Chapter 110
My father finally exhaled a long, weary sigh. He reached for the glass of liquor in front of him and drained it in one go, the alcohol burning down his throat.
“Owen’s not unreasonable,” he muttered, his voice hoarse. “From the moment he was brought back home, he knew what was expected of him. He studied tirelessly to make up for the lost fifteen years. I saw it all with my own eyes.” His gaze dropped to the floor, shame darkening his expression. “This is my fault. I broke his heart. I wasn’t thoughtful.”
He turned to Ethan then, his eyes dark and heavy with a rare weight of fatherly responsibility. “Ethan, Owen is your brother. No matter what it takes, you must find him.“}
Ethan’s lips twitched slightly. A shadow of something unreadable flickered through his eyes before he gave a curt nod.”
My mother, however, had lost all patience. Tears streamed down her face as she suddenly pushed Ethan toward the door, her hands trembling as they gripped his expensive suit.
“Stop drinking and go find Owen!” she sobbed, her voice breaking. “If you can’t find him, I don’t want to live either!“}
Her breath hitched as she choked on her words. “I only have this one son. It took so much effort to bring him back home–I can’t lose him again…”
Ethan barely managed to keep his balance as she shoved him. Without another word, he hurriedly left the room, disappearing down the hall.
Left behind, my parents clung to each other, the weight of their mistakes crushing down on them.}
My mother suddenly clenched her fists, pounding them weakly against my father’s shoulders.
“What exactly happened at the shareholders‘ meeting?” she demanded, her voice thick with anguish. “Why is Owen like this? I asked you, but you wouldn’t tell me! Now that he’s missing, will you finally speak?“>
She let out a shaky breath, her eyes bloodshot with grief. “Peter, that is our son! You listened to Ethan and ruined his legs–I could still convince myself that you were doing it for Owen’s sake. But you promised me that you would take good care of him!“}
Her voice cracked as she demanded, “Speak! Are you still going to hide it from me?“>
My father’s fingers curled into fists at his sides. Then, without hesitation, he raised his hand and slapped himself across the face, the sharp sound echoing through the suffocating silence.
“It was me,” he admitted, his voice barely above a whisper. “I stole Owen’s project proposal and gave it to Ethan. Owen insisted on attending the shareholders‘ meeting and so he knew. But he didn’t cause a scene. I thought he understood my intentions…”
He sucked in a sharp breath before continuing, “I never expected that after the meeting, he’d go looking for Ethan. They’d gotten into a fight. He pushed Ethan down the stairs–right in front of all the shareholders. I couldn’t defend him. The only thing I could do was say he was just an adopted son…“>
My mother’s body trembled violently. Then, without warning, she slapped my father hard across the face.”
