I Need Answers

VIVIAN

The doctor hesitated, his eyes shifting to Mrs. Anderson, then back to me.“You have Asteron Syndrome.”

“What?”

The words hit me like a freight train.

Asteron Syndrome? The same illness Jack had been fighting for years? The same illness that took Lily’s life?

My chest tightened. I couldn’t breathe."No," I whispered, shaking my head.

"That can't be true..."

But the look on the doctor’s face told me otherwise.

“You’ve shown early symptoms,” he continued. “The nosebleeds, dizziness… it all lines up.”

I felt the room spin, my body growing weak like the air had been sucked out of me.

Asteron Syndrome?

It didn’t make sense. It was genetic. Hereditary. I wasn’t related to Jack or Lily.

How could this be happening to me?

I turned slowly, my eyes locking onto Mrs. Anderson. Her face was as pale as mine, her lips slightly parted in shock.

“How?” I asked, barely audible. “How do I have this? You said it was hereditary, right? It runs in the family. So why... why do I have it?”

My voice