One Man Band System

The next day, Eric pulled his car up to a hospital on the outskirts of town. He had gotten the address from Norman, who had called him the previous night to let him know that Melissa wanted to speak with him in private. After parking his car, he walked inside and inquired at the reception desk.

Before long, he was standing outside a specialized care unit guarded by police officers. One of the officers opened the door for him. Stepping inside, he saw Melissa lying in the hospital bed, with Norman seated beside her. The moment Norman spotted Eric, he stood up and walked over.

"Thank you for coming, Mr. Eric. Please, have a seat. I’ll wait outside," Norman said.

"Alright, Mr. Norman," Eric replied.

Norman stepped out of the room. Eric turned to look at Melissa, who was lying there with her eyes closed, whether asleep or not. He sat down next to her bed, but before he could say a word, Melissa moved. Her hand, holding a smartphone, raised up, bringing the screen to a halt right in front of Eric’s face.

"What’s this?" Eric asked, staring at the smartphone, which displayed a chat history between Melissa and someone else.

"Just read it. You’ll understand once you do," Melissa answered, keeping her eyes closed as she stared up at the ceiling.

Eric took the phone and began to read. His eyes widened as he went through the chat logs between Melissa and Vanessa. It started with Melissa telling Vanessa that she had heard from Vivian—how Vanessa had asked Vivian to stop Jason, and how Vivian’s comment on Melissa’s Instagram post had prompted Melissa to take down the post after screenshotting the comment.

From the chat logs, Vanessa confessed everything like a bursting dam. It spanned from her infidelity with Ethan Reed, which David later found out about, to her ongoing affair with David throughout her marriage. She admitted to knowing about Jason constantly backing Eric into a corner and undercutting him at every turn, as well as Jason deliberately pursuing Vivian—even while with Melissa—just to ensure Eric was miserable.

But what gave Eric chills was Vanessa’s admission that after Martin decided to divorce her, Jason began plotting over the inheritance. He intended to murder Martin so the divorce wouldn’t go through, spilling the entire plan to Vanessa, who simply listened in dead silence, leading Jason to assume she was on board with his scheme.

When Jason discovered that Martin had already revised his will, his scheme fell apart, driving him to come to this city to take action. That prospect terrified Vanessa, prompting her to plead for help from Melissa, whom Vivian had happened to contact. Having read through it all, Eric handed the smartphone back to Melissa. This time, Melissa opened her eyes and turned to look at him.

Melissa was stunned—not just because Eric’s face remained composed, but because his expression was icy cold. It wasn’t a fiery rage, but a chilling composure with his brows knit tight and an intensely sharp glare.

"Are you okay?" Melissa asked.

"I’m fine... Thank you for letting me know," Eric answered.

"There’s one more thing... You read the bottom part, right?" Melissa asked.

"Yeah... Jason went to the prison where Blake is being held... That’s what my mother said, since she overheard part of their phone call," Eric answered.

"I’m glad you understand," Melissa replied.

"Have you reported this to Mr. Norman?" Eric asked.

"I have. That’s why he called you to come here, and he stepped outside at my request so I could pass all this on to you in person," Melissa answered.

Eric fell silent. Reaching out, he took Melissa’s hand on the bed, then pulled out his phone and opened his contacts. He dialed a number, and after two rings, the call was picked up.

"What’s up, Eric?" asked a man with a deep, heavy voice on the line.

"Uncle Joe, could I ask you for a favor?" Eric asked.

"Spill it," Joe answered firmly, clearly sensing that something was down.

Eric laid out the whole situation. Joe didn’t utter a word on the line, his steady breathing the only sound as he listened intently. Once Eric finished,

"I hear you. I’ll help out by keeping an eye on your father and your sister. By the way, your sister goes to the same school as Laura, right?" Joe asked.

"That’s right, Uncle. They attend the same school," Eric answered.

"Good, then that’s settled. I’m also assigning a couple of guys to detail you," Joe said.

"Uh... I don’t really need that, Uncle," Eric said.

"Huh... What do you mean you don’t need it? You’re targeted too. Don’t argue with me—I’m sending two guys to your building," Joe replied firmly.

"Um... alright then, thank you, Uncle," Eric said, too intimidated to refuse.

"Good. As for your brother’s friend in prison, I’ll handle him myself," Joe added.

"Alright, Uncle. Thanks for helping me out," Eric replied.

"Ha... Come on, don’t treat me like a stranger. We’re family. Alright, I’ve got work to handle," Joe said.

"Alright, Uncle," Eric replied.

The call ended, and Eric stowed his smartphone away. He then turned to look at Melissa, who was gazing at him with a soft smile on her face.

"You really are different from the person you used to be. I’m glad to see it," Melissa said.

"Let’s not drag the past into this. We’re in the present now, not back then," Eric replied with a smile.

"Oh, right... here."

Melissa showed him her smartphone again, but this time it wasn’t her chat history with Vanessa—it was her conversation with Vivian. Eric took the phone and read through it. After an initial exchange of apologies, Vivian mentioned that she was no longer tied to her past and was spending her life making amends. She had even sent a selfie of herself working as a convenience store clerk to show Melissa. After reading the message, Eric handed the phone back to Melissa.

"It’s good to see she’s changed," Eric said.

Melissa went silent, studying Eric’s face for any hidden tell, but his expression remained entirely neutral. It showed no signs of heartbreak, no bitterness, no satisfaction at Vivian’s current situation, nor any sense of victory. Instead, his expression looked warm and relaxed, free of any complex emotions. Seeing that, Melissa smiled and put her smartphone away.

"You’ve forgiven Vivian, haven’t you?" Melissa asked.

"Hmm... you could say that, but not for her sake, for my own. Well... over the past few months, I’ve had a lot of time to reflect. I realized that even if I held a grudge and retaliated, I couldn’t alter what already happened. Unless I had a time machine to go back into the past... but even then, the future would probably turn out the same, wouldn’t it?" Eric answered.

"Haha... you’re right, completely right... I wish I could be like you. To this day, I still hold a grudge against Jason... even though I’ve forgiven Vivian because she was just naive and ended up a victim too," Melissa said as she stared up at the ceiling, a single tear slipping from her eye.

"Deep down, you’ve already forgiven Jason too, for your own peace of mind. Otherwise, there’s no way you would’ve come to my building yesterday asking for a job," Eric replied with a smile.

Melissa turned to look at Eric, simply staring at him with a smile as tears began to wet her face. Pulling the blanket up, she covered her face. Eric sat back calmly without moving or interfering, simply waiting for Melissa to let out all her emotions.

***

Meanwhile, at school, the dismissal bell rang. Ruby stood up and walked out of the classroom.

"Hey... Ruby, where are you going?" Chloe called out to her.

"I have plans with Tania to go furniture shopping for the apartment. Why?" Ruby asked.

"No reason. You’re heading to the new building later, right?" Chloe asked.

"Yeah... with Tania," Ruby answered.

"Got it. Let’s just meet up there then. The rest of us are heading straight over," Chloe replied.

"Okay... I’ll head out first," Ruby replied.

Ruby walked out of the classroom and made her way down the hallway to leave the school building. She had promised to drive over to Tania’s school to pick her up after classes ended. She walked along casually, twirling her car keys around her finger. Stepping out of the school building, she walked through the outer gate. But as she approached her car,

"So this is where you go to school, huh,"

Ruby froze in her tracks. She recognized that male voice all too well, she had known it since childhood. The keys in her hand stopped spinning as she gripped them tightly in her fist. Slowly, she turned around, her eyes widening at the sight of Jason standing before her, looking utterly disheveled with messy hair, bloodshot eyes, and an unkempt beard.

Ruby’s hand trembled as it moved slowly, slipping into her bag to clutch her smartphone with shaking fingers.

"Ja... Jason... what are you doing here?" Ruby asked, her voice quivering.

"Just visiting my favorite little sister," Jason answered with a twisted, chilling smile that sent a shiver down Ruby’s spine.

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