Chapter 4 – The Youngest Blackwood

"...His heartbeat is back!"

The shout shattered the silence.

Every doctor who had already accepted the impossible rushed back toward the operating table.

The chief surgeon didn't waste a second.

"Check his pulse!"

"Blood pressure rising!"

"Brain activity is returning!"

"How is that possible?"

"It shouldn't be!"

The room erupted into controlled chaos.

Monitors that had been silent only moments ago came back to life one after another.

A weak...

Steady...

Heartbeat echoed through the operating room.

Outside, the Blackwood family stood frozen.

Even Vincent's calm expression cracked for the first time.

The surgeon looked at the monitor in disbelief before turning to the family.

"...He's alive."

No one moved.

Evelyn blinked repeatedly.

"As... alive?"

"Yes."

"I... I don't understand either."

"We declared him clinically dead."

"But his heart restarted on its own."

"It... shouldn't be medically possible."

Lucas laughed in disbelief.

"I don't care if it shouldn't."

"My little brother's alive."

For the first time in hours, Alexander allowed himself a small smile.

Vincent closed his eyes briefly.

"...Thank you."

No one knew whether he was thanking the doctors...

Or something else.

---

Two hours later.

The danger had finally passed.

Adrian was moved into the private intensive care suite reserved exclusively for the Blackwood family.

Outside the room...

A pair of hurried footsteps echoed down the hallway.

"Where is he?"

A young woman rushed toward them, still wearing an elegant black business suit.

Her long dark hair was slightly messy, as if she had driven far too fast to get there.

This was Charlotte Blackwood.

Twenty-four years old.

The eldest child of the Blackwood family.

To the public...

She was the brilliant CEO of Blackwood Biotech.

Confident.

Elegant.

Untouchable.

At home...

She was simply Adrian's overprotective older sister.

The moment she saw her parents...

She ignored everyone else.

"Where's Adrian?"

Evelyn immediately hugged her daughter.

"He's alive..."

Charlotte's tense shoulders finally relaxed.

"I came as soon as Alexander called."

She looked toward the room through the glass window.

"...Can I go in?"

The doctor nodded.

"Only one person at a time."

Charlotte quietly entered.

The room smelled faintly of disinfectant.

Machines surrounded the bed.

Adrian lay peacefully, his eyes still closed.

She slowly walked over and sat beside him.

"...You scared me."

Her voice was barely above a whisper.

"You promised to watch that movie with me next week."

No response.

She smiled helplessly.

"You always keep your promises."

"So don't make this your first broken one."

She reached out and gently held his hand.

Unlike everyone else...

She didn't cry.

She simply sat there.

Quietly.

As she had done during countless hospital visits over the past eighteen years.

---

At that moment...

Darkness.

A vast...

Endless darkness.

The young man who had died beneath the abandoned psychiatric hospital slowly became aware of himself.

No pain.

No sound.

No light.

He frowned.

"...Interesting."

"So death isn't the end."

He waited.

Seconds.

Minutes.

Perhaps hours.

Time no longer seemed to exist.

Then—

A sharp pain exploded through his head.

Countless unfamiliar memories flooded into his mind.

A child learning to walk.

A birthday cake.

Hospital corridors.

Medicine.

Books.

Loneliness.

A mother's embrace.

An older sister reading stories beside his bed.

Two brothers arguing over board games.

A father silently watching over him while pretending to work.

The memories were gentle.

Peaceful.

Completely different from his own life.

"...Adrian Blackwood."

He calmly organized the information.

"Eighteen."

"Australia."

"Congenital heart disease."

"Wealthy family."

He accepted everything within moments.

No panic.

No excitement.

Simply information.

Then...

He opened his eyes.

The first thing he saw...

Was a young woman asleep beside his bed.

Her head rested on folded arms.

One hand still held his.

He quietly observed her.

His new sister.

Charlotte.

She had dark circles beneath her eyes.

Her business tablet lay forgotten on the chair.

Several missed calls continued vibrating silently.

She hadn't answered a single one.

He looked from her face...

To their joined hands.

Then back again.

"...Curious."

He didn't understand why someone would abandon important work just to sit beside another person for hours.

It seemed...

Inefficient.

Yet...

She had done exactly that.

At that moment...

Charlotte slowly woke.

She blinked once.

Twice.

Then noticed...

Adrian was looking directly at her.

Her eyes widened.

"...Adrian?"

He remained silent.

She immediately stood.

"Doctor!"

She nearly ran toward the door before stopping.

She looked back at him, smiling brightly.

"I'll call everyone."

Before leaving...

She gently squeezed his hand once.

"I'm glad you're back."

The room became quiet again.

The young man watched the closed door for several seconds.

Then he glanced at the hand she had held.

For the first time since arriving in this world...

He spoke softly to himself.

"...So."

"This is my family."

His expression remained calm.

Impossible to read.

Whether he accepted them...

Or merely acknowledged their existence...

No one could tell.

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