The Sickened Luna's Last Chance novel Chapter 480

Chapter 480

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I found Tony hunched over the lab table when I descended, poring over a bunch of instruments I didn’t recognize. He and Anthony launched into a very detailed explanation of what they were doing, but if I was being honest, none of it really made any sense to me; it just went in one ear and out the other.

But at least I gathered one thing, and that was that their tests were going well, and things were looking clearer by the day. It would still take some time before they got to a point at which they were happy with their research, but for now, everything was on track.

Maybe someday, my cells really could be used to help people. That, at least, was a comforting thought.

As I sat at the lab table on a swivel stool, watching the doctors work, my eyes caught that picture again. My mind immediately went back to the dream–or visit, or whatever it was–to the spirit realm, and for some reason, I felt compelled to ask about Maria again.

“I know I keep asking, and maybe you don’t want to talk about it,” I blurted out, pointing at the picture, “but who was Maria to you exactly?”

The doctors looked at each other uncertainly. “Mention of her always seems to set you two on edge,” I pointed out. “Like right now.”

After a pause, Anthony sighed and perched on the stool across from me. “Maria was… She wasn’t just a regular patient of ours. She was our adopted daughter.”

I blinked. “I didn’t know you two had adopted a child.”

“We adopted her as a teenager,” Tony explained. “We only got to spend a few beautiful years with her before the cancer set in.”

“Oh… I’m sorry.” I bit my lip, but couldn’t help asking, “What kind of cancer?”

“Brain cancer.” Anthony rubbed his eyes as if trying to hide tears. “By the time we discovered it, it was in the late stages; incurable. She was dead within a few months.”

My heart ached. “I’m sorry. I hope I didn’t reopen old wounds…”

Tony shook his head and smiled thinly. “Not at all. If anything, we’re glad you’ve noticed her picture enough to ask about her. It shows that her beauty, her smile, affects even those who never knew her.”

“She was beautiful,” I whispered. I studied the picture a little more closely, taking in her radiant smile, her full cheeks, her glossy hair thrown back as if in laughter. She had stars in her eyes. The picture was probably taken before she got sick.

For a moment, I thought about what I would do if Lucien got sick like that. Adopted or not, a child was still a child -loved, wanted, adored. I couldn’t imagine what I would do if I lost my son.

Thinking about it suddenly made me want to go home. I realized how silly I was being, wallowing over things that were, ultimately, inconsequential. Yes, perhaps my reputation wasn’t good, but my family was together. We were all healthy. Happy. Free from the curse that had nearly ripped us all apart. I wanted to be with them right

now.

I stood, bidding farewell to the doctors. They both followed me up the stairs to see me off. As we reached the

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foyer, I went to grab my coat from the hall closet

My hand had scarcely opened the door before Anthony suddenly burst forward, pranding his hand innoturod and slamming the door loud enough to rattle the frame. I gasped, taking a step back

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