Chapter 625: You Must Make a Choice
"We will do our best to control Leah’s temperature, but it is only to stop it from rising too much," the doctor sighed again. "Primarily, Leah has poison in her body, plus immune system defects. It is also the first time we have encountered such a situation, and there is no solution for reference."
"Dr. Paul. He is willing to come to Lake City," Michael grabbed the doctor’s hand and said, "You must control Leah’s physical condition. In ten hours, Paul will be here. He will come up with a solution for sure."
"We must do our best," the doctor nodded and said.
"If we give Leah an antidote immediately, will her condition become better?" Michael asked the doctor.
They had not given Leah the antidote in the first place, as there were four people poisoned and only one antidote. The second reason was that the antidote had not gone through inspection after being sought out by Michael’s men. Nobody could make sure that it was the correct antidote.
What if it was one of Yvonne’s schemes? It might not be the antidote at all, but more poison.
Michael had not dared to give the antidote to Leah until it was checked and confirmed. However, the test results had not yet come out.
If Leah’s situation grows more and more out of control, he would have no choice but to give Leah the antidote first. Of course, it was a last resort, to be used only when there was no other way.
"We can’t be sure about this," the doctor shook his head and said, "It is indeed the first time we have treated this disease. There are few references available.
"At present, it is possible that after taking the antidote, the poison in Leah’s body will clear up, and her immune system disorder could disappear as well. There is also the worst-case possibility that Leah can take the antidote to neutralize the toxins, but her immune system disorder could remain unsolved.
"After all, Leah has always had immune system defects. The poison only stimulated her autoimmune disorder. It was not the poison that caused the disorder in the first place."
Michael fell into a state of helplessness having heard the doctor’s words. Even the doctor was unsure whether the antidote would cure Leah.
At that moment, Milo Lawrence walked in from outside. He held a copy of the inspection data in his hand.
Michael saw Milo and asked immediately, "Is the antidote result available?"
Milo nodded, handed the information to Michael, and said, "It is indeed an antidote."
"Great!" Michael took the report, his tone full of joy. Michael read the information in his hands then raised his head to look at Milo again and asked, "If there is an antidote available, how long will it take to develop another one?"
"The research team said that if this antidote went through research and development, they could decompose its ingredients and launch new antidotes in three days at least and seven days at most," Milo said calmly.
"Seven days at most..." Michael said happily, "we can afford to wait seven days. Let Leah take this antidote, and we will wait for the development of new antidotes."
Seeing Michael’s smile, Milo could not bear to tell him the truth. "To develop more of the antidote in three to seven days, we have to use this antidote to decompose its ingredients and formulate new antidotes. In other words, this antidote must not be consumed."
Milo’s words made the smile on Michael’s face slowly stiffen. "What are you talking about?" Michael hoped that he had heard it wrong. He held onto the last shred of hope and asked, "Then, can’t you only use a part of it? That is, to divide this antidote into two parts, one part for Leah to take and the other part for research and development?"
...
Milo sighed and shook his head. "The ingredients developed by half an antidote may not be accurate, and the half remaining may not work for Leah either."
"It is best to decompose all the ingredients of this antidote and then develop new ones. If you choose to give this antidote to Leah or Jake first, then the shortest time for developing new ones will be two weeks. As for the longest time, I don’t know."
Listening to Milo, Michael felt his blood run cold. "Is there any other way?" He looked at Milo, expecting him to nod.
Unfortunately, Milo shook his head. "At present, there is no other way."
The matter had returned to its original point. Yvonne had said before that this antidote could only save one person. At that time, Michael thought that Yvonne purposely tried to scare him. However, if Milo could not figure out a solution, then there really was no way.
Seeing Michael take a step back, Milo stretched out his hand to hold him.
He wanted to comfort Michael but did not know what to say when opening his mouth.
In the end, Milo only sighed and said, "Michael, there are currently two options.
Make a bet and use this antidote to develop new ones. I will have my team conduct the research and development as soon as possible.
"In three days, Leah might be able to survive. Of course, given Leah’s physical condition, she might also not be able to survive. The other option is to give Leah the antidote, and wait for the new ones to come out.
"This choice is also quite risky, and it lies with the three of you. There is not much poison in your body, and the risks of not taking antidote are not too high. Yet, Jake and Zess cannot hold on for long without an antidote."
Milo’s analysis corresponded with Michael’s consideration. He did not say it out loud because he did not dare to think about it. He had to make such a cruel choice.
Michael lowered his head, closed his eyes, and stretched out his hand to support his forehead. He was facing a great dilemma and immense anxiety.
"I know this kind of choice is difficult to make, but you must decide as soon as possible." Milo stretched out his hand to pat Michael on the shoulder and said, "If you hesitate, the development of new antidotes will have to be delayed, which does harm all of you. Right now, time is your top priority."
"I know, but..." Michael choked with sobs. "There is no other way...at all?" Michael knew very well that there was indeed no other way. However, he could not help but ask again.
"Daddy, give it to Leah." Jake walked up to Michael and looked up at him, he spoke with an extraordinarily firm tone. "We can wait for Uncle Lawrence’s antidote." Jake had wanted him to give Leah the antidote from the beginning.
"Leah’s body cannot bear it," Jake said with all seriousness, "Even if she can, I’m afraid that her immune system would have already have done damage when the antidote comes out and clears up the poison."
"But Jake, if we give this antidote to Leah, then you may not be able to wait for the new antidotes..." Michael’s voice trembled as he said this.
Jake nodded. "I know, but Leah’s situation is more urgent, right? There is always a priority. I think Zess will make the same choice as me."
It was not only the two of them who were poisoned but also Zess.
At that moment, Zess walked in from the door and immediately said, "I am fine..."
...
Zess was actually unaware of what had happened in the past few days.
Nevertheless, since Michael had taken them to the hospital for a physical examination, she knew that something was wrong. During the past two days in the hospital, she had also learned something from the doctor.
Listening to Jake just now, Zess said, "You don’t need to worry about me. The decision about the antidote is totally up to you. I have already lived half a lifetime.
Even if I really cannot wait for the antidote, it doesn’t matter. Leah and Jake are both still so young; you must find a way to save them."
Zess had brought up both Leah and Jake. At this time, there was only one antidote, and she would not think of herself.
"What are you talking about?" Leah blinked her big eyes, listening to them with confusion. "What is the antidote?"
"Leah, you are awake. Can you rest for a while?" Michael did not want her to know too much. He walked to Leah’s side and stretched out his hand to help her lie down.
Michael lowered his head and kissed Leah on the forehead and said softly, "Daddy will guarantee your safety."
Michael then turned around and left the ward. Meanwhile, he said to the rest of his family members, "Let’s go out and have a talk."
Leah saw them leaving. She opened her little mouth and exclaimed, "Daddy, I want to know."
Michael’s footsteps stopped at once.
"Daddy, we all need an antidote, but there is only one antidote, right?" Although Leah had not known the specifics of the situation, she already figured it out just by listening to them now.
"You weren’t asleep just now?" Michael turned his head, frowning at Leah.
Leah sat up from the bed, shook her head, and said, "I had already woken up." She blinked her big eyes to look at Michael and then turned to look at Jake. "Daddy, if there is only one antidote, give it to Brother."
"Leah, you need this antidote more than I do." Jake shook his head. "All of us can wait, but you cannot."
"But Brother, I am already in poor health, and I may not get better even if I take the antidote." Leah sniffed and could not help but shed tears. "If Brother takes it, you will be fine."
"Leah, listen to me. If you don’t take the antidote, you will be at your limit. However, we still have time, and we can think of other ways." Jake’s choice had always been to give Leah the antidote.
When Michael listened to the two children choose to give the antidote over to the other, his heart hurt more and more.
"Yvonne, Yvonne might still have extra antidotes," Michael said to himself, "I will see her again. She must have more antidotes, for sure."
Michael could not make this choice. His son and daughter weighed the same in his heart.
If he chose to save Leah now, and Jake was at risk without a cure, how could Michael ever explain it to Wendy?
Besides, if he chose to use this antidote for development, Leah might not be able to wait and eventually face danger. Michael would regret it all the same.
Seeing Michael whisper and suddenly run out of the ward, Milo immediately chased after him.
Milo shouted holding Michael’s hand, "Michael, please calm down! We don’t have much time to waste."
But at this time, Michael could not hear what Milo said. There was no other way. Milo had to punch Michael hard in the face.
Seeing Michael finally snap out of it, Milo said, "Michael, I know it is a difficult choice, but you are their father. You must decide." After all, outsiders had no right to make this decision.
