Hollywood Zenith

Samuel went toward the inner section of the academy where most classes were being held.

Both his teachers were upset that he extended his leave for another week. It was hard to persuade them, but he was able to do it while citing it as a family problem.

He also brought along Oscar to confirm his story, which made them agree. This week was crucial for him, so he wanted to put everything else on hold before resolving his issue with the Hanson family.

Thomas had also pestered him about the illustrations, which only needed a few finishing touches.

He approached the singing class to call for Iblis; she should also be present to serve as a witness in negotiations.

Adele noticed the two of them, and she wanted to follow them. Samuel rejected the idea. He had been mulling over it yesterday and decided it was best to start maintaining some distance from her. The news would blow up in a week; it was best to make it easier for her as possible.

Adele was confused. Although she was jealous, she brushed it off and decided to focus back on the class.

By the time Samuel reached the room, Kester had already calmed down from his initial shock.

He noticed his daughter and Samuel entering the room.

" Iblis, you are here. Did you know about this?" He asked to which Iblis nodded affirmatively.

" Father, Can you now tell me what really happened that day?" Iblis asked as she sat down with the group.

Kester looked toward the children in front of him, he had buried those memories deep inside, but they began to surface again when he started remembering that bleak evening. He sighed and began to explain.

As Samuel and others previously speculated, Olivia was still alive but was in a comatose state. Kester had been hiding her existence from the world, and the people who knew about it were less than ten. Basically, the medical staff and the head butler knew about it.

" I know this is sudden but can I visit her? I may be able to help." Samuel said after Kester's explanation.

" W-why? I have traveled the globe for the cure. Any cure. But I have always been met with rejection." Kester said meekly; he had already lost hope.

" Rothschild family have a special medicine, a type of elixir that could be helpful in this situation."

" But young master! I had never heard of it. Are you sure?" Oscar exclaimed; he was suspicious about it.

" I know it is hard to believe, but Grandfather gave it to me when we left for the trip. He mentioned it as a top secret inside the family. It is only available for the immediate family members." Samuel was making everything up, he had thought about how he could make them trust him, and this was the best solution he could come up with.

He was unsure whether he could affect Olivia's condition with his magic power, but he had to try at least.

" I know it is hard to believe, but it is not a magic drug. It uses precious ingredients which help boost the body's natural recovery power. I cannot guarantee it, but it is worth a try." He pleaded again, which seemed to work as Kester began to think about the possibility.

" Can I trust this kid? But Daniel trust him and every family have some deep secrets. Rothschild could hold and develop such medicine with their immense wealth." Kester thought about it.

Oscar and Iblis were also a little happy seeing some hope. Iblis had never met her mother, but Oscar had fond memories of her, and it would surely crush him to see his mother lying in a coma waiting for her demise.

" Ok, I agree with your proposal," Kester said with a severe tone; he wanted to see if Samuel would panic, but it never happened.

That evening four of them met up outside a large mansion. It looked ordinary from the outside; a simple garden surrounded the property. But the walls were higher than usual, and barbed wires were on top.

For a simple mansion, the security was unusually tight. The four of them made their way inside it after passing a checkpoint. Seeing the boss bring the guest inside for the first time surprised the guard, but he quickly composed himself.

Kester took the group to the innermost chamber and pointed toward the door. Few attendees saluted the boss and looked at the others curiously, but as veteran employees, they never mentioned anything.

" She is here."

" Ok, give me a few minutes. And let no one enter the door while I am inside."

" Cannot we come with you?" Oscar asked. Others share the same sentiment.

" No and turn of the cameras inside too. As I said it is a top secret, even if its you Uncle Oscar, I could not disclose it."

" Don't you think it is excessive? I mean, what if--" Samuel cut Kester off.

" I know what you mean, but If I really wanted to harm her I would not do it with my own hands. Beside, there are people out there who could identify the medicine by looking at its appearance. I will not risk it. Just trust me on this."

Every reluctantly agreed, after which Samuel entered the room after confirming that there was no surveillance inside. There were various pieces of equipment placed neatly across the large room. At the center lay a single woman; she was fragile, probably due to lack of movement.

Coma patients would continually develop muscle weakness due to lack of movement, their muscles would deteriorate, and they have to get unique physical therapy to overcome it.

Olivia slept peacefully in the large bed; she had various medical equipment attached to her body which was responsible for transferring nutrients in and any waste out.

Her heart and wave monitor was showing serial numbers indicating her real-time condition.

" Shall I begin? I might need to exert myself seeing her condition up close." Samuel thought as he began channeling his powers.

He focused on providing a little life force while monitoring her condition through the equipment.

" There are no signs."

He increased the output, but it resulted in failure.

After repeating trying a couple of times, he could see some brain movements spike along with light twitching.

He relaxed a little after seeing it and began

increasing the output. He was using every title in his arsenal as he cut off every other sense to enter peak focus. He began to operate meticulously without caring about anything else.

….

…

…

Outside the room, Kester and his children were waiting for Samuel. It had been half an hour, and they were restless.

" Father, will he succeed? I never heard of a cure until now." Iblis asked.

" I don't know but seeing that he was serious about it. I think he will."

" I trust the young master. I have observed him closely, and he is not the type to joke about such things." Oscar added; he waited patiently for Samuel to come out.

A few minutes later, the door finally opened, revealing Samuel's figure. He was drenched in sweat and had lazy eyes. Looking at him, it seemed like he would pass out at any moment.

" It was a success." He uttered those words before he lost consciousness. Oscar quickly grabbed him as he fell down. He could hear Oscar's worried voice, but he had no strength to reply.

….

….

….

When Samuel opened his eyes, he found himself in an unfamiliar room; judging from the spartan interior, it must have been one of the rooms inside the same mansion where he operated on Olivia. He could see Oscar slouching over on his chair, sleeping.

" Oscar must have carried me here." He thought. Seeing through the window, he could see that dark had already enveloped the sky. He was worried that his family would worry about him.

He got up to find that his body lacked power. He was unable to do any drastic movement as everything felt stiff. It was the first time he to overexert his magical power since he came here.

" There really is a side effect to it. I feel like a huge weight is trying to pull me down." he checked his body to find no substantial damage. With his regenerative power, he would heal after a good sleep.

Sensing movement, Oscar opened his eyes to see Samuel doing strange poses. He was relieved to find that Samuel finally woke up. He was worried sick when Samuel suddenly collapsed.

" Sami, are you alright? How come you suddenly collapsed?"

" That-, I can't tell you that. Take it as a side effect of using the medicine."

" But both issue are irrelevant. You-" Oscar wanted to ask more, but he could tell Samuel would not tell him anything from his expression. He sighed and decided to leave the matter alone for now.

" Young master has always been mysterious but this time there is definitely something abnormal about it. Was there really such a magic medicine?" He thought as he observed Samuel.

" By the way, mother regained consciousness; I don't know how grateful I am." Oscar bowed to show his utmost respect. He didn't know what Samuel did but seeing his mother open her eyes made him the happiest he had been in a long time.

Due to lack of nutrients, she still could not speak properly but hearing her tell him a son after all these years washed away years of his sadness.

" Uncle, You don't have to do that. I did what I had to do. You took care of me for these past months, I am only repaying fraction of it." Samuel said as he sat down on the bed.

Oscar didn't expect such a reply, so he protested, but Samuel repeatedly told him it was fine. They were family; such gestures were meaningless between them. He changed the subject to avoid further prosecution.

" What about father and mother? Its already past eight they must be worried." Samuel asked.

" Don't worry about it. I made up an excuse, it took some time but they agreed stating you had an epiphany regarding your new book. You used to lock yourself for hours when you were writing Hobbit."

" That could work, but I don't think Uncle David and other ghost guards would buy that excuse. They must already know about it."

" I know; I briefly explained it to David. He owes me many favors. You don't have to worry about it. But I think you should finally talk to elders tomorrow; I also have to explain them about Iblis and situation of my family." Oscar said, but he was feeling guilty for keeping such a secret. Ever since Iblis entered Samuel's life, he had been keeping that a secret from others; only David knew about it.

" Well, we should leave it alone for now. I am famished. Do you have anything to eat here?" Samuel said as he scanned the room.

" Wait a minute! I would call someone to serve you right away!" Oscar said as he left the room swiftly.

He looked cheerful as a huge burden lifted off his back. Samuel looked at him, fleeing, and shook his head. He could still remember the stark difference between the past and present Oscar. In only a few months, the cold, calculating Oscar transformed into a warm smiling person.

" Now then, What should I tell my parents?" Samuel began calculating his next move.