The Day Our Promise Breaks

Charles sat at Charlie's bedside, his heart twisting with pain as he watched his daughter suffer.

Her face was pale, twisted in agony, and every soft moan felt like a blade carving into him. In his hand, he clutched a tiny, dark red pill he'd found hidden in a secret compartment of Luna's jewelry box. The pill was no bigger than a grain of rice, and his fingertips were cold as ice.

If he gave Charlie the pill, it would take her pain away.

But he couldn't trust Luna.

With all the malice she'd shown to Eve and Charlie, there was no way he believed she actually wanted to save Charlie.

"Charles, did you get the antidote?" Andrew's voice broke the silence. He'd rushed in all the way from the capital, ignoring his own exhaustion to join the estate's medical team, working nonstop to help find a way to save Charlie.

The moment he heard Charles was back, he'd come out of the lab in a hurry.

"Yes," Charles replied.

But he didn't do what Luna expected. He didn't give the pill to Charlie. Instead, he handed it to Andrew.

"Andrew, analyze it now. I want the most accurate results, no mistakes."

There was a sharp urgency in Charles's voice that allowed no argument.

Andrew had always trusted Charles's judgment and wasted no time. He grabbed the pill and hurried to the lab with Francis and the rest of the medical team, firing up the best equipment and running the tests at top speed.

It didn't take long to get the results-but what they found sent a chill through thenoveldrama

room.

"Charles!" Andrew's face had gone gray, his hand shaking as he held up the report. “You were right. This isn't an antidote at all—it's an even deadlier poison!"

He pointed to the analysis. "The main ingredient does suppress the toxins in Charlie's bo for a while, so she'd look like she's getting better..."

"But it's actually a slow-acting poison. While it hides the symptoms, it changes her system, making the toxin even more stubborn, more hidden, and more addictive."

"If she ever stops, or the dose isn't enough, the toxins will come roaring back- ten, a hundred, a thousand times worse. When that happens, the pain will be unbearable."

"And the longer she takes it, the more it will destroy her body. In the end... no one could save her."

Andrew's eyes grew colder with every word.

How vicious could Luna be, to do this to a child?

Even if Charlie lived, her life would be nothing short of torture.

"Luna!" Charles slammed his fist into the wall, the impact splitting his knuckles

and leaving blood on the cold surface.

His eyes burned red, wild with rage and pain.

That woman actually wanted to use Charlie's suffering as a weapon for her own revenge.

Unforgivable.

A wave of relief swept over Charles, realizing he hadn't given Charlie the pill in a moment of desperation. Otherwise, he would have become the very thing he feared

-love

most-someone who hurt his own child.

Charlie's condition was critical. Forcing down his anger, Charles turned to Andrew,

his voice raw and desperate. “Andrew, is there any way?"

His voice cracked, holding on to hope by a thread.

Andrew frowned, lips pressed tight, silent.

Charles knew him well-if there was no hope, Andrew would've said so. That look meant there was a way, just a hard one.

But Charles wasn't afraid of hard.

If there was a chance to save Charlie, he would do whatever it took-even if it cost him everything.

"Andrew. Tell me."

Under Charles's unblinking stare, Andrew finally spoke, his tone heavy. "Charles, our only option is to extract the toxin from Charlie and run as many tests as possible in the lab, searching for a real antidote or antibody. But that takes time..."

"And Charlie's so weak. Every extraction is torture for her. She might not survive

long enough for us to find a cure.....”

He saw the hope drain from Charles's eyes and added, reluctantly, "Or... we could find someone healthy and strong enough to be @host, inject the toxin into them, and use their body fordive experiments. It'd let us simulate Charlie's illness and search for a cure faster."

"But... whoever we choose would go through everything Charlie's suffering,

maybe worse. The risk is high-they could die at any time..."

Andrew would never have suggested this if there was any other way.

It was trading a life for a life, and even then, there were no guarantees. The

damage could be permanent.

"Use me."

Charles cut him off, his voice calm but absolute.

He would never sacrifice an innocent just to save Charlie.

He was her father.

He'd already failed her too many times.

If his life could save hers, he'd give it up in a heartbeat.