Lucian’s test results would take at least a full day to come back. But rather than spending that time worrying, the family of three chose to enjoy the rest of the day — one activity being a tour of Ashley’s new building, since her new office was opening soon.

Her grand opening had already been pushed back. Taking Lucian and Primo through it, getting them familiar with the space — especially her secret floor — seemed like something that wouldn’t be too taxing on Lucian.

But while the family went about their day and into the night, Raka sat in his office as Lucian’s results came in earlier than expected.

*****

"Let’s see."

Raka sat at his desk, clicking through his screen as he went over Lucian’s results from all the tests conducted. As before, most of his labs came back normal — a few values slightly off, but nothing dangerously high or low.

He moved on to the next set until he reached a clearer image of Lucian’s lungs.

"Hah." Raka rocked his head. "Still the same, huh?"

He went through the close-up images one by one, zooming in on each. With these new scans — taken specifically per his requests — a few of his theories were starting to take shape.

"It’s really not IPF," he muttered. "But what are these?"

There were still cobweb-like formations around Lucian’s lungs. Some of them appeared to have faded slightly compared to the previous scan. Just to be sure, Raka pulled out the earlier imaging to compare.

"Weird," he muttered, slumping back in his chair and staring at it. "What in the world is this man doing with his life?"

Strange as it was, this was exactly the kind of case Raka found compelling.

In his field, an interesting case was something to be savored — not at the patient’s expense, of course, but it had a way of sparking something in him. An excitement he rarely felt elsewhere.

His son wouldn’t be with him for the next week, and he had been drowning in research for his drug. Taking on Lucian’s case might be a welcome distraction. With that, Raka began searching for similar cases around the world — and when those turned up sparse, anything related to misdiagnoses of the same condition, or conditions that mimicked the real one.

He found plenty of misdiagnosed cases. Almost none that matched Lucian’s.

"Does he work in a factory or something?" he wondered aloud, not realizing it had already gone past midnight. "Where’s his chart again?"

He continued combing through Lucian’s old medical records and the timeline of his activities leading up to his collapse. Gradually, the pieces started connecting.

"It’s that... huh?" He yawned, shaking his head. "Ahh... I didn’t even notice the time."

Leaning back, he yawned again and wiped the corners of his eyes. He was about to clean up, head home, get a few hours of sleep before meeting Ashley in the morning.

Then a knock came at the door.

"Huh?" He blinked, groggy, and watched the door open from the outside.

Ashley’s head appeared in the gap.

"Hey there, Great Mr. Raka!" She beamed and pushed the door open wider. "Sorry, we’re a little late, aren’t we?"

She stepped in, and Lucian followed behind her. The two stood near the door, looking at the man behind the desk.

"Ah?" Raka’s gaze darted between them. "What are you two doing here in the middle of the night?"

Lucian and Ashley exchanged a glance before looking back at him.

"It’s nine in the morning," Lucian said. "You told us to come at exactly this time."

And they were one minute late.

"Nine in the — ha! No way it’s nine — ah! It is nine in the morning!" Raka gasped, checking his watch, then flinched at the realization of how much time had slipped by.

Ashley and Lucian looked at each other. She shrugged.

"Don’t tell me you haven’t slept at all," Ashley said, a little awkwardly. "We can come back later if you need."

"We don’t mind," Lucian added with a nod.

Raka pinched the bridge of his nose and massaged his brow. It had been a while since he’d pulled an all-nighter. Even during stretches when his son wasn’t staying with him, he hadn’t let himself fall back into a schedule like this.

"We can just go —" Ashley started, but Raka suddenly raised a hand and waved it at them.

"It’s fine, it’s fine," he grumbled. "Come in. I just need some coffee."

"I already brought you some!" Ashley flashed him a smile, and Lucian lifted a flask. "It’s homemade."

Raka scrunched up his nose, then stopped as the aroma hit him. He sniffed again, sitting up straighter like a dog catching a scent.

"What is this?" he asked, pushing himself to his feet and making his way to the couch across from them. "What kind of bean is this?"

Ashley beamed as she poured him a cup. "From my own garden," she said. "I’ve been experimenting with growing some beans, and they’re turning out really well. Try it!"

"It really is good," Lucian agreed — or rather, said with quiet pride.

Ashley’s cheeks flushed.

Raka, not particularly interested in the lovely moment unfolding across from him, picked up the cup. He sniffed it first — pleasant, with a gentle mildness to the aroma. The moment the flavor hit his tongue, his eyes widened.

Not as bitter as he’d expected. Not too sweet either. Just right.

"Wow," he blinked at the finish. "This is strong... but not overwhelming."

His tone shifted as he looked at Ashley. "You said these are from your garden? Is that even possible?"

"Hehe," Ashley smiled innocently. They were actually from the plantation — part of an ongoing production project she was running with Liza. "I grow all kinds of things."

"Wow," Raka stared at her. "You really don’t look the type. Ha! You look like someone who touches a plant, and it dies on the spot!"

He laughed. Ashley deadpanned. When the corner of Lucian’s mouth twitched upward, her eyes slid to him — and his almost-smile disappeared immediately. Lucian straightened his face in solidarity.

"Anyway," Raka, now fully revived by the coffee, cleared his throat. "I looked through his results."

"Already?" Ashley perked up.

"They came in earlier than I expected, so I wanted to skim them," he said, taking another sip. "Then I ended up building an entire case file."

He set the cup down, leaned forward with his elbows on his knees, and fixed Lucian with a steady look. "Tell me the truth. Do you work in a factory? Have you ever? Or been exposed to any kind of chemical for an extended period?"

Lucian and Ashley furrowed their brows.

"Because I searched, and there are a handful — just a handful — of cases like this in the world," Raka said, standing up and walking back to his desk to retrieve a stack of printed pages. He returned and handed them over.

"Most of them involve people who were exposed to a particular type of air over a long period of time," he continued, watching as Ashley and Lucian read through the papers.

He gave them a moment, then nodded.

"It’s poisoning. The ones you see in his imaging weren’t fibrosis or scarring; they are traces of the poison."