Nyra's point of view.
I close the door behind me.
CEO.
Funny how the title falls into place. It took five years of blood, grit, and strategy to get here. But the single look he gave me in the board room.... for a moment, almost made me feel like that girl again. The one who walked down the aisle hoping her vampire husband would love her.
I remind myself: that girl is gone.
The office is elegant and modern, overlooking the city. Mine now. I own everything.
Six years.
Six years since I ran away with nothing but the clothes on my back and a few dollars I had saved up that could barely cover the hospital birth. Lucien was born in a private clinic under a false name. The safest choice.
He came out quiet. Almost didn't cry. Just opened his eyes and stared at me.... like he understood the world already. My boy.
The first few months were survival. But I knew science. I knew formulas. My father might have sold his soul to create something that kills.... but I used what I learned from labs to save. Thanks to Kelly, my best friend and partner, I was able make this a reality.
We started out in a basement lab. Recalibrated old formulas. Developed treatments for blood toxicity, lung degradation in humans living in hybrid zones, and a serum for mutation fever. When the first drug was approved, I signed my name as N. Hart. Half the industry thought was a ghost.
Then the profits came.
One year. Two. Suddenly, I wasn't the runaway wife anymore. I was a name whispered in pharmaceutical spaces, the woman whose drugs have saved over a million lives.
When Lucien turned five, I bought our mansion. Private land. Off-grid security. Untraceable. Safe.
Then I bought shares. Vosper pharma had the research I needed to expand. I stayed quiet until I owned enough to take the chair and move into the helm of power in the company.
And now.... I'm here.
Creating the cure for the one disease that can kill a vampire. After all they put me through, creating a cure is not out of the goodness of my heart, but the influence and power it would give me in the world. No one, human or vampire would ever look down on me or disrespect me.
I hear loud footsteps approaching my office. My door opens without knocking.
Ardonis.
He closes the door softly behind him.
"How dare you come in here without knocking first.? what part of being your boss do you not understand. Is this how things are done here?
"I'm sorry for that, but there's something important I need to talk to you about."
"There is nothing we have to discuss."
We stare at each other in silence. He looks like me like he was seeing me for the first time. Truth is, he never bothered to look the first time.
"What is it?" I asked breaking the silence.
"You didn't say anything at the meeting."
"I said everything I needed to." I keep my voice steady
He steps closer. "You've made progress on the cure."
"I have."
"You're running trials soon."
"Yes and?"
"I want to be one of the first test subjects."
"But the trials are for people with-oh"
"Yes, I have recently been diagnosed. And I would like to volunteer my body."
I look at him. At the man who used me like a transaction. At the vampire who planned to discard me once I had given him what he wanted. And here he was, at my mercy with his life literally in my hands. I will use his body, just like he tried to use mine.
I won't waste my pity on him. Not when I've built an empire.
"You understand the risks," I say.
He nods.
"If the drug fails, you could lose motor function within weeks. Possibly sooner. If your nervous system begins to decline, there's no reversing it. You could die."
"I understand. It's a risk I'm willing to take."
"The trial team will not be responsible for any outcome."
"I accept."
"Fine then, I need your blood, full medical history, and genome sequencing. Testing begins when the compound is fully calibrated."
"Just tell me where and when."
I hold his gaze. "One last thing. My lead scientist Xavier Locke is going to work with me directly in the research."
"Who?"
Before I could reply, my office door opened without a knock.
"Nyra?" Xavier stepped in with a folder tucked in his arm, his usual confident stride." The compound statistics are ready. Figured I'd update you before your next session-"
He paused noticing Ardonis.
"Oh sorry. Didn't realize you had...company."
I straightened. "Ardonis, this is Doctor Xavier Locke, lead scientist on our haematodipsia project."
Xavier offered his hand to Ardonis but it remained hanging in the air.
Xavier didn't seem bothered. He casually turned to me instead. "The new molecular indicators are reacting just as you theorized. Your approach might actually stabilize neural degradation. Brilliant, Dr. Hearthe as always."
I give him a huge smile. "Thank you, Xavier, we'll review it later."
"Perfect," he replied, then added, "I cleared out the evening schedule for you."
"I didn't approve that, "I said.
"You will," he replied smugly. "You always do."
Ardonis' face hardens.
I return Xaviers smug look. "Fine, you know I can't say no to Chinese food. I'll come find you when I'm ready."
He nodded and exited. But not before giving me a lingering look.
When the door closed, the temperature of the room shifted.
Ardonis faced me. "Who is he to you?"
I didn't blink. "I already told you, Xavier is the lead scientist on this project so, you better treat him with respect, he is gonna be working hard trying to save your life."
The silence thickens.
Then he says finally. "I'm not asking to be cured you know," he said, softer. "I just ask that...you not give up on me."
Anger spreads through me. "You have no right to make any demands from me."
"You're right," he apologizes. "I'm sorry if I overstepped."
"Whatever, I'll reach out to you when we are ready to begin testing."
"Okay." He gets up and turns to leave.
At the door he pauses.
Then-
"I never stopped looking for you."
I don't answer.
He leaves.
I exhale.
For five years, I ran so my child wouldn't live as a pawn. Now I build so he has something to inherit.
And if Ardonis Stepanov thinks he could just walk back in our lives without repercussions, he has another thing coming.
