"You lied to me." He shot her a stern look as his index finger pointed to the dry blood stains on the wall. Unsure of what her response should be; she remained quiet.
"This is Selina's blood isn't it? There's no ink smudge like you just said."
Sighing, she admitted to her lie. "I didn't want you to feel sad seeing her blood. It's only for the better if you don't know about it. You've always doted on her since young. If you saw the blood stains, you would feel sadder."
"I'll let this explanation pass, but what about Peter Sin? I mentioned about clearing her name, but you didn't bother asking about the details as if you've already known what went on between them. Even if you knew what happened between them, you shouldn't have reacted this calm. Mom, I'll ask you one more time. Be honest with me. Are you related to her suicide?"
"I'm not! Son, you need to believe in me! Yes, she came home with an injury. Yes, she told me about the things between her and Peter! But I didn't do anything. Why would a mother push her own child to her death? No matter how strict I am with her, I would never want to see her jump! I'm very upset about it too." Her palms fanned against her chest as she hurriedly explained to him.
"I checked the cameras outside of the house. She came back for at least half an hour. What exactly happened between the time she came back to when she ran off? I've been with her since young. Knowing her, she would never lock you out of the car. It was the first time I had seen you so worried about her."
Growing up, Katrina's cold treatment towards Selina made Bryan play both the brother and mother role. Though he never understood why his mother treated her differently, he disliked it and fought with her countless times about this.
One time, he caught Selina crying to herself. When he asked if Katrina was being mean to her again, she forced a smile and denied it. Her, 'I didn't do good enough' sounded like needle pricks to his chest. Only he could tell how much pain she endured when she smiled like that. Since then, he would spoil and dote on her in his own way.
His heart pounded heavily from fear when he heard the hesitance in her voice. She was explaining, but to him she was only covering up whatever she has done behind his back. What happened to her while he was gone? Was it only Peter's accusations that pushed her that far? Or was it...his mother too?
"She came home and cried about Peter. Then she said she didn't want to live anymore and told me to forget having a daughter like her. I was in shock and chased after her. That's all there is. Which mother wouldn't chase after their child after hearing about them wanting to commit suicide? How could you suspect me?"
Her eyes looked at him as if he was a traitorous friend. The way she stared at him was like someone who made her miss out on selling stocks before everything plummeted. Staring straight into her eyes, he didn't hide his suspicions from her.
"Mom, I want to believe in your words, but everything sounds staged. I won't stop investigating about this matter. I also hope I won't find anything that leads to you having any type of relation to her suicide. If I find out that you were indirectly or directly related to her suicide, forget about having a son."
Wrapping up the newspaper on the floor, he crumbled everything up and walked to the kitchen. As he walked down the hall, he didn't bother giving her another glance.
"What do you mean by that?" She softly whispered as he avoided her shoulders.
"Mom, I won't dwell on what you've done to her before I went overseas. Coming back to watch my little sister commit suicide heartbreakingly was not part of my schedule. I won't forgive anyone who pushed her to that point. Even if it's you, I won't allow it."
Crushing the newspaper between his hands, numerous creases added to its texture. Before he could make another step forward, her voice angrily raised by a tad. "Speak clearly!"
As soon as her words rung his ears, a sinister smile curled on his lips. The sound of paper wrinkling came to a stop as he rotated his body to face her. "Mom! The helplessness in her voice was so heartbreaking I felt like a failure to call myself her brother. How much suffering did she have to go through to get to that degree?"
"So, if I find any evidence leading back to you, then you can pretend your son also jumped down the bridge when she did. The moment we watched her fall down in front of us, my soul also followed. That is how much I'm hurting for her!"
Without any other interruptions, he tossed out the trash and went up to Selina's room. He didn't bother talking with his mother. Instead, he concentrated on cleaning the palette knife and bringing it back to Selina's room.
When he entered the low temperature room, he switched on the lights. Placing the palette knife back to where it belongs, he said, "Selina, do you blame me for not protecting you well? Don't worry, brother will get to the bottom of this. I couldn't prevent them from hurting you, but I won't let those people off anymore."
After this night, Bryan didn't talk to Katrina the same way again. Whenever she tried having a conversation with him, he would reply in minimal words. Deep down, he could tell his mother had something to do with Selina's suicide decision. It was unforgivable.
- Private Hospital -
Aaron: "Mister Hui, I've contacted all the investors. Everything is going smoothly. There are some updates on Bryan Gu's side."
Jason listened attentively as Aaron reported back to him. With a pleased smile, he replied, "Everything has just begun. Continue paying attention of Bryan and drop some hints to his investigations if possible. If there is nothing else to report, then you may take your leave."
"Yes."
After Aaron had left the room, Jason went to the restroom and came out with a wet cloth. Gently, he cleaned Selina's face and hands. "Selina, wake up soon. Your brother is also waiting for you. You wouldn't want to see him sad, right?"