All Chapters of No Longer A Substitute : Chapter 21 - Chapter 30

STELLA POV “Andrew, I’m coming. Please wait.” I ran down the hallway, hands clutched tightly around the blanket. “Oh, Andrea… why are you crying too?” “I’m feeding you, aren’t I?” I held the bottle closer, trying to soothe her. “What—don’t you like the milk? What do you want?” “Andrea, okay… Andrew, I’m here.” I knelt beside him, brushing hair from his face. “Oh, look how red you’ve gotten… oh, my poor baby. Please stop crying.” “Andrea, I just want to feed Andrew.” I held him gently, rocking him as best I could. “Andrew, come on, I’m here.” I tried to comfort him, but the door burst open. “I can’t take it anymore! Why are they crying so loudly?” I sobbed, chest tightening. “I don’t know, Alex… I’m trying. I really am. They just won’t stop crying.” “I’ve fed them many times already.” My hands shook as I rocked Andrea lightly. “My grandparents are dead. My uncle is away on a business trip. I have no one.” “Hey… it’s okay, Stella. I can see you’re trying.” Alex stepped

STELLA POV 12 YEARS LATER Bright white LED light washed the lab. I stood in front of my test subject, hands and feet strapped to the bed. The observation room smelled of disinfectant, antiseptic, metals and ethanol. Machines hummed in low rhythms, the heart monitor steadily beeped. I watched carefully, waiting until I heard the beep from my timer. I recorded everything down on my clipboard. I walked out of the room, took some nitrile gloves from the rack. They glide smoothly over my steady hands. Picked up a syringe and a drug sealed in a small glass tube. After filling the syringe with the drug, I picked up my clipboard and stepped back inside the observation room. I walked over to the sleeping test subject, heart beat still steady. I inject the yellowish drug into it's drip. I waited for it to circulate into its body then watched the heart monitor. The steady beeping of the heart monitor rapidly grew faster. I took down some notes, watching the time. After a f

Kenzie dunk the entire glass of alcohol down her throat immediately the glass was set in front of her. "More!" She shouted and slammed the glass on the table in front of her, fortunately, the glass didn't break but it earned her a lot of stares from still sobbing people trying to enjoy their evening. A young man, in a white shirt with the sleeves rolled up which exposed his muscles and had a lot of women at the bar swooning over him, he walked over to Kenzie behind the counter with a bottle of whiskey. "I mean, I know they didn't want to give me a chance in the first place but…" Kenzie trailed off with a slur in her words. The bartender pours her drink and then closes the bottle back. "But what?" The bartender asked, encouraging her to speak further, Kenzie blinked continuously as she struggled to keep her eyes open. "But what they did was too much! Why are they putting on a show like that? It's an interview to be a bodyguard!" She continued, her voice was very loud and the low m

STELLA POVThe laboratory was quiet except for the faint hum of the ventilation system and the soft ticking of the temperature monitors mounted along the wall. Bright white lights shone from long panels across the ceiling, bathing the entire room in a clean, clinical glow. Every surface reflected that light—the polished counters, the glass beakers arranged neatly on metal racks, the stainless steel equipment that lined the workstations.The air carried a faint sterile scent, a mixture of disinfectant and chemicals that had long since become familiar to me. It was the kind of smell most people would find sharp or unpleasant, but to me it meant progress.I leaned forward slightly, peering through the microscope.The cool metal edge rested lightly against my brow as I adjusted the focus knob with slow precision. Beneath the glass slide, the sample shifted into clearer view, delicate structures sharpening under the magnified lens.My fingers moved carefully, steady from years of practice.

STELLA POVDevon’s words lingered in the air long after he finished speaking.I need you to cure her.For a moment, neither of us moved.The office lights reflected faintly off the glass containers and metal instruments lining the counters behind me. The quiet hum of equipment from the lab outside seeped through the walls, steady and familiar, grounding me in the present.I folded my arms slowly.“You want me to develop a treatment,” I said.Devon nodded once.“Under my company.”His voice had regained its controlled tone, the same one he used in boardrooms and negotiations. The anger from earlier had faded, replaced by something sharper—determination.He continued, “We’re establishing a pharmaceutical research division. I’m offering you a lab under our company.”My brows knit slightly.“A lab?”“You’ll be the lead drug researcher,” he said. “Complete authority over the project.”He leaned forward slightly, resting his hands on the desk.“You’ll have full funding, access to our facili