A Step Back

He looked at them as though they were a pair of filthy ants.

After a long pause, he finally spoke. His voice was flat and emotionless.

“Cutting ties? Too late.”

“If you want me to let you off, that’s fine too.”

He paused for a moment. His gaze fell on me, inspecting me like an object.

“From now on, your son will leave school and spend each day at the hospital, kneeling and praying for my daughter’s recovery until she wakes.”

My parents froze for a moment at his words. Then their faces lit up with wild joy.

“Yes! We’ll do it!”

They nodded frantically, as though this were a gift from the heavens.

“Thank you, Mr. Grant! Thank you!”

They got to their feet and tried to drag me along, murmuring nonstop.

“Did you hear that? Just kneel! It won’t kill you! This is what will save our whole family’s lives. You better do it!”

I yanked my hands free and stood on my own.

Back at home, I locked my door.

No matter how much they shouted or kicked at the door outside, I ignored them.

“Henry! You ungrateful brat! We raised you all these years. What’s so wrong with kneeling just once?!”

“Open the door, or we’ll drop dead right outside for you to see!”

I put on my headphones, blocking out all their vicious curses.

…

Three days later.

News broke that Evelyn had finally woken up.

They used a spare key to open my bedroom door and immediately dragged me out of bed.

“Hurry! Hurry to the hospital! Miss Grant is awake! Our good days are here!”

They dragged me all the way to the hospital.

At the entrance to Evelyn’s private ICU room, reporters swarmed, cameras and microphones flashing in every direction.

My parents shoved me through the crowd, pushing me to the very front.

The hospital room door opened.

Evelyn lay on the bed under the spotlight, pale and fragile-looking.

As she woke, her gaze swept past her parents and the reporters, locking perfectly on me.

For a moment, a flash of resentment flickered in her eyes.

However, it was quickly covered by a layer of tears.

She lifted her hand, wrapped thickly in bandages, and weakly pointed at me with all the strength she could muster.

“It… it was him…”

Her voice was quiet, yet through countless microphones, it carried clearly down the corridor.

The crowd fell silent instantly.

All eyes focused on me.

Tears streamed down her face like pearls breaking free of their string.

Through the cameras, she cried, “When the truck came at me, I tried to dodge it…

“It was him! He suddenly pushed me from behind!

“When I looked back, I saw him smiling… he was smiling…”

Just one sentence and the crowd went wild.

“What? It wasn’t negligence. It was a deliberate murder!”

“He’s a social scumbag! Look at his parents. They’re practically dying of shame! How could they raise such a monster?”

“Poor, jealous loser! Hating a rich girl like that? He’s disgusting and evil!”

My mother got furious, grabbed a handful of my hair, and yanked me to the ground.

“You murderer! I’ll beat you to death! Why would you harm our family?!”

My father was even worse. He kicked me over and over.

Then, along with my mom, they pinned my head to the ground with all their strength.

“Kneel! Apologize to Miss Grant for what you did!”

He screamed, pressing my head to the ground and hammering my back with fists like a maniac.

“I’ll beat this monster to death today! For justice!”

Blood quickly ran down my forehead, blurring my vision.

The pain and suffocating pressure hit me all at once. I felt like my bones were about to break under their blows.

Just when I thought I might die at my own parents’ hands, a sharp command rang out,

“Stop! Police!”

Uniformed officers pushed through the chaos, pulling my violent parents off me.

The lead officer, expression serious and calm, said, “Henry, please cooperate and come with us.

“We have new evidence in this case.”