Chapter 42

Chapter 42
The assistant returned with multiple receipts in his hands. “Everything has been settled,” he said, handing over the stacks of paper to Mrs. Miller.

She took it with shaking fingers, looking through them one by one. A smile slowly spread across her face. It wasn’t wide or charming. It was one filled with joy and hope. “Thank you,” she whispered, tears rolling down her face. 

“The operation would be carried out in two days,” the assistant added, going to stand behind Ethan.

She nodded in gratitude. Her son was safe. He was going to be okay. He would grow up fine like other little kids, and be able to play outside.

Her gaze turned to the bed where her son lay and then back to Ethan. She straightened in her chair.

“He wasn’t supposed to die,” the woman started, her voice soft. 

They were in a shared ward after all. A few beds away, a child was giggling at the cartoon he was watching, and all around them, different people were doing different things. But in their little corner, there was nothing but tension.

Ethan’s yes sharpened. “What do you mean?”

The assistant moved to draw the privacy curtains around them.

“Your father. At least that’s what he said,” she continued. “My husband also wasn’t supposed to die. But they killed him. They killed  both of them.”

Ethan’s brows furrowed. 

“The agreement was that on their way back from the trip, he would say there was a blockage ahead and veer off onto another road. Then act as if the car developed a fault and leave to look for a mechanic,” she said.

She rubbed her palms over her shirt, trying to remove the moisture forming on them. “In his absence, some people would come to scare your father. It wasn’t supposed to be anything serious. But it felt strange, I didn’t want him to do it, only our son was sick, and we needed a lot of money.”

“You could have asked my father,” Ethan said, his voice tight. His father wasn’t a good father, but he treated his staff well. He would always help them with whatever problem they had.

“He did,” she said, nodding. “Your father gave us money, a lot of money. But we also needed a doctor. Money wasn’t our only problem.” Her gaze went to the child on the bed. “Our son had to have an operation, for him to be completely healed, but not many people could do it.” 

Her lips tightened. “Your Uncle approached us. He promised to fly down a specialist and also give us money. In exchange, my husband was to do him a little favour. He paid a total of five million dollars when he agreed, promising more when he had succeeded. But it was too good to be true. I told my husband the money was too much for a little favour. Pies don’t just fall from the sky. But he assured me it was okay. That your uncle wouldn’t kill his own brother, especially since they had a very good relationship.

Ethan remained silent, listening.

“The day before my husband left for the trip, he came home and sent all the money to my account. He promised everything would be over by our son’s birthday. Our son would be healed, and we would have enough money, too. We could finally breathe.”

Her voice cracked. “I stayed in the hospital waiting for the arrival of the doctor, but instead I saw my husband’s injured body. I got a call from the hospital that he was involved in a car accident. It was the same hospital as my son's and just one floor down.”

Her eyes were tearing up again. “On my way to his ward, as I rounded the corner, I saw your uncle entering his room with a lot of bodyguards. I stood outside the door and overheard him telling one of them to ‘find the driver's wife and son.’

She turned to Ethan. “That’s when I knew something had gone wrong. A passing nurse said the two men who were brought in were involved in a ghastly car accident. Their goal was your father, but my husband knew too much, so they had to get rid of him, too.”

The gears in Ethan’s mind were turning. His father had basically started his company from scratch. His father and Uncle were orphans, and his father had raised his younger brother. Before the company got listed, he had given the younger brother 10% of his shares, ensuring his financial stability. His father was a good older brother.

“I didn’t have time to think, but I knew we had to leave fast. I rushed back up to my son’s ward, parked our things, and discharged my son. I left him at the park near our apartment and ran home to grab what I could. Not long after I had entered the house, I heard knocking. I peeked through the window and saw two men asking our neighbor about me. The neighbor told them we were usually at the hospital and left. One of the men then said they had to capture us fast because your uncle was already getting angry. He probably wanted to kill us, too.”

“Do you have evidence for everything you said?” Ethan asked. His voice was low and cold. He had his suspicions, but getting them confirmed. He shook his head. Why did he still have hope?

“Yes,” she said quickly as if afraid he won’t believe her. “In our safe, there was a memory card. I couldn’t take much from the house, but it was one of the few things I took. I left through the back window because the men were still waiting at the door. When I got to my son, I withdrew all the money and left the city.”

Ethan nodded in understanding.  “Where is the memory card?”

She stood up and walked to the metal cupboard by her son’s bed. From the bottom drawer, she pulled out a book. It was an old and faded children’s story book. She opened it to the middle and carefully removed a small blue envelope. 

“This is it.” She held it out toward Ethan but stopped halfway. “My husband didn’t want your father to die. It was his fault, but he really didn’t mean for him to die. Maybe he was too foolish or just greedy. But he didn’t mean for any of this.”

“So why did you try to contact her and not me?”

He didn’t have to say her name. They both knew who he was talking about.

“My husband wrote a letter. He said in case he got in trouble, I could use it to protect myself and our son.”

“What was in the letter?”

The woman sat back down. “He said there was also a video on the memory card. It’s a little blurry, but it’s of your uncle and stepmother. They— They were kissing in the garden at night. I heard upper-class people cared about reputation a lot. She wouldn’t want people to know she was having an affair with her brother-in-law.”

Ethan scoffed. If she cared, why did she do it? She had already gotten involved with a married man.

“He also said it seemed like your father had discovered something, but he didn’t know what it was. But he was sure it was related to the two of them.”

His blood ran cold. What could his father have discovered that made his uncle want to kill him?