Chapter 224
Ten minutes later, Ellie led Alex to a different floor of the hospital.
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She stopped at the first room on the corridor, gesturing for him to look inside. Then she moved to the next, and the next, guiding him from one room to another until they reached the last one.
Through the window of the final room, they saw a teenage boy wearing a school uniform. His arm was in a sling, and he was standing by the hospital bed, massaging his mother’s arm with his free hand.
Behind him, on a small cot, lay an array of textbooks and school supplies.
Ellie turned her head slightly to look at Alex, her voice calm but pointed. “These are the victims of that car accident. Three of them didn’t even get the chance to say goodbye before they were gone.”
Ellie looked at Alex, her voice cold and steady. “It didn’t have to be this bad. These people didn’t have to suffer such severe injuries.
“One of them might have even survived. But Ethan fled the scene, driving recklessly and hitting them repeatedly without a shred of concern for their lives…”
Alex stared at the boy in the hospital room, his expression frozen in shock. Ellie’s tone remained calm, though her eyes betrayed her pain. “That boy’s name is Ryan.
“On the day of the accident, he was coming back from evening classes to help his parents pack up their stall. His dad, proud of Ryan for ranking first in his monthly exams, went next door to buy him some fried chicken.”
She paused, her voice catching slightly. “He stood there holding the fried chicken, calling out to his son, ‘Ryan, I bought you an extra piece today. Have all you want when we get home.”
Ellie’s voice trembled, but she pressed on. “That’s when Ethan’s car lost control and sped toward them.”
Her eyes
turned red as she steadied herself. After a moment, she continued, her tone heavy with sorrow. “Ryan was only a few hundred feet away. He saw his father get hit, watched him fly through the air, and crash onto the road.
“With a sickening thud, he landed, blood spreading rapidly from the back of his head. And in his hand, he still clutched Ryan’s favorite fried chicken.”
“That was the last thing Ryan’s father ever said to him.”
Alex turned away numbly. In the corridor outside the hospital room, the two faced each other silently, the oppressive atmosphere making it hard to breathe.
At some point, Alex’s eyes turned red. His Adam’s apple bobbed, and his lips remained tightly shut. He couldn’t bring himself to say anything.
Ellie finally broke the silence. “I heard Ryan is taking the SAT next year. Tell me; if it were you, could you move past your father’s death and your mother’s critical injuries to face the biggest exam of your life?”
Alex said nothing, his usual sharp retorts absent.
Ellie pressed further. “You say the world is unfair, that it’s about strength versus weakness. Fine, I’ll give you that. They are weak, but they were living their lives without hurting anyone. Is this what you call fair?
08:34 Mon, Feb 10 BG.
Chapter 224
“You say money can solve everything. Can you use money to bring his father back?”
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“Ellie…” Alex’s voice was hollow, his body sagging as if all his strength had been drained. He reached out as if to hold her hand but let it fall back to his side, unable to complete the gesture.
Ellie’s voice sharpened. “You only see the tears of the woman you love. Do you have any idea how devastating and hopeless their cries are?”
Alex’s brows knit together tightly, his gaze shifting as he struggled to meet her eyes. He stood before her, his lips parting slightly, but no words came.
Ellie’s gaze bore into his. “I’m just like them. To you, we’re nothing more than people who deserve to pick scraps. That’s why I can feel their despair and helplessness, but you… you can stand here and remain unmoved.”
“I’m not like that!” Alex finally shouted, his voice breaking. “I’m not indifferent!”
Ellie shook her head, unconvinced. “In your eyes, being poor is a crime. The poor don’t deserve dignity and don’t deserve the right to live. Don’t even try to deny it.”
She continued, her voice steady but filled with bitterness. “If my father hadn’t lost his leg and the ability to work, I would’ve grown up like any other girl, riding on my father’s shoulders, being cradled to sleep by my mom, and flying kites with my brother in the park.
“That was the happiness I wanted. But you wouldn’t understand.
Alex’s voice was hoarse as he finally managed to ask, “How did your father lose his leg?”
Ellie tilted her head back slightly, trying to keep her emotions in check. “It doesn’t matter anymore,” she said after a long pause, her voice clipped.
But Alex wasn’t willing to let it go. “Why not? Why won’t you tell me?”
Ellie’s met his, a storm of emotions swirling within them. “Because I don’t want to. It’s the nightmare I’ll carry for the rest of my life.”
