Heartstrings on Fire novel Chapter 1086

Michael's face was etched with determination. "If I knew who he was, you wouldn't even have to lift a finger. I'd take care of him myself."

Agnes felt like she was living in some surreal nightmare. How did everything change so quickly? Who could the culprit possibly be? She couldn't piece together a single clue. But whoever it was, they were ruthlessly efficient.

Michael, with Phenix and a few others in tow, left the scene. Leaving only four souls behind in the hospital ward: Agnes, Jared, Alyssa, and Cilian.

Alyssa, donned in sterile garb, made her way into the ICU, taking a seat by Ryder's bedside, incessantly talking to him. The doctors had said Ryder lacked the will to fight. They needed to find a way to spark his desire to live.

Jared hadn't set foot in his office these past few days, opting instead to keep vigil at the hospital. Agnes had never seen anything hit Jared this hard. He had barely eaten in days, his words few and far between. Agnes knew Jared was shouldering a lot of blame for the situation. He was filled with regret. And so was Agnes.

True to his word, Cilian had rallied some of the world's finest neurologists. Consultation after consultation, they proposed plan after risky plan. Each treatment option carried significant risk, with the prerequisite that Ryder had to wake up first. But whether Ryder would ever regain consciousness was a question no one could answer. He had been in a coma for three days and nights.

On the evening of the third day, Agnes went in to talk to Ryder. Seeing him lying there so still, his body pierced with tubes, brought tears streaming down her face. Ryder had once been a leading light in the field of neurology, destined for a bright future. This wasn't how his story was supposed to end.

Agnes approached his bedside and whispered, "Ryder." There was no response. The silence in the room was so profound it felt like the passage of time was palpable. Standing by his side, Agnes stared at Ryder, unsure of what to say next. "Ryder, can you wake up for me, please?" Silence was her only answer.

Gently taking his hand, she said, "Ryder, if only you had never met me, maybe your life wouldn't be like this. It's all my fault, giving you false hope, leading you down this path. Ryder, imagine if we could erase everything and start over, how wonderful that would be." A sad smile touched her lips. "But life doesn't give us do-overs, Ryder. I'm so sorry."

All Agnes could do was apologize, at a loss for how else to express the myriad of emotions swirling within her. That night, Agnes spoke at length, the words meant for Ryder, yet seemingly directed at herself as well. So many things she'd never managed to say while he was awake were now poured out without reservation.

With Ryder unconscious, it felt like they had hit a dead end. But unexpectedly, a few days later, they stumbled upon a hidden trove of documents and recordings left by the chemist involved in the operation. Even more shocking, they uncovered video calls and voice recordings between the chemist and the mastermind, all verified through voice recognition technology as authentic. The man behind the curtain, the one speaking with the chemist, was none other than Berlin.