Chapter 3 - The Chemistry of 12:03 A.M.

While Marco pried open the lockbox, little Nico let out a weak, gasping whimper from the crib.
His heart monitor began to alarm again—heart rate 185 beats per minute, skin dry and burning to the touch, pupils fully dilated and unresponsive to light.
“We don't have time for a full interrogation, Mr. Bolaro!” I called out, my clinical instincts overriding everything else. “The Atropine is binding to his muscarinic receptors! His body cannot sweat, his temperature is hitting 104 degrees, and his heart is going into supraventricular tachycardia! If we don't reverse the cholinergic blockade right now, he will suffer cardiac arrest!”
Lorenzo spun away from Gia in an instant, his entire focus locking onto his child. “What do you need, Maya? Tell me what to do!”
“Physostigmine salicylate,” I answered without hesitating. “Zero-point-five milligrams. And cold saline packs immediately.”
Dr. Crane scrambled on the floor, shaking his head frantically. “No! Physostigmine is contraindicated in pediatric patients with unknown cardiac history! You’ll induce asystole!”
“He has no cardiac history, Crane—you manufactured it!” I snapped. “Marco, fetch the pediatric emergency crash kit from the third shelf of the nursery refrigerator! The locked red box!”
Marco sprinted across the room, grabbed the red metal kit, and keyed the digital code.
I pulled a sterile tuberculin syringe, drawing precisely 0.02 milligrams per kilogram of Physostigmine—the precise physiological antidote for Atropine poisoning.
Lorenzo stood beside the crib, his massive, tattooed hand gently cradling Nico’s small head, his eyes burning with a raw, desperate prayer. “Save him, Maya. Please.”
“I’ve got him, Lorenzo,” I whispered.
I cleaned the port on Nico’s IV line and slowly pushed the clear antidote over two agonizing minutes.
The silence in the nursery was deafening. The only sound was the rapid, frantic beeping of the cardiac monitor: 185... 180... 172...
At sixty seconds, Nico’s rigid muscles relaxed. A fine sheen of sweat appeared on his forehead as his sweat glands reopened. His breathing deepened, shifting from shallow gasps to a steady, rhythmic cadence.
140... 125... 110 bpm.
The cardiac alarm fell silent.
Nico let out a soft, sleepy sigh, turned his head toward his father’s palm, and closed his eyes in peaceful rest.
Lorenzo buried his face in his hands, his broad shoulders shaking with a single, heavy sob of overwhelming relief. For eleven nights, he had watched his son slip away; tonight, the nightmare had finally stopped.
May you like
He kissed Nico’s forehead, then slowly turned around to face the two monsters in his nursery.
The relief in Lorenzo’s eyes had hardened into a cold, terrifying fire.