Chapter 400: A Gamble on Life

The moment Mateo finished speaking, the emergency room doors swung open. A duty doctor rushed out, visibly anxious.

“I’ve already called the director. The best specialists are on their way. But I suggest you prepare yourselves—the girl’s bloodwork is highly abnormal.”

“Let me see,” Sierra said quickly.

The doctor handed over the freshly printed blood analysis. Sierra glanced at it, then passed it to Johnathan.

They exchanged a look.

“The medication we used before isn’t working anymore. It must be the result of Quinn giving her all kinds of unregulated drugs—it’s causing an intense backlash.”

The rate of cellular breakdown was accelerating. At this rate, Dora’s living cells would all die.

At this point, even the best doctors—let alone divine intervention—wouldn’t be able to save her.

Such a young life, not even four years old…

Sierra felt like she couldn’t breathe just thinking about it.

Then, suddenly, a thought struck her. Her expression shifted from despair to a flash of hope, followed by hesitation. She looked at Johnathan and called out, “Johnathan!”

As soon as he met her eyes, Johnathan knew what she wanted to do.

He thought for a moment, then said, “Try it.”

“But…”

Sierra hesitated. The treatment was still in the experimental stage. There were too many unresolved issues. That’s what held her back.

“It can’t get any worse than this,” Johnathan said.

That settled it.

“You’re right.”

Sierra made up her mind. “I’ll have Autumn bring it over.”

She immediately called Autumn. Their lab had people on standby every day during the trials—today just happened to be Autumn’s shift.

Dora couldn’t wait any longer.

While Sierra made the call, Johnathan handled the liability paperwork.

Because Dora’s condition was so critical and unique, no conventional treatment could save her. Johnathan called Stone right away and requested special legal protection.

Even if Dora didn’t make it, no one would be allowed to blame Sierra.

He thought through everything in detail. He wouldn’t leave any opening for others to use against her.

Soon after, Stone sent over an official document. With that in hand, Johnathan finally felt at ease.

Meanwhile, Autumn arrived at the hospital as fast as she could, already aware of the situation. She had the experimental treatment with her.

Still, when she handed it to Sierra, she looked uneasy.

“Sierra, this is against protocol. If anything goes wrong…”

Sierra knew what she was worried about. “If something goes wrong, I’ll take full responsibility. Autumn, if we try, Dora might live. If we give up now, she’ll die for sure.”

Autumn clenched her jaw. “Alright, we’ll do it. Whatever happens, I’ll take responsibility with you.”

She couldn’t just stand by and watch a little girl die. She’d met Dora before and grown fond of her. That child had suffered enough.

Neither of them knew that Johnathan had already taken care of the liability issues.

Sierra had led the team that developed this treatment. No one knew the formula or dosage better than her. She and Autumn entered the room together.

The hospital staff refused to administer any unapproved drugs without legal waivers. They presented a stack of forms. Johnathan read through them all and signed everything without hesitation.

Then he turned to Sierra and said, “Go do what you have to do. I’ve got this.”

“Okay.”

With Johnathan’s support, Sierra felt steady again.

The drug was still in trial phases. It had been tested on animals, and while Sierra had been away, Autumn kept her updated on the latest results.

“There were a few successful cases—but not always. Some trials still failed.”

“Here’s the report.”

Autumn pulled up the data showing every recorded dosage. Sierra calculated the optimal amount, then gave Dora the injection.

Once it was done, neither woman spoke. They both held their breath, eyes fixed on Dora’s vitals. Behind them, the doctors Johnathan had brought in stood silently, all wearing disapproving expressions.

If it hadn’t been Johnathan who called them, they wouldn’t have agreed to take part in what they saw as a reckless stunt.

Sierra monitored Dora’s heartbeat and temperature.

Slowly, things began to change. Dora’s heartbeat steadied. Her temperature began to rise back to normal.

“Did… did it work?”