Chapter 4

"I can't let you meet those tycoons," Maya said calmly. "So, you'll have to stay here for now and suffer a little. Once Elijah is safe and sound, I'll have their people come take you away."

My mouth was gagged. I stared in despair as the light slowly vanished.

Her mind was full of Elijah. She had completely forgotten that I had claustrophobia. If I were locked in a dark, enclosed space, I would die.

Darkness blotted out my vision. My breathing suddenly quickened, and my whole body began trembling. I didn't know how long had passed, but my chest tightened so relentlessly that it felt suffocating.

Was I really going to die here?

…

Just as despair crushed me, the cabinet door flew open.

Maya yanked me out roughly. She snapped my joints back into place with a few brutal movements, then slammed me down in front of the central console. Fear covered her face. Even her voice was shaking.

"Why did the virus attack so fast after we removed the protection system? This time, it directly altered the data and issued a heating command! There's only a ten-minute window!"

She commanded, "Fix the system now! Elijah cannot get hurt—absolutely not!"

I looked weakly at her. My wife was still thinking only about that man. At that moment, the very last trace of love I had for her vanished into dust.

"Mr. Jameson, you're the only one who can save us now! Please!"

The colleagues who had rushed in all looked at me with pleading eyes. I shook my head and spoke softly, pointing at the computer on the floor, the one Maya had smashed into pieces earlier.

"The backup of the security system was stored in that computer. Now, it's nothing but shards. How do you expect me to do anything?"

Maya's face went deathly pale, and her body swayed. Just minutes ago, she had destroyed it herself to erase evidence. Despair spread through the room again.

One colleague spoke with a trembling, tearful voice. "Mr. Quinlan will be here in 20 minutes. When he arrives, we'll all be dead!"

Maya turned to me and begged me modestly. "Your hacking skills are incredible. You can fix it in ten minutes, right? I'm begging you—Elijah cannot be hurt!"

I looked at her and replied in a cold, vengeful tone, "Did you forget? You dislocated my joints earlier. Even if they were set back, I have no strength left. I can't even lift my hands, let alone type."

Hopelessness flooded her eyes. Then, it twisted into madness. "No. There's still a way… I'll go to the freezer and take out Mr. Quinlan's sample myself!"

She staggered toward the door, but other colleagues grabbed her and pinned her down. "Are you insane? The freezer uses liquid nitrogen! It's negative 315 degrees Fahrenheit inside! You won't last five minutes before you freeze to death!"

Her eyes were bloodshot, but her voice trembled with reckless desperation. "Let me go! I can go in wearing the protective suit and save it! Elijah is too young for anything to happen to him!"

A colleague immediately scrambled to fetch a protective suit. "This could actually work. I'll go with you!"

I looked at the surveillance screen and said softly, "It's too late."

The blaring alarm pierced the air.

I met Maya's dazed, desperate gaze and continued, "The sperm is stored using liquid nitrogen. When the temperature rises, it vaporizes. The pressure builds up inside the sealed containers, and the inevitable result is… ka-boom."

No sooner had I finished speaking than the monitors showed it all. One by one, the storage vials exploded. Not a single sample survived.