Chapter 3

The pain that I was expecting didn't come.

My fall had been broken by a tree outside the window.

Joanne looked deathly pale when I was saved. She stormed forward and slapped me hard across the face.

"Are you done fooling around yet, Henry?" she demanded.

Gloria also looked incredibly upset. She was shaking all over. She approached me and kicked me.

"What are you trying to do, Henry?"

I stumbled to the floor. The kick felt like a blade stabbing into me and twisting in my stomach, especially since I had just had a stomach lavage.

A foul taste surged up my throat from my gut. I spat out a mouthful of blood before falling to my knees in front of Gloria and Joanne.

"Ms. Yates, Dr. Kerry, please leave me alone. Just let me die."

Bewilderment crossed their faces at my words.

Gloria frowned. "Is this a new tactic? Are you forcing us to pay attention to you by begging to die?"

"No," I answered with bloodshot eyes. "I saw Dad's system. It told me that I can go to Dad's side as long as I die. I'm begging you. Please leave me alone. Let me die. You'll never have to worry about me fighting William for your affection ever again. You also don't have to be wary of me and lock me up."

One of my mothers, Barbara Olson, who was part of the military, punished me after what happened to William. She locked me in a dark room for five days and five nights.

She shone a blinding light into my eyes to stop me from sleeping. Whenever I teetered on the edge of unconsciousness, she would inject a dose of adrenaline into me.

After the five days were up, the first thing I did after being released from the dark room was beg my mothers to let me leave.

However, they told me that they would never let me leave.

"You have the guts to do such terrible things right under our noses. Who knows what other nefarious things you'll do to William if we let you leave?"

"She's right! We promised your father to teach you well. You can't leave!"

Perhaps it was because I mentioned Dad, but Gloria's and Joanne's expressions seemed to soften, reminding me of the gentleness that they used to treat me with.

"Are you sure that you saw your father's system, Henry?" Gloria asked as she helped me to my feet. "When did this happen?"

I answered her honestly. The system had appeared that morning when I nearly starved to death.

Gloria and Joanne exchanged glances.

"You might not know this, Henry, but when your father left, he told us that his system will disappear after he completes his mission," Joanne said. "You might have hallucinated your encounter with his system."

I shook my head. "No. That can't be. It was definitely Dad's system. Please leave me alone, Dr. Kerry. Just let me die."

Joanne's face twisted into an upset expression when I insisted that I wanted to die. She tried to suppress her emotions, but she ultimately failed and said, "You won't be the judge on whether you had a hallucination or not. We'll be sending you to a psychologist."

She then patted my head like how she used to in the past. She wore a strange expression when she added, "It's been three years. Truth be told, we've discussed among ourselves about how we wouldn't punish you anymore as long as you promise to never show your face in front of William again—"

My other mothers, Tessa Charleston and Barbara, suddenly appeared before she could finish her sentence.

"Gloria, Joanne, have you seen William?"

Gloria and Joanne were stunned.

"Wasn't he with you?"

Tessa began panicking. "He disappeared after taking a call. He mentioned that his classmate wanted to give him a present, so he left to meet them. Could it be…"

All four of their faces twisted into upset expressions. They thought about what happened three years ago.

It had also been William's birthday, and he had also left the house after one of his classmates called him. He was then beaten to a pulp by a group of hooligans.

They turned their gazes on me in unison.

A shiver ran down my spine as they stared at me. Although they hadn't said a word, I immediately knew what they were thinking. "No. It wasn't me," I blurted out.

"Who else could it be?" Gloria demanded furiously, grabbing a fistful of my collar with a crazed look in her eyes. "It's no wonder you kept trying to kill yourself today, Henry. You wanted to keep us distracted. Where did you take William?"

"No. I didn't do anything," I exclaimed, shaking my head.

However, Gloria was blinded by her anger and refused to listen to me.

"I see that you're still clinging to your old ways, Henry. You want to die, don't you? Fine. I'll fulfill your wish!" she shouted before lifting her hand to slap me.

Barbara stepped forward and grabbed Gloria's arm during that critical moment. "Not here, Gloria. There are too many people watching."

Gloria retracted her hand and shot a glare at me. "Take him home," she hissed under her breath.

…

The atmosphere in the car was heavy.

Gloria, Tessa, Joanne, and Barbara were busy making calls to track William down.

My body trembled as I curled up in a corner. I knew that a storm was coming for me.

They dragged me out of the car after it slowed to a stop.

I immediately lost it when I laid eyes on the house. It was the same place that they had trapped me in.

A wave of fear crashed into me, making me fall to my knees. "I really have no idea where William is. I'm begging you. Please let me go!"

Joanne grabbed a fistful of my hair and hissed icily, "Didn't you want to die? We've been your mothers for so many years. Let us send you off at least."

I was shaking violently.

I wanted to die, but I was scared of pain.

Yet I knew that they weren't going to let me go since we were already there.

I was dragged into the house.

Dozens of muscular men were already waiting inside.

Barbara shoved me to the ground. She frowned and barked out orders in an irritated voice, "Teach him a lesson that he'll never forget."

Countless pairs of hands reached for me.

I could feel my limbs being restrained as someone hammered nails into my flesh.

Pain lanced through my entire body.

I screamed for help like a madman, calling for "Mom" to save me.

Joanne's heart softened when she realized that the men were seriously hurting me, and she told them to stop. She then stepped forward and said, "You just have to tell us where you took William, Henry. We'll let you off the hook for your father's sake."

I rushed to explain myself. "I don't know. I really don't have a clue. I'm not responsible for his disappearance."

Joanne was just about to say something when Barbara stepped forward and grabbed her. "Don't you already know how he is, Joanne? He won't admit to his crimes unless we seriously punish him. Has he ever admitted to harassing William in the last few years?"

A strange glint flickered in Joanne's eyes.

In the end, she gestured at the men and said, "Go ahead."

I knew that I was done for when I heard her words.

Although the pain that shot through my body intensified, I stopped crying. In fact, I thought I could see Dad's face as I hovered on the edge of unconsciousness.

"Go ahead and keep beating me," I thought to myself. "I'm going to see Dad soon."

Meanwhile, Gloria, Tessa, Joanne, and Barbara were still making calls.

Finally, a familiar number flashed on Gloria's phone.

"William? Where are you?"

William's voice echoed around the room. "I'm having a meal with my classmates, Mom. Why did you call me so many times?"

All four of them were stunned.

"You weren't abducted?"

William laughed. "What are you talking about? Why would I get abducted? Anyway, I'll talk to you later. I'm heading home now."

At the same time, they received a call from the butler, informing them that he had picked up William.

The four of them breathed sighs of relief.

"That's great. William's okay," Joanne said gratefully.

Her eyes suddenly widened before she exclaimed, "Henry!"

They finally remembered me and immediately ordered the men to stop. They hurried over to me and called my name, but I didn't respond.

"Drop the act, Henry. We've found William."

"We admit that it's our fault for blaming you this time."

Gloria kneeled and touched me, but I still didn't respond. Only then did she realize that I had stopped whimpering in pain some time ago.

Her heart plummeted into her gut as she moved her hand under my nose.

Unfortunately, I had already stopped breathing.