Corrupts

Elaine's POV

I've been in my room for Goddess knows how long. Jean's health was declining. My ego, pride, and revenge were on the line. Which one weighed more?

My son's life or my ego?

What kind of a mother was I?

Having that question pop into my mind was foolish in itself.

"I'm such a loser..." I said to myself. A loser mother who can't even decide what to do. Just then, I got a call from Dr. Rayleigh.

"Hello..." My voice was hoarse. I'd been crying. Again. I was also breaking my promise to Jean by crying and accepting my weakness.

"I'm outside your room, Elaine. I've been knocking." He said calmly.

"O-oh..."

I scrambled to my feet, wiping tears away and patting my cheeks. Shouldn't look like I've been crying.

"Sorry, it's just...I've been scrolling on the phone, haha." I lied, dangling the phone between us. I invited him in.

"I heard what Dr. Taylor suggested. You should listen to her, but the decision is yours. I understand you." His kind words carried me away. Just last week, Dr. Rayleigh was a stranger, I didn’t even know his last name. Yet now, in such a short time, he seems to know me more deeply than anyone.

"I'm torn..." I confessed, accepting weakness.

"Why is that?" Voice and tone so kind, I melted then and there. But my mind was all about Jean at the moment.

I sat on the bed, holding my head in my hands. The sniffles came automatically. And it concerned him. Dr. Rayleigh knelt in front of me, on the ground. His hand touched my knee lightly, like a cat trying to make sure I was alright.

"I want to destroy Jacob Fenris and his family but I also need his help for my son's health. This is cruel. This is not fair. I don't have any other options, either." I sniffled.

"Elaine..." Dr. Rayleigh leaned closer, brushing my tears away with his thumb. The gentle touch of the surgeon drew my gaze to him—exactly as he intended.

"You do have options, Elaine. You're not powerless. In fact, I have yet to see another mother willing to go so far for her son's health." He said. His hand pat my knee involuntarily. He tried to console me instinctively, and it came so naturally to him.

"The decision is yours, I won't force you. No one ever should." He said, rising to his feet.

"I'll be in my cabin tonight. Duty calls." Saying, Dr. Rayleigh started leaving.

"But..." with my hesitancy, he stopped and turned around,

"What would you have done in my place...?"

It was a desperate question from a desperate mother.

Unlike myself, Dr. Rayleigh replied without hesitation, "I'd take the offer."

And that was it.

The next morning, I woke up to a determined spirit. I could always destroy my nemesis later. But I could rarely grab the opportunity to use his powers for my own benefit. This was the opportunity.

Nurse John stayed outside as I suited up and headed inside the isolation room.

My baby,

Covered in electrodes monitoring his activity, capillaries and tubes running in and out of his little limbs to keep him alive with machines. He was fighting so hard. It was my duty to fight harder with him.

"Wish me luck, baby," I said, my hands itching to touch his body.

"We've been cursed...But I will make you better..." I joined my hands and prayed.

Taking a deep breath in, I headed out with confidence. In the lobby, I bumped into Dr. Rayleigh himself.

"Wha-Waht are you doing here, Dr. Rayleigh? You should have been asleep." I said, signing the check-out entry at the reception.

Taking the pen from my hand, signing a check out under my name, Dr. Rayleigh replied,

"I'm coming with you. Gotta say hi to a friend there." He replied with a smirk.

I felt bad. He has been on duty all night last night. 3 minor surgeries and patient files reports all done without any assistance. Junior doctors who worked under him were sent back home, too.

Doctors are superheroes for sure.

My eyebrows crushed into each other upon seeing the venue...

"Are we...are we sure we are at the right place? Why are they always celebrating?" I asked. Dr. Rayleigh chuckled as he buttoned his simple navy suit. The car was coming to a halt, "Because he's hosting the trial drug ceremony with grandeur today, Ms. Elaine."

Dr. Rayleigh walked around the car, opening the door for me like a gentleman. I was seen blushing.

"B-But...why?" I didn't understand.

"To attract more hosts and trial runners for it, Ms. Elaine. Jacob Fenris has been in this corrupt business for longer than my birth." He made a lighthearted comment.

"Wait...how old are you, doc?"

"Shouldn't matter. Right now, enrollment is gonna be tough. So let's be a tough cookie and fight for it. Jean's files are in there, aren't they?" Asked Dr. Rayleigh.

"Yeah." I gestured at the cross bag I wore. All files, images and proofs were printed out.

Dr. Rayleigh stopped us at the entrance all of a sudden.

"Here. Add this one." He pulled out a sheet. A medical report to be precise. I read it quietly, and my brows furrowed.

"But Jean is not human. Here it says he's human..." It was a national certificate stating he's human. What was Dr. Rayleigh trying to do?

"Humans are given a higher chance and more dosage, which is exactly what we need."

"B-But this is cheating...what if other mothers who need their children cured too? I- I can't accept this—"

Then, Dr. Rayleigh cut me off to gesture,

"Look around you, Elaine. Do any of these people look stressed about their near and dear hospitalised?" Dr. Rayleigh made me scan the lobby inside.

Laughter. Smiles. Victory.

"They've bought their way into it, Elaine. All they want...is that damm drug. All these people...they're here to buy it off of Jacob Fenris to replicate it illegally. You're the only one with a good purpose here."

My eyes widened.

The medical industry is...so dark...