Mommy, Where's Daddy? The Forsaken Daughter's Return

Chapter 95: The Possibility

"I'll give you everything - my shares to the company, my wealth! Just give me the cure!" Ethan demanded, slamming his hands against the table.

Steven just laughed at him in his swollen and beat-up face. He sighed and leaned forward to say, "Ethan. Ethan. Didn't I give my conditions already?"

"We will not file charges against you as you have requested!" Ethan shot back at him with his eyes narrowing.

Still, Steven wound up laughing. He was at it so hard that he thought he might choke. Clearing his throat, Steven reminded, "My requirements remain unchanged, Ethan. My last condition includes sleeping with your wife and I will make sure, I get her pregnant!"

"Ahh! Fuck you, Ethan!" Yet again, Steven received a punch from Ethan.

Ethan grabbed the collar of his shirt and said, "You are never going to touch my wife! That will never happen!"

"If you are not going to give me the cure, then I will invest all my money in BNU pharmaceuticals! It won't take long." Ethan thrust Steven's body. He took heavy breaths before closing his statement, "I will use all my power and money to find the cure no matter what it takes!"

As he strode his way outside the interrogation room of the military's holding facility, Steven screamed, "You'll never find out, Ethan! Because I am the cure! Don't you get it! Haha!"

Ethan could only clench his hand into a fist, thinking about his suggestion. He thought, 'How the hell can a person be the cure?'

***

"What do you think he meant by... he is the cure," Samantha probed before turning to Ethan.

After two hours of trying to negotiate with Steven, Ethan wound up returning to the hospital with no results.

When Samantha asked what conditions Steven required, Ethan reluctantly told her the truth.

"I don't know, Sam. I think he is just making an excuse to." He gulped, not wanting to even imagine the possibility.

Sitting on her hospital bed, Ethan caressed Samantha's face. He leaned over to kiss his wife, but Samantha turned away. She said, "Don't Ethan, I'm worried you might get this."

He lay next to Samantha and pecked on her cheek instead. He said, "I won't get it and... I'm not afraid."

Ethan let his wife rest on his arm and he embraced her tight. He swore, "I won't let this affect us. I'll use all my resources and fund Dr. Perry's research on this illness. We will get the answer that we need soon."

Samantha buried her face into Ethan's chest and revealed, "I would... I would rather die than stay in the same room as that man, Ethan."

A tear fell down her cheek when she told, "I'm glad you did not agree - sending me into another man's bed."

Pecking on her forehead, Ethan said, "I would never. If a small company like Sawyer and Sons can find the cure, I'm sure an experienced doctor like Dr. Perry could figure it out... We will get through this, Sam... We will."

***

Across the Pacific Ocean.

In a small town of Tuk Chhou in Cambodia, where many settlers live off on farming and fishing, Connor and Dr. Shannon Perry finally arrived at the house of the first reported victim who had been cured of the Kannareth disease.

For the past few days, Connor and Dr. Perry had been traveling on land to reach their first destination.

They were both welcomed in a humble home, near the rice fields, and settled in a bamboo sitting area.

Along with them, a local had to guide their way, serving as their interpreter.

Dara, the first reported victim in their provincial hospital, came out of the bedroom, together with her one-year-old child.

"Good morning, Dara. Thank you for seeing us," greeted Shannon. "We have a few questions for you, regarding how your illness suddenly went away."

Connor then presented gifts from the city, along with an envelope full of cash to ensure her cooperation.

After the interpreter revealed their reason for coming, Dara smiled and happily accepted the gifts. She began to tell how she was diagnosed at the provincial hospital.

"She said, she was given medication at first and her symptoms went away. She went home to her family, and the illness manifested again after two weeks," said the interpreter.

"She went back to the hospital and received another round of treatment. After coming home again to her husband and family, she never got sick again," added the interpreter.

With a frown, Connor asked, "That's it? When did this happen?"

Dara answered and the local guide said, "She said, this happened about two years ago. Before she got pregnant with her baby."

"Did you take anything else?" Shannon. "Vitamins, natural herbs?"

The interpreter told that Dara drank several herbs around the farm.

Dr. Perry quickly noted down the plants and considered taking some samples. However, as a last attempt to find out anything about her sudden remission, she asked, "Anything at all that changed in you before you suddenly got better?"

The local and Dara exchanged brief words before the interpreter said, "It's just that she got pregnant with her husband's child. She thinks that her god might have cured her, knowing that she had a baby on the way."

Connor and Dr. Perry looked at each other, puzzled.

Shannon sighed and said, "I see... Well, thank you for the time."

In the next four hours, the two were off to another nearby town where the second reported woman to have been cured resided. Contentt bel0ngs to N0ve/lDrâ/ma.O(r)g!

As they were inside the van, Dr. Perry studied the data once again with Connor.

From the provincial hospital, there were eighteen women who were diagnosed with the disease over the last two years. Only seven women were said to have miraculously recovered. Four of these women were those that went to the quack doctor, only to be sexually abused. They were a mix of married and single women.

The three other women that survived were all married.

Dr. Perry frowned, realizing how most women that did not survive were single.

While Shannon was in deep thought, they finally arrived at the home of the second noted survivor.

She was a woman who married a British national and thus could communicate well in English to the doctor and Connor. Her name was Vesna.

They were invited to the family's garden area and sat in front of a table where coffee and snacks were prepared for them. Like the last, Dr. Perry and Connor provided gifts for Vesna's cooperation and soon the interview began.

"This happened just last year, right after my honeymoon! Can you imagine getting sick after a two- week of love-making in Europe! I was scared for my life! One day, I was living a dream and then I got sick!" Vesna revealed.

"I was admitted to the hospital for a week and received treatments and after that! I got cured!" Confirmed Vesna.

Yet again, Dr. Perry fell bemused. She asked, "That's it?"

"Yes, that's it! The treatment worked for me!" Told Vesna.

With Connor sighing heavily, Shannon suddenly asked out of nowhere, "You did not... get pregnant, right?"

Vesna suddenly laughed. She glanced at the doctor and asked, "How did you know? Well, of course, we came from our honeymoon so four weeks after I was discharged from the hospital, I found out I was five weeks pregnant!"

"Back then, I was ready to go to the hospital because I was vomiting, but in the end, I was pregnant. I thought I was sick again," Vesna said before laughing.

With a long sigh, Vesna told, "I was so relieved that the illness went away. I don't know how I could have managed with me being pregnant and being sick!"

Shannon fell mute for seconds, just thinking about the possibilities. Out of the blue, she muttered, "Well, you know... being pregnant, the changes in a woman's body, from hormones, antibodies to enzymes... can... help with health problems."

She chuckled, turning to Connor and she said, "There are women who claim to have been cured of their illnesses because of pregnancy. Just like... autoimmune diseases but really." Her brows furrowed before she added, "It has not been thoroughly... studied yet."

"Well, maybe you should, doctor!" Suggested Vesna. "Because if it wasn't my baby, maybe it was just a miracle!"