She needed an ally, someone who might believe in the healing power of the inexplicable. That’s when she decided to confide in the only other person who shared her long night shifts: Carlos, the mansion’s gardener. His family had lived on the estate for generations, and like Paula, he carried the legacy of understanding things that lay beyond the realm of modern science.

Together, they formulated a plan. They would wait until the household was asleep, save for their nocturnal duties. Under the guise of a power outage, they would create a distraction, giving Paula the chance to examine Felix further and attempt to remove the object.

In the still of the night, with the mansion plunged into darkness, Paula and Carlos moved swiftly and silently. With a small, sterilized knife and unwavering resolve, Paula made a precise incision. Her hands were steady, guided by an innate skill she had never had to use before. Moments later, she extracted a tiny metallic device, no larger than a grain of rice, from Felix’s scalp.