Chapter 129 Still Not Accountable For His Actions

Chapter 129 Still Not Accountable For His Actions

Mr Carter’s eyes moved from Miranda to me before settling back on Miranda.

"I said enough."

Nobody spoke for a moment.

The hallway that had been filled with shouting only moments ago suddenly became suffocatingly quiet.

Miranda let out a slow, mocking laugh. "Look who finally decided to show up."

Mr. Carter clenched his jaw. "Lower your voice."

"Oh?" Miranda tilted her head. "Embarrassed?"

She laughed again, and it was a laugh that carried no happiness whatsoever. "You spent years pretending I didn't exist. Now you're worried people might hear me?"

My eyes darted between them and I suddenly wondered if everything she'd confessed was actually true and not something she partly made up for her advantage.

I looked directly at Mr. Carter and took a shaky step closer. "Tell me she's lying."

But he was quiet.

Miranda pointed dramatically at him. "He can't even deny it."

I slowly looked back at Mr. Carter. "How?"

He closed his eyes for the briefest moment before opening them again. "This isn't the time or place."

My frustration suddenly exploded. "No, you don't get to say that!"

Several people turned toward us.

My voice echoed down the corridor.

"You don't get to keep saying 'this isn't the time or place' after everything that's happened!"

I pointed toward the ICU. "Dylan is fighting for his life!"

I pointed toward Miranda. "She kidnapped my father!"

Then I pointed straight at him. "And she just stood here telling me you're the reason she became this way!"

Tears blurred my vision again. "So answer me!"

My chest rose violently. "Did you really abandon them?"

I didn’t entirely get why I was so confrontational, all I knew was the fact that I was exhausted.

He still remained quiet.

Miranda scoffed. "Look at him."

She folded her arms. "The great Victor Carter." Her smile was filled with venom.

"The man who can buy companies but can't answer one simple question."

Mr. Carter's patience visibly snapped.

"Miranda!"

"What?"

"Enough."

She barked out another laugh. "You keep saying enough, as if you've ever had enough of hurting people."

"You are causing a disturbance." He sneered.

"Oh, now we're worried about disturbances?" She stepped toward him.

"What about the disturbance you caused in my life?"

The sarcasm disappeared from her voice.

Only pain remained.

"You hid me."

"You hid my mother."

"You abandoned us." Her breathing grew heavier. "And now your precious son is lying in intensive care."

She jabbed a finger into her own chest.

"You know what the funniest part is?"

Her eyes shimmered—not with tears, but with years of bottled-up rage. "You made both of us miserable."

I watched Mr. Carter carefully.

His shoulders had become noticeably rigid and his hands were clenched into fists by his sides.

He suddenly looked older and not like the untouchable billionaire who always had every answer.

He simply looked like a man who had run out of excuses.

Miranda's voice rose again. "You ruined my life dad!" Her finger shifted toward the ICU doors. "And you ruined his too!"

A nurse hurried over. "Please lower your voices."

But nobody acknowledged her.

Miranda continued. "I spent years wondering why I wasn't enough for you."

Her laugh returned, quieter this time. "I even blamed myself."

She shook her head. "I thought maybe if I got better grades..."

She swallowed. "Maybe if I behaved..."

Another laugh.

"Maybe if I became someone you'd finally acknowledge..." She looked him directly in the eye. "But no."

Her smile completely vanished. "I realized that I was just your mistake."

A heavy silence settled over everyone.

I couldn't breathe properly.

I still wanted to hate her after everything she'd done but listening to the way her voice trembled, I couldn't ignore how broken she really sounded.

Mr. Carter finally spoke. "It wasn't that simple."

Miranda stared at him. "There it is." She nodded slowly. “Not even an apology or regret, just another excuse."

"I said it wasn't—"

"You've been saying that my entire life!"

Her shout echoed across the hallway.

Now, several doors opened and more people peeked outside.

Footsteps approached rapidly and two hospital guards hurried over.

"Sir... ma'am... we're going to have to ask everyone to calm down."

Miranda rolled her eyes dramatically. "Oh, wonderful."

She spread her hands. "I've become today's entertainment."

One guard stepped closer. "Miss, if you continue shouting—"

"I'm leaving." She dusted off the invisible wrinkles on her black coat before looking directly at me.

Her expression became calm.

She smiled. "You should enjoy this little reunion while you still can."

A chill crept up my spine.

My fingers curled tightly into my palms.

"What do you mean?"

She ignored my question.

Instead, she took one slow step toward me, close enough that only I could clearly hear her next words. "You still believe you've reached the worst part of your story."

Her smile widened. "But you haven't."

I felt my heartbeat stumble.

"I've only just started taking things away from you." She murmured.

My entire body stiffened.

Then she tilted her head. "So don't get too comfortable."

Her eyes flickered briefly toward the ICU.

"People have a funny habit of disappearing around me."

A lump formed painfully in my throat.

She stepped back before I could respond and turned on her heel.

The security guards instinctively moved aside as she walked confidently toward the elevators.

No one stopped her retreat.

She stepped inside the elevator and just before the doors slid shut, she looked directly at me one last time and smiled.

Then the doors closed.

She was gone.

The silence she left behind felt heavier than all the shouting.

I slowly turned toward Mr. Carter and noticed that he hadn't moved.

I searched his face desperately. "I don't understand." I whispered.

"Please..." I wiped my tears with trembling fingers. "Tell me what's happening."

He stared at the floor for several long seconds.

When he finally looked back at me, there was a sadness in his eyes I had never expected to see. "I can't."

His words hit me like another slap.

"You can't?"

"I won't discuss this here."

"Then where?"

He didn’t respond.

"When?" I asked tiredly.

He still didn't say anything.

Then my frustration dissolved into helplessness. "You owe Dylan the truth."

"You also owe Miranda the truth and after everything she's done..." My voice cracked. "You owe me an explanation too."

He inhaled slowly before turning away from me and walked toward the ICU doors.

I stared after him in disbelief and my knees suddenly felt weak.

The adrenaline that had been keeping me standing drained out of me all at once.

So I leaned against the cold hospital wall and covered my face with both hands.

Nothing made sense to me anymore.

I slid down the wall until I was sitting on the cold tiled floor.

The fluorescent lights above blurred through my tears.

I felt so tired.