Chapter 388

The night stretched long. Eventually, Ross stopped and reached for the tissue box on the nightstand, gently wiping Danielle’s hand. He said, “Not the right timing. Maybe next time.”

Danielle gave a soft snort and said, “You came in my hands, so of course you’d say that.” Then, she teased lazily, “Got what you wanted and dipped, huh?”

Ross tossed the tissue aside, picked Danielle up, and carried her to the bathroom to wash her hands. Torn between amusement and exasperation at her words, he protested, “That’s not true.”

Danielle raised an eyebrow, burying her face in the covers as she giggled. “Alright. I forgive you.”

That night, Roy tossed and turned, haunted by the dreams of Molly.

By dawn, the sky was beginning to lighten.

Early in the morning, Shermaine received a call from Ruben, the deputy director of Yaleview Hospital. He explained that a patient with a persistent high fever and coma had been transferred from Horington. After being admitted, the patient vomited blood and went into shock.

After resuscitation, the patient suddenly woke up in a frenzy, like a rabid dog, trying to bite anyone in sight. The symptoms were highly unusual, and he requested her immediate consultation.

Shermaine asked, “How is the patient doing now?”

“He was given a sedative and is now asleep. We’ve transferred him to a general ward,” Ruben reported.

Shermaine rose from the bed. “I’m on my way,” she said.

About forty minutes later, she arrived at Yaleview Hospital. Joshua had driven her, but since neither of them had eaten, he left to grab breakfast.

The deputy director had been waiting anxiously and promptly led her to the patient’s ward. When they entered, she saw that the patient was restrained at both wrists and ankles.

Shermaine walked over and examined the patient’s pupils, ears, and oral cavity. Then, she asked, “Could you show me the patient’s test results?”

Ruben handed the report to her. The patient’s organs appeared normal, and no clear source of the fever could be identified. Shermaine first skimmed through the blood test results, where most of the indicators were normal.

Shermaine asked, “Was genetic testing done?”

“It was,” Ruben replied. “Scroll down to the bottom. The genetic test was ordered on the first day of admission, per the family’s request.”

Shermaine scrolled straight to the bottom of the report and scanned the results. “We need to redo both the bloodwork and the genetic panel,” she said firmly.

“Got it. I’ll get it arranged right away,” Ruben said.

Just as the words left his mouth, the patient lying on the bed snapped awake, seized by a violent frenzy. The veins on his forehead bulged so much that they looked like they might burst at any moment.

Shermaine observed his unfocused eyes–he was clearly not fully conscious. The patient, whose fever had just subsided, was suddenly spiking a high temperature again.

Admittedly, this case is particularly unusual among all the atypical cases Shermaine has seen. If she had to guess, it was likely a viral infection.

Shermaine warned sternly, “Take extra precautions and avoid being scratched by him.”

Hearing this, the doctors and nurses in the ward exchanged uneasy glances. That sounded serious, and they wondered if it was something bloodborne, like HIV.

Everyone knew the patient had a wound on the back of his hand. According to his family, he developed fever and cold symptoms that very night after the injury.

“We’ll be careful,” the medical staff responded.

Shermaine promptly followed Ruben to the hospital’s private laboratory, located two buildings away from the main medical complex.

Although dedicated lab technicians were available to assist with the testing, Shermaine insisted on conducting the procedures herself, which Ruben agreed to without hesitation.

Truth be told, most hospitals lack the capability for genetic testing due to a lack of expertise, insufficient staff, and prohibitively expensive equipment. But Yaleview Hospital had that kind of money.

At this moment, Shermaine was the only one in the lab. Moments later, Joshua arrived, and Shermaine drew a drop of his blood.

Meanwhile, over in Ustrana, Kylie stirred awake.