Mixed blood

Chapter 27 : Beep. Beep. Beeeeeeeeeeeep.

The lab smelled of antiseptic and faint traces of burnt chemicals, She hunched over the workbench, her gloved hands carefully measuring a translucent liquid into a syringe.

An experimental medicine designed to calm erratic heartbeats and stabilize dangerously high blood pressure.

A potentially life-saving drug.

Or so she'd hoped.

She administered the medicine into a lab dummy hooked up to a monitor. The machine beeped steadily, the numbers on the screen dancing with life. But then—

Beep. Beep. Beeeeeeeeeeeep.

"No pulse. Heart rate: zero. Blood pressure: undetectable. Oxygen saturation..." She sighed heavily, tossing her pen onto the desk. "Nothing. Absolutely nothing."

Snatching off her gloves, she threw them onto the counter. "This is useless! What am I supposed to do with a drug that makes someone look dead?"

The lab door creaked open, and Suzi waltzed in, carrying two steaming cups of coffee.

She placed a cup beside her friend and leaned on the counter. "So, what's the drama this time?"

"Oh, nothing much. The same thing as last time. Just created a miracle drug that turns people into corpses."

Suzi raised an eyebrow, sipping her coffee. "Simulates death? That actually sounds kinda cool. Maybe we'll sell it to Hollywood."

Luana shot her with a withering look. "It's supposed to save lives, not... this."

"Look, maybe it's not what you wanted, but think of the potential. Who else can say they accidentally invented something this cool?"

"This isn't cool," she snapped, spinning her chair to face Suzi. "It's a failure."

"Lu, What you've made isn't useless—it's just incomplete. All it needs is a counterpart, and voilà! You've got something revolutionary. I mean, what if you develop a reversal serum?"

"A reversal serum," she repeated, the wheels of her mind turning.

"Exactly! Imagine—someone's in danger, they take this to fake their death, then you 'bring them back' like magic. That could save lives, Lu."

I couldn't admit it but what she was saying was completely right, it could become the ultimate weapon—or salvation.

"Since when did you become the motivational speaker of the year?"

"Since my best friend became a moody scientist," Suzi shot back.

Their banter was interrupted by the sharp buzz of Luana's phone. She picked it up, frowning at the message. It was from William, brief and cryptic:

"Be ready in an hour. Some of my family are coming to visit us."

She rolled her eyes, shoving the phone back into her pocket. "Of course. Right when I need to think, he has to show up."

Suzi teased, "Is your charming husband needing you?"

"Charming isn't the word I'd use," Luana muttered, standing and pulling off her lab coat.

---

When Luana walked into the living room, she found William, his tie loose and his expression somewhere between exasperated and resigned.

"What now?" she asked, dropping her purse onto the nearest chair.

"Uncle Charles is coming for dinner. With his family."

"And?"

"And, as always, we need to be the 'perfectly happy couple,'" he said, mimicking air quotes with a sardonic edge.