Chapter 14 — The Secret Pages of Room Seven

Kỳ Bách Nguyên knew that directly intervening in the treatment regimen of a patient who is not under his responsibility is a serious violation of professional rules, which could cause him to permanently lose his medical license if discovered. But after seeing with his own eyes the profile photos in Room Seven, after listening to Nhã Vân recount Diệu Kỳ's condition through what she observed from the small glass window, he knew he could not just stand by and watch an innocent girl continue to be kept in a coma indefinitely.

He spent many nights carefully studying Diệu Kỳ's official medical records, which he had partial access to as a doctor in the department, even though he was not directly in charge. He noticed that the dosage of sedatives prescribed to her was clearly higher than what was needed for an acute psychological trauma, and more importantly, there were no notes for periodic reviews of dosage reductions as the patient progressed — the minimum required in any standard treatment regimen.

He tried to approach the doctor directly in charge of Diệu Kỳ, an older man named Doctor Canh, who had a close relationship with Chu Bảo Hạnh many years ago and always followed absolutely all instructions from the board of directors without asking questions. Realizing that he could not convince him to change the regimen publicly, Bách Nguyên decided to act alone, more silently and cautiously than ever.

Taking advantage of the rare night shifts when he was assigned to support the special quarantine area due to a temporary lack of manpower, Bách Nguyên began to gradually adjust the dose of medicine injected into Diệu Kỳ's body, reducing it little by little, small enough not to cause any unusual signs that could be detected through normal vital signs, but enough to gradually bring her out of her prolonged coma.

The first night he made the adjustment, his hands shook because he knew full well how risky this action was. If discovered, not only will his career end, but the entire secret investigation plan over the past five months will also go down the drain, and worse, Diệu Kỳ may be transferred to another, even more stringent detention facility if the controllers notice any unusual signs in her condition.

After nearly a week of silently adjusting the dosage, the first signs began to appear. Diệu Kỳ, instead of just lying motionless and staring blankly at the ceiling like before, began to open her eyes more alertly, even though she was still very weak and vague. Bách Nguyên recorded these changes discreetly in his own notebook, not including them in official records to avoid attracting attention.

He sought to inform Nhã Vân of this development through a small, carefully folded piece of paper, passed to a trusted nurse with whom he had gradually built a close relationship during his time working here.

"Your sister is gradually becoming more alert." He told her during their brief meeting that night, his voice filled with both excitement and worry. "But I need more time, and I need you to prepare yourself, because when the medication begins to completely wear off, she may experience severe panic attacks as memories of the night of the incident begin to return."

Nhã Vân held his hand tightly, her voice choked with emotion. "Thank you, doctor. I don't know what to say to fully express my gratitude."

"Don't thank me yet," Bách Nguyên replied, his eyes serious. "We are not yet out of the most dangerous phase. If someone discovers this change before we are ready, all efforts will be in vain."

Ten days later, during a night shift when the quarantine area was almost empty, Bách Nguyên sought to create an opportunity for Nhã Vân to visit Diệu Kỳ briefly, in the name of "special group therapy support" that he arbitrarily arranged, using the excuse of needing a mentally stable patient to act as a model to observe the reactions of the recovering patient.

When Nhã Vân entered the small room, she saw Diệu Kỳ sitting against the edge of the bed. Although her eyes were still dreamy, she was able to focus on her. Her whole body trembled with emotion to the point that she had to bite her lip to keep from crying out loud.

"Sister..." Diệu Kỳ whispered, her voice was weak but was able to pronounce much more clearly than what Nhã Vân had witnessed through the glass window. "Are you really here?"

"I'm here, Kỳ." Nhã Vân held her sister's hand, tears could no longer be held back. "I'm sorry for making you suffer alone for so long."

Diệu Kỳ looked at her, her eyes gradually becoming panicked as fragmented memories began to flood back. "Sister, I... I don't remember everything clearly, but I remember there was a loud noise, I remember being very scared..."

"It's okay, you don't need to remember everything right now," Nhã Vân quickly reassured her, even though inside she was also anxious to know the truth. "Just take your time, I'll be here with you."

Bách Nguyên stood guard at the door, signaling Nhã Vân that time was running out. She squeezed her sister's hand one last time before being forced to leave, filled with pain because she had to leave her sister alone in that cold room for another night.

"I'll be back," she whispered, trying to convey her determination into every word. "I promise, you will soon be out of here, and the truth will be revealed."

Leaving the quarantine area, Nhã Vân stood silently in the dark hallway, with mixed emotions between the immense joy of seeing her sister gradually regain consciousness and the fear of what she was about to face when all of Diệu Kỳ's memories returned completely. She knew that what her sister was about to remember could be the last, most important piece of the puzzle to complete the entire picture of the truth that she and Bách Nguyên had been diligently collecting for many weeks.

But at the same time, she is also afraid that those memories, once fully aroused, may cause a new psychological shock to Diệu Kỳ, pushing her into a state of even deeper trauma than what she has endured all this time. She told herself that she needed to be by her sister's side more in the coming days, even at the cost of increasing the risk of her true identity being discovered.

That night, returning to her room, she wrote in her codebook a short but determined note: "Diệu Kỳ is waking up. The truth is about to be revealed. Be prepared for every situation, even the worst." In the following days, Bách Nguyên continued to arrange two more short meetings between the two sisters, each time having to carefully calculate the timing, using all reasonable professional reasons so as not to arouse suspicion from Tưởng Nhã Kỳ or any other staff who were monitoring the quarantine area more and more closely. Each time they met, Diệu Kỳ became a little more alert, and the fragmented memories were gradually pieced together into a more meaningful sequence, although there were still many gaps that could not be filled.

"I remember Uncle Điền was burning something in the fireplace." Diệu Kỳ recounted that during the second meeting, her voice trembled as she tried to recall painful memories. "I was just going to go get back the book I forgot, but he looked at me with a very strange, very scary look, not at all like the Uncle Điền I knew."

Nhã Vân listened to every word, trying to remember every detail accurately without interrupting her sister, even though her heart was trembling with excitement. She knew that each piece of memory Diệu Kỳ recounted could be an important link, helping to validate the entire hypothesis that she and Bách Nguyên had worked hard to build over the past weeks from indirect clues.

"You don't have to tell me everything right now." She said, squeezing her younger sister's hand. "Just let everything come back naturally; don't push yourself too hard."

But Diệu Kỳ shook her head, her eyes were more determined than Nhã Vân had thought. "No, sister, I want to remember everything. I want to know the truth, no matter how painful it is. I can't live my whole life with a void of fear in my head like this."

Hearing her sister say that, Nhã Vân felt a mixture of pride and sadness rising in her heart. The shy younger sister, whom she once thought needed to be protected all her life, now shows an incredible strength, a courage to face pain that she herself is not sure she could do if she were in the same situation. She realized that Diệu Kỳ was no longer a weak girl in need of complete protection, but was gradually becoming a true companion in the fight to regain justice for herself.