Chapter Two: The man worth saving...

Seraphina arrived in California by 9pm the moment she disembarked the jet.

She was escorted through the private terminal by two air staffs.

A black Rolls Royce was parked outside,

The man in Navy blue suit stepped forward alongside the chauffeur,

“Welcome to Bel Air, Dr. St. Claire!” The chauffeur said.

"Dr. St. Claire, I'm Cassian Cross. Thank you for coming on such short notice."

His expression tightened.

"Mr. Laurent's condition has deteriorated faster than expected. Every minute matters."

The chauffeur took care of her bags and helped her into the car.

Even though she was also from a very wealthy family, treatments like this never belonged to her.

In twenty minutes, they arrived inside the estate, that was called The Laurent Ridge.

The car pulled up in the heart of this ridge, when they alighted, the estate looked less of a residence and more like a private kingdom in Bel Air.

“Dr. St. Claire, this way please” Cassian said.

They headed towards the largest manor which was about five minutes’ walk, two men fully armed stood guard outside with heavy guns allowing them both into the manor, Cassian brought her to a room as they reached the door,

“You have to change into sterile clothes, it’s the next room” Cassian said.

They both entered into different cubicles in the room and changed into sterile scrubs and masks, then they soon entered the room.

The man’s face was pale, he looked like he could die at any second, she read his heart rate from the monitor, it was extremely slow,

"I've reviewed every report you sent me."

She frowned.

"The diagnosis doesn't explain the progression of his symptoms. When exactly did he lose consciousness?" Seraphina said.

"Approximately thirty minutes before I contacted you." Cassian replied. "The collapse was sudden."

"Before I make any conclusions, I need to assess him myself." Seraphina said observing Damien. "Take me to the infirmary!”

Cassian led her to the infirmary, she grabbed three injections alongside some needle and syringe in a tray before heading back to the room.

She administered the injections intramuscularly and looked at Cassian,

“He would be fully awake in six hours, his body is so weak already, can you bring me his nurse and specialist, I need to make some confirmations” Seraphina said.

“Sure, wait in the living room after changing out of the scrub” Cassian said.

Minutes later, A young man in his twenties came with Cassian,

“This is his nurse, Sylvester”

“Nurse Brown, I’m Seraphina St. Claire, Mr. Laurent’s attending physician” Seraphina said.

“Nice to meet you doctor!” Sylvester said.

"Walk me through everything that happened before the collapse." Seraphina said. "Leave nothing out."

“He was having another episode of attack from five pm, he managed to hold a zoom meeting that lasted an hour after which he yelled in pain, he was always able to hold up his pain, the doctors ran around to see what they could do, they administered analgesics at first to stabilize him, after which he fell and fainted” Sylvester explained.

“Where the attack always that serious?” Seraphina asked.

“It wasn’t so serious until months ago; I’ve been convincing Mr. Laurent to rest for months. Maybe you’ll have better luck than the rest of us” Cassian said.

"Who was overseeing his treatment before I arrived?"

Seraphina asked.

“Professor Goodwealth” He replied.

“What?” Seraphina asked surprised.

"Professor Goodwealth personally insisted we contact you."

"He said if anyone could uncover the truth, it would be Dr. Seraphina St. Claire." Cassian added.

“Starting tomorrow, I’ll send you a meal plan that would help improve his health, once he wakes up, I’ll meet with him, thank you for your time” Seraphina said.

“You’ll be staying in the next manor, it was specially prepared for his attending doctors, I’ll see you when he wakes up!” Cassian said as they stood in front of the manor prepared for her.

She opened the door and walked in, there two maids setting the table for dinner, they bowed as she entered,

“Your bath has been prepared, Doctor!” Another maid coming from the room said.

“Thank you…” Seraphina said.

Seraphina headed towards the room first taking a short refreshing bath, she grabbed a new pajama from her bag before heading back to the living room to have dinner, she really couldn’t eat much.

She spent the whole night carefully arranging her stuff and writing out a treatment plan for the new patient she had already.

About four am the next morning, as she was still on her chair, dozing, she heard a knock on her door that roughly woke her up, her phone’s screen lit up,

“He’s awake!” Seraphina rushed to the bathroom took a bath, then simply wore a white gown putting her doctor’s coat over it, grabbed her stethoscope and notepad before walking out.

The moment she stepped into the room, a whole medical team was waiting inside, there seemed to be tension in the air thus everything was quiet.

Damien Laurent sat upright on the bed despite pain and weakness evidently written on his face.

He was tall, sharp-faced, exuded a powerful aura that even as he was weakened his presence still dominated.

A back dress shirt clung to his broad shoulders while monitors were attached to him taking the record of the of the unusual rhythm of his heart.

Damien's gaze settled on her.

"How many specialists does it take before people accept that I’m beyond saving?"

Damien said calmly.

"Dr. Seraphina St. Claire." She met his gaze evenly. "And unlike the others, I haven't formed a diagnosis before meeting the patient."

"Let me guess." Damien said with a faint smile on his face. "You're here to promise me miracles the way the others did."

Damien said with a faint smile on his face.

There was a faint hint of arrogance which was meant to intimidate her.

Instead, Seraphina moved closer to him,

"No, I'm not here to promise miracles” Her voice remained calm. "Right now, keeping you alive is my priority."

His eyes flickered briefly with interest then he raised an eyebrow.

"You don't seem intimidated."

"Should I be?" she asked.

The doctors held their breath in surprise.

Damien studied her silently.

She was beautiful.

She carried an unusual kind of aura, not the kind of aura the glamorous women surrounding wealthy men carried, her delicate face had minimal makeup and her hair was tied into a low professional bun style, her gaze calm as well.

She walked over to the monitor, then her gaze sharpened.

"When did the chest pain return after he regained consciousness?"

Seraphina sked looking at the doctors.

“He felt pain minutes after he woke up” Dr. Carter said.

Seraphina moved over to Damien again and grabbed his hand to feel his pulse, this contact startled him by surprise.

Her fingertips were steady, cool and professional.

She observed him quietly for some times after which her brows furrowed again,

Her expression hardened.

"Something about this doesn't fit." She spoke.

Dr. Carter frowned.

"What exactly are you seeing?"

Seraphina released Damien’s wrist slowly.

"The cardiac degeneration pattern does not match any hereditary condition documented in his records." She said.

Damien’s face darkened.

"Speak plainly, Doctor.”

“Do you know how many specialists have stood in your place?”

Seraphina looked directly at him.

"Mr. Laurent..." She spoke. "Someone has been poisoning you."

“Do you know how many specialists have stood in your place?” Damien questioned.

“Probably too many and every one of them was wrong” Seraphina said meeting his gaze

Everyone was stunned.

The air was very calm and heavy.

"Professor Goodwealth suspected toxic exposure months ago." Dr. Carter said. "But we never found enough evidence to prove it.

"Because everyone focused on managing the symptoms." She further explained "Nobody investigated the source."

“The poison was meant to degenerate the cardiac tissues over time” she said further.

For the first time in almost two years that his attack begun, someone had managed to uncover the nightmare destroying his body.

He seemed to gain a relief he never had because he could see certainty in her statement.

“I’ll need access to every previous test, blood sample, medication history, and emergency episode.”

Amelia nodded quickly.

“Of course.”

She closed the file.

"From this moment forward, no medication is administered, changed, or discontinued without my approval."

Her bossy tone came as a surprise to every one including Damien.

Damien studied her for a long moment.

Then, unexpectedly, he smiled.

"Interesting."

Seraphina raised an eyebrow.

"What is?"

"You walked into my house in less than forty-eight hours and you've already started giving orders."

"Someone has to."

Damien laughed.