Chapter 8 - The Swiss Miracle
Three months later.
The spring thaw had arrived in Chicago, the ice on Lake Michigan cracking and melting into brilliant, deep blue water.
Adrian’s private jet touched down at Midway Airport after a six-week stay at a specialized medical clinic in Geneva, Switzerland. The experimental stem-cell therapy, combined with a radical detoxification protocol, had done what the American specialists had called impossible.
The myocardial tissue had begun to regenerate. His heart rate was steady, his breathing deep and clear.
When the black SUV pulled up to the circular driveway of the lakefront mansion, Adrian stepped out without assistance. He didn't pause on the stairs. He didn't clench his hand against the banister.
He walked through the front doors, his gray eyes searching the grand hallway.
Gabriel, the butler, stood there with a respectful nod. "Welcome home, Mr. Cross."
"Where are they?" Adrian asked.
"In the garden, sir. The spring flowers have just begun to bloom."
Adrian walked through the library, throwing open the glass doors that led to the wide, stone terrace overlooking the lake.
Mara was there, wearing a simple blue sundress, her hair loose around her shoulders. She was kneeling in the dirt, helping Lily plant a row of yellow tulips along the stone wall.
Lily was the first to notice him.
May you like
She dropped her small garden trowel, her face lighting up with a joy so pure it made Adrian’s newly healed heart skip a beat. She ran across the grass, her small boots throwing up patches of green lawn, and threw herself straight into his arms.
Adrian caught her, lifting her high into the air as she laughed—a sound that was no longer silent to him, but the sweetest music he had ever heard.
