As soon as the officers walked out of the hospital room, the atmosphere immediately changed, and the faint warmth that had briefly existed inside vanished completely.
Silence settled.
Then...
Aiden’s body immediately shivered as he felt his father’s hand resting upon his shoulder tighten firmly, no longer keeping up the act of the gentle father he had seen only moments ago.
"Aiden." His neutral, cold voice quietly reached the child’s ears, completely different from the gentle, caring tone he had been using just a moment earlier.
"Tomorrow... you will say exactly what I tell you to say."
His fingers dug a little deeper into Aiden’s shoulder.
"Do you understand?"
The little boy’s body immediately began trembling violently. His head lowered until he couldn’t look at anything other than his injured hands.
His lips quivered before a tiny sniffle escaped, despite how desperately he tried to hold it back. He didn’t dare cry loudly, afraid that even shedding tears might make the man angry again.
The caring expression Damien had worn while speaking to the officers had completely disappeared.
The mask had finally come off.
What remained was the same cold, emotionless face Lucian remembered all too well.
Seeing Aiden remain silent, Damien’s expression grew even colder.
"DO. YOU... HEAR. ME?"
"Hik...! Ak... y-ye...s..." Aiden’s voice barely came out before a terrified, choked sob escaped his lips.
His breathing completely broke beneath the blanket. His tiny fingers clenched tightly around the bedsheet—so tightly that the bandages wrapped around his injured hand began to stain with blood once again.
"Agh... hik..." Tears once again streamed down his cheeks, and his heart hammered violently against his fragile chest.
Beep. Beep. Beep.
Seeing the readings on the monitor climbing a little too high, Damien clicked his tongue before releasing Aiden’s shoulder.
He didn’t want to cause another scene, especially not inside the hospital.
So, without another word, he turned around and walked out of the room without even sparing the child a single glance.
The moment the door closed behind him—
Everything holding Aiden together finally shattered.
The little boy completely broke down into tears. His shoulders shook violently as he buried his face into the hospital blanket, desperately trying to suppress the sounds.
Trying not to let anyone hear him—especially his father, who might still be standing outside.
His choked sobs echoed throughout the quiet hospital room, a place where patients were supposed to feel safe.
Lucian felt everything.
Every emotion.
Every thundering heartbeat.
Every tear.
The overwhelming sadness, fear, and despair consuming the child’s heart. His tiny body trembled uncontrollably beneath the crushing weight of terror and helplessness, and Lucian was forced to suffer through every bit of it alongside him.
’...Sigh.’
[...Sigh.]
Both Lucian and Akasha let out a long, quiet sigh, feeling a deep concern for the child. And although Lucian was, in a way, also worrying about his own past self...
He was far more worried about how his mother was doing right now.
He was sure that she had already been taken away by the police officers after Damien had called them and brought them to his house.
After all... he had orchestrated everything.
He had heard it from the man himself... or rather, he would hear it from him in the coming few months.
[Even... even I’m feeling a bit too sad about this... even though I know this is just a memory.]
Akasha muttered softly, almost apologetically, as if slightly regretting making Lucian relive everything.
Lucian didn’t respond.
Only after his tears had completely stopped did Aiden finally calm down. His throat felt painfully hoarse, and every breath stung.
His swollen eyes gradually closed before he fell unconscious once again as exhaustion finally overtook him.
Many things happened after that...
And before long, the police officers arrived at his hospital room once again.
Damien calmly sat on the bed beside the child.
Seeing his fearful expression—which they believed was caused by their presence—even the officers felt a trace of pity.
But still...
They had a job to do.
The senior officer slowly pulled a chair closer before sitting down.
"So, Aiden... how are you feeling right now?"
In response to the gentle question, Aiden quietly looked at them before, after several long seconds, giving only a small nod.
Letting out a faint sigh, the officers continued their questioning.
They slowly asked him a few simple questions—such as how much time he spent at home, what his relationship with his father and mother was like, and a few others.
But...
Throughout every single question, the child remained silent, only nervously glancing at Damien with a fearful expression.
After receiving no response from the child whatsoever, both the senior and junior officers fell silent.
After a brief moment, the senior officer turned toward the younger one standing nearby.
"Bring her in."
"But, sir, shouldn’t we—" the younger officer frowned, seeing that the child was already far too shaken.
"Just bring her."
The senior spoke in a serious tone, leaving no room for disagreement, making the junior officer reluctantly nod.
After he left the room, silence settled over the hospital room once again, leaving behind only the senior officer, Aiden, sitting on the bed, and Damien seated beside him.
Then...
Just as the footsteps outside completely faded away—
"How is everything going?" Damien asked in a low voice, the sudden sound making Aiden involuntarily flinch.
"All according to your instructions, sir," the senior officer replied in an equally quiet tone.
Damien slowly nodded, seemingly satisfied.
Then, the officer hesitated.
"But... sir..."
His eyes unconsciously shifted toward the trembling little boy, who continued staring down at the blanket, and for a brief moment...
Even he felt sorry for the child.
"What?"
Damien immediately interrupted his thoughts, causing the officer to simply shake his head helplessly.
"Nothing."
There wasn’t anything more to say—or rather, nothing he dared to say.
’...You really have a tough life, kid.’
The officer thought, feeling a faint trace of sympathy for the child.
Though...
He had already accepted Damien’s money.
And with the man’s influence...
He had a family to feed too.
So he quietly buried those thoughts, choosing silence over his own conscience.
’Pft... he bribed him. Of course... of course he did.
Why didn’t I think of that...?’
Lucian almost laughed aloud as he watched the scene unfold before him.
And despite hearing everything that was happening, Aiden was far too innocent and too young to understand what was really going on, especially when he wasn’t in the right state of mind.
Though with the child’s innocence, he probably wouldn’t have understood their conversation even if he had been in the right state of mind.
’Ha... hahahaha... HAHAHAHA!!!’
He almost felt the urge to praise his father for putting so much thought and planning into making his life so utterly miserable.
’You really are a piece of shit... haha!’
[...]
Akasha, hearing his words, didn’t know how to respond.
Even though he was laughing, she could clearly feel his true emotions beneath it. Yet she didn’t say a word, knowing that no amount of comforting words would console him.
Another brief silence settled over the room, and after waiting for a few more minutes...
The hospital room door slowly creaked open.
The junior officer entered first.
Walking behind him was a female police officer.
And beside her—
Was Seraphina.
Her long jet-black hair remained scattered in a mess, dishevelled strands falling across her face and hiding much of her expression.
Her previous clothes had already been changed into hospital clothing.
The moment Aiden saw her, his lips instinctively parted.
"M-M—"
And the instant she heard that overwhelmingly familiar voice, Seraphina’s lowered head immediately snapped upward.
Those once-beautiful icy-blue eyes frantically searched the room before instantly finding him.
Her son.
"Aid—!"
Without thinking, she instinctively rushed forward.
Or rather...
She tried to.
"Stay where you are."
The female officer immediately grabbed Seraphina’s arm and pulled her back.
The handcuffs locked around both of Seraphina’s wrists clinked loudly.
Aiden’s black eyes widened.
His tiny heart instantly filled with relief upon seeing his mother.
He wanted to call out to her again.
He wanted to reach out to her.
But then—
His entire body suddenly flinched as he felt Damien’s hand quietly wrap around his arm beneath the blanket, squeezing just enough to send another wave of fear through the child’s body.
The junior officer quietly watched the mother’s behaviour.
A faint frown slowly appeared on his face.
Something felt... off.
The way the child reacted.
The mother’s expression.
None of it really matched what he had read in the report.
Though he never got the chance to speak, as the senior officer spoke first.
"Aiden... we know you’re afraid of her, but we only need one answer from you."
He paused, giving the child a few seconds to breathe before quietly asking—
"Did she hurt you... while you were alone with her?"
Seraphina’s eyes widened the moment she heard the accusation.
Her gaze immediately snapped toward the senior officer, complete disbelief filling her face.
Aiden immediately tried shaking his head, wanting to deny it and tell them everything.
But then—
"Say yes, or else..."
A quiet whisper reached the kid’s ears, and even though he didn’t complete the sentence... the threat alone was enough to terrify the child.
Damien immediately withdrew his head, his hand gently patting Aiden’s head, pretending to comfort him.
Yet it only made the child tremble even more.
’Don’t say it... don’t say it... don’t, don’t, don’t... don’t!’ Lucian repeated the words over and over.
He desperately tried to stop his lips from parting, tried his best to stop the words that were about to escape his mouth.
’Just this once, please stop... stop speaking, you fucker!
Just shut your mouth...!’
But despite all his efforts, despite putting every ounce of his will into stopping his body...
He just couldn’t.
His body moved on its own. It trembled despite him trying with everything he had to stop it.
His lips finally parted against his protest, and slowly, a broken voice escaped through his quivering lips.
"...Y-Y-Yes."
The single word quietly echoed throughout the hospital room.
Everything...
Everything stopped.
Seraphina’s eyes instantly lost all colour, and the little light remaining within them disappeared.
Her face...
Already hidden beneath strands of black hair, turned utterly hollow, empty—as though every emotion had simply vanished.
Her legs suddenly went weak as the strength drained from her entire body.
Thud.
Her knees struck the floor.
The female officer immediately tried pulling her back up, but...
Seraphina barely responded, her body completely limp... like a puppet whose strings had suddenly been cut.
It was almost as if her soul had already left her body.
Meanwhile...
Aiden slowly lowered his head.
Fresh tears silently dripped from his face, falling onto the spotless white bedsheet and darkening the fabric.
The senior officer quietly looked toward Damien for a brief moment before giving a subtle nod.
Damien returned it just as discreetly.
Neither of them spoke.
There was no need.
Everything had already gone according to plan.
"...Why?"
Seraphina’s hollow voice quietly reached his buzzing ears, making the child feel as though something unbearably heavy had settled upon his chest.
His heart violently clenched, and that single word, carrying nothing but betrayal, crushed him.
Slowly, unable to bear it any longer...
He raised his head.
Only to freeze.
The room...
Was empty.
There was no one standing before him.
His mother...
The officers...
All of them had already left the room. The hospital room had once again fallen silent.
Leaving behind only two people.
The frightened little boy...
And his so-called father, who remained sitting beside the bed.
Damien’s calm eyes slowly drifted toward the child.
Then, slowly... very slowly...
A smile began curling across his lips.
Visit and read more novel to help us update chapter quickly. Thank you so much!
Use arrow keys (or A / D) to PREV/NEXT chapter