Chapter 270

• The next morning, Ryan woke up still feeling the ache from his recent injuries, but the sharp pain from the bone realignment had eased just enough to let him smile. Despite his discomfort, he forced a grin one meant to reassure me and the few family members close enough to be by his side. His resilience was quietly heartbreaking. At just seven years old, he showed more strength than most adults I knew.
• Still, the detox treatments continued as prescribed. Rowan, the specialist overseeing Ryan’s recovery, insisted the process couldn’t be paused. We had skipped the previous day’s session because of the realignment, but today, there was no avoiding it. Ryan cried during the treatment a sound that shattered something in me but both Rowan and Nathaniel, my trusted medical consultant, said it was a good sign. The therapy was working, flushing toxins from his small system faster than expected.
• What surprised Nathaniel the most was that Ryan’s withdrawal symptoms from Peony Bliss, a highly addictive pharmaceutical, hadn’t returned. Nathaniel had worked with adults who fought the substance for months, sometimes years, before finding stability. Yet here was Ryan just a boy with an iron will, pushing through the worst of it without relapse.