Chapter 2

Two Years Earlier…

London, England, March 2021

The office was sterile and muted, the twin, gray, faux-leather chairs with their chrome metal frames sat in the center of the room facing a large white desk. A neutral-toned area rug and a few potted plants were the only other furnishings. The space evoked no feeling or emotion at all, likely the intention of it’s design. The outer walls of the corner office were glass from floor to ceiling looking out over the city a few stories below, and its inner walls a white-flecked gray marble.

“Mrs. Reynolds, Dr. Reynolds,” the man seated at the desk nodded to each of them in turn, his face as emotionless as the room in which they sat. “I’m afraid the news I have for you is not what you were hoping to hear today.” Dr. Xo Chen’s english was clear, though tinged with the accent of his native Mandarin.

Malcolm instinctively reached over and placed a hand on his wife’s hand, grasping it. She was trembling ever so slightly so he offered a comforting and gentle squeeze.

“Mrs. Reynolds, we performed a biopsy on the mass on your uterus. I’m afraid it is cancerous.” He looked at her, through his round wire-rimmed glasses, compassion evident in almond-shaped eyes. “Stage III, from our best assessment.”

Malcolm, squeezing Jillian’s hand a little tighter, “What are our options, Doctor?” His voice was calm and measured.

“We have a few options. As I mentioned, we are looking at a Stage III tumor right now. As you are both likely aware, that means from what we can see, there is currently no spread to the adjacent lymph nodes. But, we need to order a PET scan to be certain. As long as they are clear, we would start a few rounds of chemotherapy, try to shrink the tumor…”

“No!” Jillian spoke up forcefully. “No Chemo.”

The primary caregiver for her mother when she went through chemotherapy for breast cancer, she watched her waste away, blood coursing with chemicals that seemed to consume her from the inside out.

“I will not go through that.” She turned to look at Malcolm, her gaze firm.

Malcolm admired her strength. She was a pragmatic and well educated woman and knew full well the path that lay before her. She would not flinch and she would never give up. These qualities and more are why he fell in love with her in the first place. She was also quite possibly the smartest person he ever met. The work they were doing together was revolutionary -- and though she was still working towards her Ph.D. in Molecular Biology -- much of their current work was the result of her ideas.