Chapter 12
Maximo Myers dreamt of Arlette. In a temporary escape from the agony of her loss, he found himself desperately running towards her, using every ounce of strength just to reach her. He reached out, almost wrapping her in an embrace—but just a little further…
A little more, and he would have held her!
Upon waking, the stark reality hit him like a cold shower, making it hard to bear.
“Winnie Hughes! What’s going on?” Maximo’s voice trembled with fury, his chest heaving in anger.
Winnie clutched the medical report, her lips bitten until they bled. For reasons unknown, one of her kidneys had been removed, leaving her unable to express her grievances clearly.
Yet here he was, yelling at her!
“Brother, look at this.” Winnie’s nose reddened as she pointed at the report with anguish, “Something’s wrong with the doctor. I… I only have one kidney now.”
How she managed to utter the word “only” was anybody’s guess. The only way she’d feel avenged would be to rip out the doctor’s kidneys and toss them to the dogs.
“Brother, you have to stand up for me.”
Maximo sat up abruptly.
His eyes, cold and shadowed, emanated a chilling aura like blades of ice, fierce and intimidating.
“Of course!”
“Of course, there’s an issue!”
Seeing his concern brought Winnie a fleeting relief amid her stifled anger. “Brother! Quick, get that doctor in for a full investigation.”
“Absolutely.”
“Timothy, make sure you dig deep into this situation!”
Maximo’s presence radiated a menacing intensity, brewing a palpable threat. “Whoever dared harm Arlette deserves to pay!”
“Brother!”
Winnie furiously slapped the hospital bed, “I’ve suffered so much, and all you care about is her!”
“Suffering? What suffering?”
Maximo’s glare was icy cold.
“Isn’t it just because you didn’t get Arlette’s kidney?”
He’d never realized how cold Winnie could be! Even if Arlette had wronged her, she was still human. Yet Winnie seemed preoccupied with her own remaining kidney.
“If it meant so much to you, why did you donate your kidney to me in the first place?”
“I…” Winnie was at a loss, her brother had never been this harsh. Since Arlette’s passing, everything had changed.
He still couldn’t stop thinking about Arlette!
Winnie suppressed her discontent, tears welling in her eyes. “Brother, find out who the lead doctor is, and uncover who’s behind this scheme.”
“As for the original arrangement with the doctors, perhaps they got deceived as well.”
Winnie clenched her teeth, “Just don’t trouble them anymore.”
“Arlette, where is she?”
Maximo had no patience to hear more. His heart was broken, realizing Arlette’s body was nowhere to be found! He hadn’t even had a chance to properly say goodbye or hold her.
He turned on Timothy, who stood nervously in the corner.
“Where is Arlette?!”
“There was a f-fire, she was cremated.” Timothy stammered, “Miss Hughes made that decision.”
Maximo’s fury erupted, his anger clawing at his chest, “How dare you act without consulting me!”
Timothy quickly dropped to his knees.
“Mr. Myers, Miss Arlette has already passed.”
“Respect for the departed.”
Maximo stared icily at him for a long time before painfully forcing out three words.
“The ashes, where?”
Awkwardly, Timothy’s gaze flicked toward Winnie. She looked tense, her eyes reddening instantly. “Brother, Arlette said she loved the mountains, so I scattered her ashes there.”
A bitter taste rose in his throat as Maximo clutched his chest.
This was betrayal, leaving him utterly alone—completely empty!
“Brother.”
Winnie stepped forward to support him, but Maximo pushed her away.
“Go back to your room!”
“I don’t want to see you for a while.”
Despite his rational mind holding him back, his bond with her was severely strained.
He began… feeling regretful.
If he hadn’t let guilt drive him to take away their child, he wouldn’t be alone now.
At least he’d have a child to hold dear.
Winnie, eager not to reveal the truth about the ashes, left the room without further argument, glancing back frequently as she went.
She consoled herself with the thought that Arlette was gone, so now her brother would be hers alone.
Timothy left to investigate the matter.
Maximo collapsed back onto the bed, staring into space. For the next two days, he remained in a state akin to dead, abstaining from eating, drinking coffee, and moving.
Until Timothy burst in, looking as if he’d seen a ghost.
“Mr. Myers! Something terrible has happened!”
Maximo didn’t react, and Timothy almost feared he wasn’t breathing. Thankfully, he was still drawing shallow breaths, clinging to life.
“When the accident happened, a car parked nearby had a dashcam recording everything around it.”
Timothy held his breath as he handed the tablet to his boss.
“Mr. Myers, please watch this video.”
“Prepare yourself; don’t get too worked up. I worry it might overwhelm you.”
Maximo felt as lifeless as dead water.
The accident hadn’t left him traumatized. All he could see, waking or sleeping, was Arlette. He agreed to watch the video only because he wanted to see her once more.
Even knowing she might have orchestrated this accident.
He simply wanted to see her.
He opened the video.
Sure enough, there she was—the figure he couldn’t stop thinking about, longing endlessly for. Yet, before he could delve into his emotions, he saw her rushing to the driver’s seat to save him.
His pupils constricted.
Her words echoed in his mind, loud and deafening.
[Maximo Myers, if you investigate, you’ll find I was severely burned saving you.]
[How could I have been the instigator?]