Chapter 467 A Glimmer of Hope
"You guys sneaking a smoke outside?" Burl, with the cheerful demeanor, introduced his family with pride, "My sister dropped by this morning before you arrived, so let me introduce her. This is the mother of my genius nephew, my sister."
"Miss Rhoads, we've heard about you," Ethan said, his façade of calm betraying him with a quivering hand holding his cigarette.
Fiona smiled softly, "I'm grateful to you three for mentoring my little guy."
"Charles is a prodigy! We consider it an honor to discuss technology with such a brilliant mind!" declared the bespectacled tech whiz hurriedly.
Fiona chuckled modestly, then turned to Burl, "Where's Charles?"
"Ethan just sparked some inspiration in him; he's on a roll and can't stop," Burl replied.
Fiona's brow furrowed slightly with concern, "Is he alright?"
"He's fine; I'm keeping an eye on him. His temperature and everything are normal," Burl assured her quietly, "He's rarely this happy. If he's still at it by lunchtime, I'll intervene."
Lunchtime was approaching anyway.
Without saying much more, Fiona reminded Burl to keep a watchful eye on Charles before she left.
Once Fiona was out of earshot, Ethan extinguished his cigarette and approached Burl, "What's going on? Is something wrong with Charles?"
Burl let out a heavy sigh.
"Leukemia."
The expressions of the three tech gurus changed dramatically, "What did you say?"
"Shh!" Burl quickly signaled for them to keep their voices down, "Almost nobody knows about this. You have to keep it under wraps, or if the media gets wind of it, it'll turn into a messy frenzy."
"Poor kid, such a terrible thing to go through," Ethan said with furrowed brows.
Even his own son was two years older than Charles.
There's no hurt in ignorance.
His son drives him and his wife nuts on a daily basis.
"Isn't there a saying, 'Whom the gods love, die young'?" Burl sighed.
"But isn't leukemia treatable with a bone marrow transplant?" asked the guy with glasses, "He's a Rhoads and a Solomons; shouldn't resources be aplenty?"
"If only money could fix everything... Everyone in the family tried to match, but no luck. Now, we're waiting on other possible matches," Burl said, disheartened, regretful that his marrow didn't match with Charles's.
"No wonder he looks so pale," said Wells, shaking his head, "Where do we go to get tested? We should do it when we get a chance; you never know, right?"
"Yeah, Burl, where can we get this done?" Ethan chimed in.
"Are you serious?" Burl looked at them, astonished.
“What's there to be cavalier about? Even if that kid isn't our boss's flesh and blood, given that he's a prodigy, we've got to give it a shot. Talent like that is rare; we're not the jealous types!”
Over the past decade, they'd seen the IT industry in Armie Country get outpaced by international competition. Still, now, more and more of the younger generation were waking up and taking charge. Armie Country's tech sector was becoming a force to be reckoned with.
God knows they were itching for more geniuses like Charles to emerge. If only there could be more, just a few more. That would be exhilarating!
"I'll send you guys the address," Burl said, his eyes brimming with warmth as he swiftly shared the location with the three individuals before him.
Afterward, the group headed back together.
The three tech wizards had their own office space furnished with a particularly well-equipped soundproof area.
Charles was there, a tiny figure perched on a custom-designed chair that Darwin had prepared for him earlier, intensely focused, with an air of power emanating from his small frame. He hardly looked like just a kid.
Ethan stood watching as if he could already visualize the shackles of those wretched restraints shattering.
A resolve kindled deep within the somber depths of his eyes. This talented child must not be allowed to falter.
He moved to the side, pulled out a phone from a drawer, and logged onto a website.
Using his admin privileges, he posted a message.
That very day, hundreds of local IT professionals, following Burl's given address, went to have their blood drawn for typing.
By the following day, the number had skyrocketed to over a thousand.
*
Darwin had been in meetings all morning.
As lunchtime approached, he called for a break.
Before he could even step out of the conference room, Clarke hurried over and whispered to Darwin, "Mr. Solomon, your wife is here."
"Where is she?" Darwin asked eagerly.
"She should be in your office, she..."
Clarke tried to say more, but Darwin didn't wait to listen.
He strode out of the conference room at a brisk pace.
By the time Clarke followed, Mr. Solomon was already stepping into the executive elevator.
"My resignation letter!" Clarke exclaimed in frustration, stamping his foot.
His resignation, submitted half a month ago, had just been retrieved from HR with the intention of taking it back. But HR had handed it to the executive office last night upon learning that Mr. Solomon would be returning to work that day.
The real reason for Clarke's resignation lay in his inability to shake off the irritation of working with a woman who bore such a striking resemblance to Secretary Woods and yet had usurped Woods's place in life.
He grieved for months.
It was only now that he realized the woman was none other than Secretary Woods herself.
Why did he resign, then?
He was determined to stick it out until Mr. Solomon retired!
Darwin stepped out of the elevator, and several staff members in the president's office immediately stood up, "Mr. Solomon."
"Did my wife come by?" Darwin asked with a smile he couldn't suppress spreading across his face.
The staff, looking utterly bewildered, managed a response, "She did... but..."
Cassie pointed towards the office.
She was about to add that his wife had just stepped out, but Darwin, beaming with joy, didn't wait for her to finish. He pushed open the door to his office and went in.
Inside the office, he didn't find his wife but stumbled upon little Chicago, sleeping peacefully like a piglet. All the negative emotions from the morning's meetings dissipated in an instant.
"Whose cute kid is this?" Darwin took off his coat and, after ensuring the room temperature was comfortable, gently approached Chicago.
He was in such a hurry that he had left the door ajar.
From their desks, Cassie and the others could see Mr. Solomon by Chicago's side, his face soft with tenderness.
He squatted down, squeezed the little hand, and watched the child with affection.
"Damn, Mr. Solomon just got even more charming!"
"I'm not used to seeing Mr. Solomon this gentle... it's weird," someone murmured.
Cassie chuckled, "What's there to get used to? When Mr. Solomon's in a good mood, our bonuses go up. It's fantastic!"
While they were talking, the sound of the unlocking door interrupted them.
Fiona entered.
Aside from Cassie, no one noticed her arrival.
Glancing at the scene, Fiona guessed Darwin must have finished his meeting.
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