Julian was stunned.

A tiny little life appeared right in the eye of the storm. Ethan’s appearance at that time was the strongest set of reins holding back his mother’s sheer fury and recklessness. In order to protect the flesh and blood in her womb, in order for the child to be born safely amidst a St. Lawrence City that was lying in wait with vicious waves, that proud woman was forced to compromise, endure patiently, and temporarily bury her burning hatred.

"She took a step back, accepting to live a quiet and peaceful life of a society lady in exchange for my safety." Ethan let out a heavy sigh, the final sound cracking open to reveal an unconcealable anguish, "But their endurance did not earn them a happy ending. They... those people hiding in the darkness, still did not let my family off the hook."

"The year I turned eleven. A disastrous traffic accident occurred. The car carrying my father and my mother plunged off a cliff and exploded."

Julian’s heart felt as though it was being suffocated by someone’s grip. Julian had heard of that accident before, having vaguely found some distorted information on the internet. However, when hearing the person in his heart bring up the pain of the past, his soul still ached relentlessly.

Julian hastily reached out both arms to tightly embrace the firm waist of the man, wanting to use all of his strength to transmit comfort to Ethan. Or... perhaps it was also empathy. Because both of their childhood years had been filled with such intense hardship.

"My grandfather seemed to age a decade in just a single night. The press and media of St. Lawrence City simultaneously reported the mourning that enveloped the Caldwell Empire. Externally, the Caldwell family officially issued a statement regarding the tragic demise of their eldest son and daughter-in-law, passing away at far too young an age."

Julian’s mind was spinning wildly. Seventeen years ago, the accident, the declaration of death... It all perfectly matched the information he had vaguely known about. But why? Why did Ethan just say earlier that they had only passed away five or seven years ago?

As if reading right through the extreme bewilderment in Julian’s eyes, Ethan tightened his embrace, resting his chin on the top of Julian’s head, his hoarse voice carrying a sorrow that had been suppressed for many long years:

"Externally, they were deceased. But the truth is... that accident did not snatch their lives away immediately. Grandpa Arthur utilized every single connection, hired the absolute best doctors in the world, and established a secret intensive care unit right beneath the basement of a hospital belonging to the Caldwell Empire just to keep their last fading breaths alive."

Julian’s pupils dilated to their absolute limits.

"They were still ’alive’, Jules." Tears seemed to be flowing backwards right into the man’s heart, "It was just... living like vegetative corpses. No perception, no reaction, just barely grasping onto life to maintain a heartbeat thanks to dozens of IV tubes and cold machinery plugged into their bodies for an entire decade."

A deathly silence engulfed the entire room. 𝓯𝓻𝓮𝙚𝙬𝓮𝙗𝒏𝙤𝒗𝙚𝙡.𝒄𝒐𝓶

Julian shivered, the bridge of his nose stinging with unshed tears. He finally understood the reason why that inheritance financial statement had such a massive gap in time.

Because it was not until the year Ethan officially took over the Caldwell Empire, when he had fully grown his wings and gathered enough strength to protect this massive legacy... that the two people lying on that hospital bed finally took their true last breaths.

They had persistently endured relentless physical torment for ten long years, purely to wait for the day their son grew up. And Ethan, the eleven-year-old boy back then, had to grow up carrying an earth-shattering secret, day by day watching his parents slowly wither away in absolute despair until exactly seven years ago.

"Five, seven years ago... that was when they truly left me." Ethan squeezed his eyes shut tightly, burying his face into the crook of Julian’s neck, taking a deep breath carrying the rustic, refreshing scent emanating from Julian’s body.

The contradiction in time, the logical loopholes, the disconnected streams of money... Everything had been perfectly explained by a truth that was far too cruel and thoroughly soaked in blood. This St. Lawrence City, this Caldwell Empire, what in the hell were they actually hiding beneath that glamorous and dazzling exterior?

Julian could not hold it back any longer, the rims of his eyes flushing a deep red. He reached out to stroke the broad back of the man that was trembling ever so slightly, matching each and every rhythm with extreme caution.

"It is alright... Ethan... It is alright, from now on you have me right here. I will never let you endure all of these things completely alone ever again."

It was just that Julian truly could not understand, why did they have to drag it out for so long?

In the end, the crushing pain was shouldered by the ones left behind, while the bodily torture was endured by the people lying on that bed living a vegetative existence for so many years. Why must they use such a torturous method to prolong the fading breaths of Ethan’s parents?

Was it truly only to wait for Ethan to grow up?

Although Julian did not interact much with Grandpa Arthur, Julian believed that he was definitely not that kind of person. The utter shock of losing a son and a daughter-in-law was already massive enough, could he truly bear the heartless cruelty of watching them be continuously tormented, living a fate worse than death, suffering relentlessly on a hospital bed like that?

So what exactly happened? Why resort to such a cruel method?

During the years that Ethan’s parents lay on that hospital bed, were they simply existing as vegetative patients? If the news of their passing had already been announced, perhaps even with death certificates issued, then what was the actual reason for the missing time gap in the financial report concerning the shares in Ethan’s hands?