Chapter74The Lab Rat Experiment
Charles was suspicious about the content of an email from the prison he had previously overlooked.
Ever since Raymond read that message, he had been actively tailing someone, enabling Paige to obtain the clue. Now, he was even planning to personally search for the hidden funds for his wife.
This behavior was a far cry from the usually composed Raymond Howard, and Charles found it almost impossible to believe this was the same man.
Despite his doubts, Charles still followed Raymond.
Meanwhile, Paige had driven straight to the lab. She donned a lab coat upon entering Byron’s research wing.
"You couldn't have timed it better. Come and help me with the final test," Byron said to her.
Paige, who had been anxious all day, finally felt a moment of relief .
A look of joy flashed across her face. "The final test? Does that mean my mother might actually wake up if it's successful?"
Entrusting the lab to Dr. Byron always paid off.
"Yes, if this experiment succeeds," Dr. Byron assured her.
As they were speaking, someone knocked on the door, delivering lab mice.
The mice lay asleep inside a medical container. Paige wore her gloves and picked it up. Having arrived just in time for testing, she decided to conduct the final experiment herself.
Dr. Byron worked in tandem with Paige, who injected the last batch of the tested drug into the mice.
Paige held her breath, watching until the mice woke up from their slumber and began moving freely around their container. Tears of excitement welled up in Paige's eyes. She turned and hugged Dr. Byron. "We made it!"
Earlier in the afternoon, when the antidote was stolen, Paige had been devastated. But now, she felt like jumping with joy. Her intense emotion was palpable.
Byron leaned against the lab bench, relaxing his tall figure as he exhaled in relief. "Hearing that you've brought your aunt back, I got nervous. This experiment has to work; failure is not an option. Luckily, it seems like we've succeeded."
Paige, her voice thick with emotion, asked, "Can we take this antidote to my mom right now?"
Byron turned to look at Paige, his gaze briefly showing with hesitation.
"Passing the test in mice doesn't guarantee it's safe for clinical use. Are you sure you want to risk using it on your mother without proper human trials? What if..."
Paige's heart sank. She had been so excited she hadn't considered the risks.
Using the treatment on her mother without any clinical trials was a gamble. The thought of losing her mother to a failed experiment was unbearable; the risks were too high.
When she was younger, she had been forced to leave her mother's side, seeing her only sporadically over the years. She was powerless to change their situation back, but now, that she has status and capabilities, she could give her mother the life they deserved together.
Yet, until this moment, she had never heard a single word from her mother.
Watching Paige lost in silence, Byron suggested, "We should conduct a clinical trial. Even a single trial could give us enough confidence to proceed, don't you think?"
He didn't doubt his skills; Byron knew all too well how precious one's only remaining family could be.
He had experienced loss and understood the need to be extremely cautious when it came to the well-being of Paige’s lone relative.
Paige looked down, "The drug Margaret had custom-made was inhumane. If I administer it to someone else, won't I become just like her?"
Experiencing life in prison had changed her, but at her core, she remained the same person – there were lines she would not cross.
Byron shook his head, "It's not the same. The trial participants would give informed consent, unlike the situation with your mom."
As Paige turned, wrestling with the decision to conduct a human trial as Byron suggested, her gaze lowered to the glass cage housing the lab mice.
It was then, right under Paige's watchful eye, that the mouse had suddenly collapsed.
"Byron!" Paige called out with urgency laced in her voice.
Byron immediately sensed something was wrong and looked over.
Paige stepped aside, pointing to the mouse in the experiment cage.
Byron quickly put on gloves and began to check the mouse. After several seconds, he turned to face Paige.
"It's dead."
Dead...
A sense of drowning engulfed Paige, like coming up for air only to be forcefully submerged, suffocating beneath the water's surface.
Her face was etched with extreme agony. "It failed? How could this be, Bryon? I thought you were confident?"
Bryon had no words to offer, immediately turning to check on his experiment.
A few moments later, Bryon announced, "There's nothing wrong with the experiment, and the medication is fine."
Paige took a forceful breath, feeling as though it wasn't filling her lungs with the oxygen she needed. Her mouth opened, but it took several moments before she could voice her thoughts, "It must be the drug. Just my mom's blood supported all our earlier tests."
She had been too impatient, wanting results too quickly.
She had overlooked the crucial element; she should have been analyzing the drug, but it was only today that she had finally gotten her hands on it.
The substance had cost Margaret a fortune to custom-order from abroad. If relying solely on the blood for an antidote had been enough, today's showdown to snatch the cure wouldn't have happened.
With that realization, Paige suddenly calmed down.
Bryon, noticing that Paige was in a daze, asked, "What's up? Did you have a breakthrough?"
"No," Paige admitted. "I'm just thinking... Maybe some people don't want my mom to wake up. Just like the Sacklers, they might wish to control me by keeping my mom's condition in their hands."
Bryon was taken aback, "What? Is someone threatening you? Over this?"
Paige nodded.
If the theft of the antidote wasn't related to Margaret, then what was the motive?
Her new identity?
Paige took a deep breath and turned to Bryon, "We've got a sample of the drug – the palliative that's keeping my mom's condition stable. We need to replicate it in the shortest time possible."
"It's just a matter of cloning from the existing one," Bryon assured her. "A day or two at most. It will also make finding a cure much more efficient."
"I'll go get it myself later and bring it over," Paige said decisively. "Bryon, this is about my mom's survival."
"I understand," Bryon nodded, aware of how important the only family one has can be.
No sooner had Paige stepped out of the lab that her phone buzzed. It wasn't Raymond calling, so she answered immediately.
Pearl's frantic voice came through, "Paige, something’s wrong, there's been an accident..."
