He walked near to Sir Orton's bed and started checking his body. Anabel watched as the specialist checked her dad's weak body. Minutes passed as he worked in silence, evaluating. Then, he finally spoke.
“I need a filiform needle,” he requested and turned toward the nurse. She nodded quickly, rushing to retrieve it.
Anabel barely blinked. She was watching every movement like her father’s life depended on it. And it did. Her father's life depends on whatever they were doing at that very moment.
After a couple of minutes, the nurse returned with three packs of filiform needles and gave them to the doctor.
Without hesitation, the specialist began to perform acupuncture on Sir Orton. The room was silent as the specialist struggled to save Sir Orton's life.
And then...He stopped. The tension in his shoulders told them everything before he even spoke. They could tell he didn't succeed. He shook his head slowly, his expression unreadable at first.
Then, he inhaled deeply and said the words none of them wanted to hear, even though they had seen it coming.
“He’s too weak,” the specialist declared. His voice was steady, but there was an underlying sadness to it. “He has been unconscious for a very long time. His body can’t respond anymore.”
When he finished, the silence that followed was deafening. Anabel gasped, shaking her head as her throat tightened. “No,” she whispered. “No, that’s not true. He can still make it. Nothing will happen to my father.”
Her mother, sitting beside her, finally broke. She collapsed into tears, holding her hands to her mouth, shaking her head violently as if rejecting reality itself.
For Jethro, he was very angry. This was all he had been avoiding. Now, it's too late for the specialist to even do anything. If he had allowed Desmond, maybe he would have done something. Now, he was about to lose his dad.
He turned sharply to the doctor who had refused to let Desmond try when they still had time.
“Can you see what you have caused? Can you see what your stubbornness has brought us to? You did this,” Jethro said, his voice rising dangerously.
"What have I done now? Am I the one that made your dad weak?"
“You let this happen. You refused to let someone who could have done something try when we still had time. My father may have survived if Desmond had tried. I bet you, if anything happens to my father, I will make sure you pay for it. I will make your life a living hell.”
“Don't blame me for anything. I'm following the hospital's rules. Besides, Desmond could have killed Sir Orton earlier.” He replied coldly. “It wouldn’t have changed anything.” He added, and Jethro got more furious.
“How would you know when you didn't allow him? You didn’t even let him try. You sat there waiting for someone who couldn’t even save him.” Jethro said, and Dr. Maxwell frowned but didn’t respond.
Jethro turned abruptly toward Desmond and said, “Desmond, I don't know what to say again, but can you still do something?” His chest was rising and falling rapidly with frustration as he looked up at Desmond.
The doctor scoffed by the side. “He can’t do anything more than the specialist.”
"Will you shut your fucking mouth before I do it myself!" Jethro glared at the doctor. "One more word from you and you will be in a worse state than my father." He was angry and ready to beat the hell out of the doctor.
But then, the specialist spoke up. He turned, his gaze on Desmond, and asked curiously, “Who exactly is he?”
Jethro was quick to answer. “ His name is Desmond. The nurse recommended him. She said he's not a doctor or specialist, but she had witnessed him handle a similar case before. She wanted to call him, but Dr. Maxwell refused. When we called him without the doctor's knowledge and he showed up, he refused to let him touch my father.”
The specialist studied Desmond for a moment and smiled. He tilted his head slightly, nodding as he said, “Everything is possible."
Dr. Maxwell frowned. “Medically..."
“I said everything is possible,” the specialist repeated. “Medically, yes, Sir Orton is as good as gone. But I believe in possibilities. I believe in natural gift and talent.”
Then, without hesitation, he turned toward Desmond. “I don't know who you are, and what you are capable of, but I’m giving you permission. It might be too late, but please try. Do something.”