Chapter 17N
Before Peter and his wife could even process their emotions, the police contacted them again. The authorities had found a record of a request to erase Owen’s identity. Following the trail, Peter and his wife traveled overseas.§
In a foreign hospital, they found the son they thought had disappeared forever.§
Inside the hospital room, Owen lay in bed, his face pale, his frame reduced to frailty. Steel pins held his legs in place, yet his eyes burned with a stubborn fire. Even in pain, he refused to show weakness.
Peter’s wife pressed herself against the wall, her fingers trembling as she covered her mouth, stifling her sobs. She dared not make a sound. Meanwhile, Peter stood frozen, gripping the doorframe as if it were the only thing keeping him upright. The weight of their mistakes bore down on them, suffocating.§
They remained outside the room, watching through the window for what felt like an eternity. He was so close, yet an unbridgeable chasm lay between them.
With a new phone number, she sent him a message.
[I’m sorry. Mom loves you.]
[You will always be our son. Your dad and I will wait for you to come home.]
The message was marked as read, but no reply came.
Through the gap beneath the door, they slipped in a black credit card–a silent offering, a small token of their remorse. The gesture felt pitiful in the face of what they had done, but it was all they could offer at that moment. Without disturbing Owen, they turned and left, boarding their flight home.
The moment they returned, they wasted no time. A shareholders‘ meeting was called. Without hesitation, they stripped Ethan of his position as chairman. The investigation into his past projects soon revealed the full extent of his corruption. Ethan had engaged in insider dealings, siphoning millions from the company’s funds.
There was no room left for reconciliation. Their relationship with him was shattered beyond repair. Peter and his wife took Ethan to court and for his economic crimes, he was sentenced to five years in prison.
Peter never returned to the company. Instead, he entrusted its management to a capable successor and quietly retired with his wife to a countryside estate.
And they waited.
Waited for the day when their son would finally come home.
(The End)
