You were given something at the Council yesterday that triggered a negative reaction in your body. That's the reason for the weakness you're feeling. This is the second dose. I gave you the first one yesterday while you were unconscious. You need one more to get back to your normal self."

Serena let out a breath, her shoulders slumping slightly as she processed the information.

"You said you used to work for the Council of Vitae," she began, her voice quieter now. "Do you know of a way I can speak to my brother or see him, even if it's just briefly?"

Dr. Marlowe hesitated for a moment before answering. "Lucian is currently working on a way to get him out. If all goes well, he'll be free in a month or two."

Serena blinked multiple times, taken aback by what she had just heard.

"Wait, what? They said they would release him, but I wouldn't be able to speak to him or see him. What are you talking about?" she asked, her voice rising in panic.

A sigh slipped past Dr. Marlowe's lips as she set her gaze on Serena, her expression somber. "The number one mistake you should never make when dealing with the Council of Vitae is to trust anything they say. First of all, your brother is still in captivity. Second, they will not release him, even after they're sure you've gotten pregnant. The only way you'll see your brother again is when they ensure full compliance from you. And what they mean by full compliance is when you give birth to a living, breathing baby produced by you and Lucian."

Serena's heart dropped, her chest tightening as the weight of Dr. Marlowe's words settled over her. She couldn't believe they still had Elias in their grasp, even after all she had done to ensure his release.

"Are you ready to give them a child so they can release your brother?" Dr. Marlowe's voice cut through Serena's storm of thoughts, pulling her back to the present.

Serena snapped her head in the woman's direction, her eyes wide with disbelief. "Give them a child?" she repeated, her voice tinged with incredulity. "I am not ready to have a child. But even if I were, I would have a child with someone I love, not some random stranger paired with me. And nothing in this whole wide world would make me release my child to such an organization."

"That's what I thought," Dr. Marlowe said, nodding her head in approval. Her expression softened as she continued, "I know you think Lucian is your enemy, but believe me, he's not the one you should be directing your contempt to. As I said earlier, he's just a victim like you. The only reason I'm telling you this is because you are now part of the family, irrespective of whether you two like each other or not. Lucian is suffering from a condition that I personally believe was orchestrated by the Council. They say it's a curse, but I know it's not. They claim there's no solution, and he won't make it past this year. I believe that to be true because I've seen the condition getting worse every day."

Serena listened in stunned silence as Dr. Marlowe continued, her voice steady but filled with urgency. "The reason you two were paired is because you have the ability to temporarily take his pain away and help him live longer. They, in turn, get the opportunity to make use of the immunity in your blood to develop their crazy weapons and produce an offspring, who might also have your immunity—or something even better. What's in it for you? Absolutely nothing."

Dr. Marlowe paused, her gaze locking with Serena's. "We've been working to bring down the Council for a long time, even before you came into the picture. But now that you're here, things have become more complicated, and we'll need all the help we can get. Your father tried to fight it alone, but he didn't succeed. If we do it together, we have a better chance at succeeding. I hope you'll drop your resentment so that we can work together to give everyone freedom from the devilish cult called the Council of Vitae."