Doctor S

A crystal glass filled with red wine glittered beneath the grand chandelier.

I sipped it slowly.

The taste of expensive wine wet my throat, leaving a warm, soothing trail.

Five years.

More than enough time to kill a weak Serena, and rebirth myself from the ashes of ruin.

I set the glass down on the glass table.

My eyes gazed out at the sprawling lights of the metropolitan city through the floor-to-ceiling windows of this five-star hotel penthouse.

My hair, which I had always let grow long and disheveled.

Because Rafael liked women who looked fragile.

Was now cut to the shoulder in a sharp asymmetrical style.

An ivory white women's suit wrapped my body perfectly.

Dark red lipstick adorned my lips.

No more foolish girl weeping and begging for love on the cold marble floor.

The one standing here was Doctor S.

A genius neurosurgeon and genetic surgeon whose name was fought over by top hospitals and world leaders.

"You look terrifying when you're lost in thought."

A warm, calm baritone voice broke the silence of the room.

I turned.

Julian Sterling sat on a single leather sofa, crossing his long legs elegantly.

As CEO of Sterling International, the world's largest medical conglomerate, Julian possessed an undeniable aura of power.

Yet, unlike him, Julian's power was never wielded to oppress.

"Just enjoying the view, Julian," I answered with a faint smile, walking toward him.

Julian placed a thick folder bearing a gold logo on the marble table.

His long fingers tapped the cover of the folder.

"The cooperation contract for Cendana VIP Hospital," Julian said.

"They agreed to all of your unreasonable terms."

"You hold complete control over all surgical departments and confidential research. No one can give you orders."

"Including the board of directors?" I asked, raising one eyebrow.

"Even the president of this country would have to make an appointment to meet you, Serena," Julian chuckled.

The man's gaze softened.

His eyes always looked at me with equal respect and admiration.

"You deserve it," Julian continued quietly. "All of your hard work over these five years, you are extraordinary."

"Thank you, Julian. For everything."

I meant it.

This was the man who had found me unconscious on a snowy street abroad five years ago, taken me to the best hospital, and shielded me from the Navarro family's frantic search.

This man gave me a new identity and facilitated my education until I reached the pinnacle.

And for five years, he never once demanded anything in return, let alone crossed a line.

A hasty knock at the door cut through our conversation.

My personal assistant, Anya, stepped inside with slightly labored breath.

Her face looked tense.

"Doctor, sorry to interrupt. But you need to see this right now."

Anya handed a tablet to my hands.

My brow furrowed. I looked down at the screen of the tablet.

A headline from an international business and gossip news portal was displayed in enormously conspicuous bold letters.

"BILLIONAIRE RAFAEL NAVARRO OFFERS 1 BILLION DOLLAR REWARD FOR THE DOCTOR WHO CAN SAVE HIS SON."

My heart stopped beating for one full second.

Rafael Navarro.

That name.

The name I had buried deep together with the remnants of my dignity at the bottom of the ravine on that stormy night.

I scrolled the screen downward with fingers that suddenly felt cold.

A large photograph accompanied the article. Rafael looked slightly more mature.

The lines of his face even harder, more arrogant, and more lethal.

He was walking out of a hospital lobby under heavy escort, shielding a weeping woman from the snapping cameras of reporters.

The woman was Chloe.

The article referred to Chloe as the Billionaire's "beloved partner."

"Their son was born with an extremely severe congenital disorder," Anya explained quickly, breaking my silence.

"A rare genetic damage syndrome. His internal organs are failing gradually. Experts from around the world have already thrown up their hands."

I laughed.

Amusement mixed with irony.

Julian looked at me with barely concealed concern.

He knew precisely who the people on that screen were. "Serena?"

"Karma works incredibly fast, it turns out, Julian," I whispered, my eyes fixed on the photo of Rafael and Chloe.

Once, that man had discarded me out of fear that his tainted genes and Chloe's would produce a defective child.

He made me a vessel.

He wanted to take my baby.

He forced me to die in the storm that night for the sake of his mad ambition.

And now, after they believed I was truly dead, their lust and selfishness had apparently overridden their reason.

They still forced their will to have a child from the same blood.

The result?

A child whose body was slowly crumbling from within because of his own parents' sins.

"Cendana VIP Hospital, the hospital we just acquired," Anya continued her report.

"Rafael Navarro transferred his son there this morning. He is mobilizing all of his wealth and mafia connections to trace the whereabouts of 'Doctor S'."

Doctor S.

They were looking for me.

My cold-hearted ex-husband and his wretched stepsister were on their knees, throwing all of their fortune.

Pleading with the world to find me.

I tossed the tablet onto the table.

A sardonic smile rose on my lips.

"Just let him throw his money away," I said coldly. "I have no interest in treating the child of a pile of garbage."

The suite door suddenly swung wide open.

The sound of small footsteps came running over the thick carpet.

"Mommy!"

A crisp, energetic childlike voice made the killing aura around me vanish in an instant.

My sardonic smile was replaced by a morning sunshine smile.

Leo.

My four-year-old son.

I crouched down, spreading my arms to welcome his embrace.

"Hey, Mommy's little champion. How did studying with the tutor go today?" I asked, kissing his chubby cheek.

Leo hugged my neck for a moment, then let out a soft snort and straightened his own collar.

"Boring. The tutor was too slow at answering my physics questions."

Julian laughed freely from the direction of the sofa. "He truly inherited your genius, Serena."

Yet, the smile on my lips faded as Leo's attention was diverted.

The child's eyes landed on the tablet screen still lit up on the glass table.

Leo's small body tensed in an instant.

I was too late in reaching for the tablet to hide it.

Leo stared intently at the large photo of Rafael Navarro on the screen.

Watching Leo standing beside that image felt like witnessing a manipulation of time.

My son's face... was a miniature replica of the despicable man in that photograph.

The firm jaw line, the arrogant straight nose, and most strikingly,

A pair of sharp emerald green eyes.

The exact same eyes as the man who had destroyed me.

Yet, there was no innocence in Leo's eyes as he stared at the photograph of his own father.

The four-year-old boy looked up at me.

His tiny index finger pointed directly at Rafael's face on the screen.

"Mommy," Leo's voice sounded remarkably calm and flat.

"Is this the bad man who hurt you before?"