Chapter 3

Shane's POV

The lights in the living room were off. Only a warm sliver of light spilled out from behind the master bedroom door.

The heavy breathing and low moans echoing through the empty apartment were sickeningly clear.

My stomach churned violently, and I dug my fingernails deep into my palms.

After pushing my wheelchair into the guest bedroom that had originally belonged to Felix, I began throwing out all his belongings.

The sounds in the master bedroom stopped for a few seconds, followed by a long, dead silence.

I sat there with my head bowed, surrounded by the wreckage in the room.

When Dawn stepped out, she threw a coat loosely over her shoulders to cover the red marks on her body and leaned against the doorframe, looking at me quietly.

Felix looked somewhat guilt-ridden. It took him a long time to finally say, "Shane…"

"Get out," I rasped in a completely hoarse voice.

Dawn patted his hand reassuringly before grabbing a tube of ointment from the first-aid kit. Then, she crouched down in front of me.

For some reason, her touch made me nauseous, and I violently slapped her hand that touched me away.

The air in the room grew heavy once more. Dawn let out a long sigh and frowned deeply as she looked at the chaos around us.

"Shane, you smashed all of Felix's things. Is this really how you throw a tantrum?

"What do you think you're doing right now?"

I snapped my head up, and my eyes were bloodshot. "Can't you understand what I'm doing?

"You were the student Dad meticulously raised and mentored, so why didn't you call the police? You heard my calls for help, so why didn't you help me?"

Toward the end of my outburst, I choked on my words and turned to look at Felix, who stood nearby with an utterly innocent look.

"Would you even have survived and be here, alive and well, if it wasn't for Dad?"

I was on the brink of a total breakdown. I tried to keep my voice calm with everything I had, but my voice still couldn't help shaking uncontrollably.

"Dawn, my dad was a living, breathing human being… If you wanted to cheat on me, you could've just told me to my face, and I would've divorced you."

As if stung by my blunt words, Dawn looked slightly guilty. Yet she wouldn't stop defending Felix.

"I've been married to you long enough to know your temperament. You'd never have agreed to a divorce if I'd brought it up."

I was so mad that I laughed.

Before she could finish, I snatched up a set of divorce papers and tossed them on the desk. "I have a new set drafted, and my signature is already on it. If you want to leave, you can leave right now."

Dawn looked down at the signed divorce papers and scoffed. She didn't even bother to flip it.

"You've lost a leg, Shane. Your clothes, your food, and the roof over your head… Name one thing that doesn't come from me. Where would you even go after you leave me?"

Dawn's expression hardened.

"Fine, we can get a divorce, but we're never getting back together if you come begging for a reconciliation later."

She was about to sign the papers when Felix stopped her and dropped to his knees right in front of me.

His eyes were red-rimmed as he wrapped his arms around me and sobbed, "This is all my fault, Shane. I'm so sorry.

"I'll leave, but just listen to Dawn; you have nowhere else to go right now."

But the second he knew she couldn't hear him, his words shifted.

"I'm really grateful Frank helped me back then, Shane," he whispered. "But every time I look at you guys, I'd remember seeing my parents die.

"You had everything—a perfect family, wealth, and a brilliant career as an elite professional.

"Now guess… How do you think the killer managed to track down your apartment address?"

A buzzing erupted in my ears. Without a single thought for the pain, I shoved Felix off and wrapped my hands around his throat, squeezing with all my strength.

The next second, a brutal kick sent me flying, and I knocked my forehead violently against the wall.

"What the hell is wrong with you, Shane?"

Dawn wrapped her arms around Felix in distress and stared me down with a look so cold it felt alien. I gasped heavily for air, and as I lifted my head, warm blood trickled down from my forehead, blurring my vision.

She didn't even bother to look at me as she grabbed Felix and left.

Right before she stepped out the door, she left a cold remark. "Felix doesn't owe you a single thing, Shane. Your dad's death was fate.

"Now think about it and calm down."

The main doors slammed shut.

Pain seeped into my bones and rendered me breathless.