Chapter 2

2.

"The fifty thousand is in your account. Send the key tomorrow."

I replied with a simple "Done" after seeing the notification.

I rushed to the hospital to pay for Finn's surgery immediately.

The doctor sighed in relief.

"Finn has been waiting for two years. He should have had this surgery months ago."

In two years, Finn had withered from a healthy boy to a shadow of himself.

Even the nurses cried for him.

But Eleanor, a woman worth billions, had withheld the money out of spite.

I thanked the doctor and headed toward the ward.

Suddenly, a nurse ran out, her face pale.

"Doctor! The patient is crashing! We need to move the surgery up right now!"

I panicked, grabbing the doctor's arm as tears poured down my face.

"Please! You have to save my son! I have the money now!"

Just as they were pushing Finn toward the operating room, a loud voice echoed through the hall.

"My boyfriend just tripped and bumped his head! Everyone stop what you're doing and check him!"

Eleanor strode in, flanked by a dozen bodyguards.

She was supporting Wesley, who looked perfectly fine.

He only had a tiny, faint scratch on his forehead.

Eleanor owned a stake in this hospital, and the doctors were terrified of her.

I saw Finn's pale face and rushed toward Eleanor.

"Finn is dying! He needs the surgery right now! You can't take the doctors away!"

"One second could mean his life!"

I tried to pull Finn's surgeon back, but Eleanor blocked me with a cold sneer.

"Whoever leaves this hallway is fired tomorrow!"

"Wesley hit his head. What if there's internal bleeding? I need a full team."

"As for you, Caleb, stop the drama. He was fine yesterday. He isn't suddenly dying!"

She looked at me with chilling suspicion.

"You're lying just to spite Wesley. Only a monster would curse their own child to win an argument!"

I felt like I had been electrocuted. My heart physically ached.

Finn always cried for his mother after dialysis.

I had begged her a hundred times to visit him.

A few times, she actually made it to the ward door.

But Wesley would always call, claiming he'd checked with nurses and Finn was fine.

She convinced herself I was a liar, trying to trick her for attention.

"He is my son! Why would I make this up? Look at him!" I screamed.

She didn't even look toward the gurney.

"He's survived for two years. He can wait a few more hours. Stop being so selfish."

Wesley pulled on her arm, acting like a martyr.

"Eleanor, I'm sure Caleb isn't lying. But since you're worried about me..."

"Caleb, they say a father will do anything for his son, right?"

"Film a video with me. Kneel down and apologize to the public. Admit you're a hack who stole my ideas."

He looked at me with a triumphant grin.

"If you do that, I'll let Eleanor send one doctor over. Deal?"

The game's launch was trending everywhere online.

He wanted to destroy my reputation and steal my legacy forever.

I clenched my fists, looking at Eleanor, hoping for a shred of humanity.

She just stood there, watching me like I was a stray dog.

"You won't even do that for him? I knew you were lying!"

My mind was filled with images of Finn's tiny, struggling heart.

My knees hit the cold hospital floor.

I looked into the camera Wesley held up.

"I, Caleb Reed, admit that all my work and games were stolen from Wesley Brooks."

"I am a fraud and a loser."