The Post-Surgery "Patch"
The hereditary disease in the Samos Family was caused by a group of specialized neurons near the edge of the diencephalon. They released abnormal bioelectric signals that stimulated the cerebrum and hippocampus, triggering symptoms. Depending on their severity, these symptoms fell into three categories: insomnia, nightmares, and hallucinations.
Almost every member of the Samos Family had these specialized structures in their brain. But as time passed, the brain tissue of Thomas's son, little Nathan, developed rapidly without forming any such hereditary structures. This meant there would be no abnormal bioelectric signals to trigger the hereditary disease—and none of the three symptoms, either.
Li Bai wouldn't jump to that conclusion without evidence.
"Gah..."
Little Thomas stared, dumbfounded, and suddenly lost his voice.
"My God!"
Catherine suddenly covered her mouth and stared at her husband in shock.
"You're joking, right?"
Little Thomas's voice trembled as he spoke. He even found himself addressing Li Bai formally.
Nathan was his biological son, a Samos child. There was no doubt about that, and a paternity test wouldn't lie.
"It's a double blessing."
Li Bai sighed. He hadn't expected the two possibilities he'd considered to come together so neatly.
An infant's brain developed in stages. When Nathan had just been born, Li Bai hadn't dared to be certain. Now, at last, he was.
Perhaps after centuries of bad luck, the Samos Family had finally turned the corner and hit the jackpot. Not only had they risked everything on brain surgery and all survived, they had also discovered that the "Eve" the Samos Family had sought for centuries had been right under their noses all along.
Even without the ultimate surgical treatment, the bloodline of little Nathan's branch gave the Samos Family a strong chance of escaping the "curse"—the hereditary mental illness—that had plagued