Chapter 7 A True Strong

• "Young Master Loyld, I know you must be really surprised to see me like this. This was the reason why I didn't come to you myself. I was diagnosed with this sickness ten years ago. And that's why I avoided coming to you because the sickness is rapidly contagious," Mr. Lakes spoke through the pipe that was connected to his throat, and his voice was magnified on a small speaker sitting on the nightstand next to him.
• "What kind of sickness is this?" Edward asked, surprised.
• "It's called a Spirogyra virus. The name is gotten through the green and sticky nature of the sickness. You get a symptom of part of your body turning green in color. It starts from the heart and spreads to the whole body. It usually takes 3 months for it to completely spread to the whole body, and if this happens, the victim would die at this stage," Mr. Lakes said and motioned to Donald to come take off the cloth covering him. Edward flinched in shock seeing Mr. Lakes' bare body almost covered with the green color. At its final stage, it damages the respiratory system and also the vocal cords. And when the vocal chord is damaged, an individual wouldn't be able to speak, except with an aid of a machine like the one connected to my throat," Mr. lakes said.
• "Oh my God. I think the sickness is getting severe in you. It has spread to almost all parts of your body," Edward sighed in shock. "How bad is its tendency to spread?" he asked.
• "It can spread through any form, but it is mostly recognized as an airborne virus. But don't worry. You and the butler can't contract the virus. This room has been fumigated with a chemical that weakens the spread of the virus. I can only spread the virus if I leave this room," Mr. Lakes explained, and Edward felt relief from the fear of contracting the virus.
• "But why is this new to me? I haven't heard about this kind of virus before in all my years in medical school. Or maybe I didn't read enough books?" Edward asked, confused. But Mr. Lakes slowly shook his head.
• "No, it wasn't about you not reading enough. The virus had actually been a secret that had been kept away from the public, and that was why I had called you here. The Spirogyra virus is a weapon invented by some top individuals in the government 20 years ago for their selfish purposes. Their plan was to invent the virus and come up with a vaccine which they could sell and make money out of it. Unfortunately, after making the virus, they couldn't come up with a vaccine for it, and so they approached your father to help them with the plan, but he refused. He said he wouldn't be part of an agenda that would take so many lives all because of money. He ended up fighting against the government which led to his death. But before his death, your dad was already a walking dead. First, the government poisoned his medical equipment and materials, and millions of people who purchased his drugs were killed; thereby, they accused him of manslaughter. They took the case to court, and when the corrupt judge charged him guilty, his company was packed up and bulldozed to the ground the next day, leaving him no investment at all. He died in prison."
• "And what about my mom?" he asked.
• "Your mom was never seen after your dad was imprisoned. Some said she ran away, and some said she died. But the latter is what the world believed," Mr. Lakes explained. However, the story of how Mr. Loyd was imprisoned and how his wife, Clara Loyld, went into hiding wasn't news to Edward. As a biochemist, he had read about his mentor, Mr. Loyd, and all the things that befell him and his wife, but he was still in shock to discover his mentor turned out to be his father. This sounded like a dream to him.
• "This sickness isn't good," Edward sympathized, seeing Mr. Lakes' condition.
• "Yes, and that was why I had brought you here. Your dad had something for you before he passed," Mr. Lakes said, and suddenly, Edward's face brightened up with a smile. His life was about to change. He watched as Mr. Lakes motioned Donald to go get something in the drawer in front of him, and Edward was excited as his mind was contemplating on what it would be. He thought of a black card with billions of dollars or a paper containing different houses and businesses which needed just his signature for him to become the owner, but his fascination dropped to a zero level when the butler opened the drawer and returned to him with an old dusty book that had part of its cover torn already and gave it to him.
• "What's this?" he asked with his eyes fixed on the book which had the title, THE BOOK OF FORMULA'S written boldly on the cover.
• "That's a medical book containing all of your dad's chemical formulas on his different medical experiments. He knew that the virus would get to this point, and so he made the equations and asked us to give them to you when you are of age before he passed. We believe you are the only one who can find the puzzle and get a solution for this virus, using it to save humanity," Mr. Lakes said.
• Edward felt something surging inside his tummy the moment he heard this.
• "Is this what you said would change my life?" he aske
• d in a low tone, already angered, and Mr. Lakes responded with a wink.