NOVEL NEXT Chapter 750: A test subject.
Reese paused the moment he stepped inside his office. His gaze darted from Arwen to the wall of pictures, and something in his gaze changed. A flicker of worry crossed his eyes,
"I was just looking around. I hope you don't mind," Arwen spoke with slight hesitation. She didn't want to look like an intruder, and that was why she was holding herself back from asking about her confusion.
Reese stared at her for a moment before he shook her head. Walking in further, towards his desk, he responded. "Those pictures are hung there so that they can be looked at. There is nothing to mind."
Arwen smiled and then turned to give a glance back at the pictures. "These pictures really tell a lot about you. They have captured every walk of your life. Even your young days."
"Yes, it had," Reese hummed and nodded before going behind his desk and pulling his coat off himself. "Are you curious about something in those pictures?" he asked, and his question, like that, made Arwen pause.
Maybe because she didn't expect him to actually ask her about that.
"I … I don't know. I was just curious to know if it's you in that picture," she pointed at the photograph that had the young boy.
"Yes, that's me," Reese answered, nodding to her. His eyes were looking at the way Arwen was pointing.
"I almost guessed it," she said before looking at another image to ask, "And who this that man with you? Is he —"
"That's my grandfather," Reese answered before Arwen could ask him.
When she turned to look at him, he continued, "My grandfather was also a medical scientist. My role model. I took the career of medicine because of him."
"He is your grandfather," Arwen repeated, her voice held scepticism. "I feel like I have seen him somewhere."
Reese stiffened for a second, but he soon recovered. Keeping his emotions in check, he glanced up at her and smiled. "He had always remained low-key. I don't think you would have known him."
"Oh," Arwen accepted it. She didn't find any reason not to.
"Is there anything else?" Reese asked when he caught her gaze lingering.
She quickly shook her head. "No, I feel like I am just being paranoid. Of course, how can I know your grandfather?"
"It's fine," Reese dismissed her awkwardness smoothly before gesturing her towards the chair opposite his desk. "Sit down. Let's talk about your report."
Arwen nodded and then headed to take the chair he had gestured her to. Her nerves building in her chest as she sat. "Did you find anything?"
Reese's gaze lingered on her, weighing his choice of words. Then, with measured calm, he said, "before I tell you anything, let me make one thing clear. There is no threat you your life … not anymore. Your health has long returned to normal. Whatever you learn now won't change that. So …" He leaned forward slightly. "Do you still want to know? You can always avoid it and choose to move on."
Arwen's heart thudded painfully. Thinking for a moment, she took in a deep breath before nodding. "Yes … I want to know it. I want to know what had happened to me, even if it no longer concerns my current situation." Her words came as firm as they could be.
Reese's gaze remained on her for a long moment before he nodded. He then pushed his chair a little and turned to the side of his desk. Reaching, he slowly pulled the drawer open and retrieved the file from it.
"Your suspicion regarding your situation was right," he said, glancing at her before extending the file in her direction.
Arwen's eyes narrowed a little. His words repeated in her thought —not just once or twice, but it echoed several times.
Her suspicion was right.
Her suspicion —that her amnesia was caused by a drug.
Her breath grew uneven. She had considered it before, but hearing it confirmed made her whole body feel cold. Although she was suspicious about it, she hadn't prepared herself to accept it. How could she?
Who would use such of drug on her?
And why?
No, there could be something else. Arwen thought to herself. She could believe there could be anyone who would be so cruel to her to use a drug on her at such a tender, young age.
"Is it some kind of allergic reaction?" she asked, trying to grasp on to the little hope she had remaining. "I mean, like some medicine didn't react well to my system, and I end up losing my memories as the adverse effect."
Reese's brows drew together in a frown. He knew what she was trying to do. But he also knew that wasn't going to help. Thus, he decided to help her.
Shaking his head, he explained it to her. "It's not any adverse reaction to any medicine. The drug used on you was specific, and it was used to make you forget it all. Forget your memories, your past … forget yourself."
Arwen's face paled. Her fingers curled around the arm of the chair she was sitting on.
Reese helped her open the file she had never touched. Then, slowly pushing it towards her, he pointed down at the section. "The drug used on you is called Oblivion-X. It's a really dangerous drug, and research on it was banned before it even saw the light of day. It erodes the hippocampus, breaking memory pathways. And —"
As he explained, Arwen stared down at the page at the portion of writing he was showing her. She couldn't understand the words of complicated science, but she could understand well what Reese was explaining to her.
Glancing up at him, she asked as if she couldn't believe it, "What was I to them?" Her voice trembled. "A test subject? Why would they use it on me? Why?"
She couldn't find the reason behind it. What could make someone use such a drug on her?