Chapter 7

Christina's eyes flickered, her resolve weakening a little.

At that moment, Jason weakly murmured, "Am I… going to die?"

The hesitation in Christina's eyes instantly vanished. "No. I won't let anything happen to you!"

She yanked her leg free of Eli's grasp and snapped, "Don't even try to use Zach to make me feel sorry for you, Eli. You're the reason why all of this is happening!

"If our son is going to be the excuse that emboldens you to do such terrible things, then I'd rather he die! If you really care about him, you'll stop pretending and just take him to the hospital yourself!"

With that, Christina supported Jason and hurried away, completely failing to notice the blood pooling beneath Eli from his severe injuries.

Eli held Zachary and begged desperately, "Christina, I really didn't hurt him. Please, don't go! Don't leave us! Save our child. Please save him! Christina!"

Alas, she didn't even slow down and soon vanished from sight.

Eli's tears pooled with his blood as he roared, "Christina Foley, I rue the day I ever met you!"

Blood continued to pour from his wounds, while Zachary remained completely unresponsive.

Eli bit down on his lip so hard that it nearly bled. Slowly, he dragged his body from the bottom of the stairs toward the villa's front door.

When he finally reached the entrance, someone happened to be walking past outside. He hurriedly called for help.

"Help me… Please… Save my son…"

The passerby quickly called 911, and Eli was rushed to the hospital.

Eli clung desperately to the doctor's arm, his face drenched in tears and sweat. "Please, save my son… He fell down the stairs. Please save him…"

The doctors and nurses fitted Eli and Zachary with oxygen masks and hurriedly moved them into the operating room. The lights were harsh, and Eli's ears were ringing incessantly. All he could hear were the doctors and nurses speaking in tense, urgent voices.

He felt the anesthetic enter his body. The pain gradually faded.

As his consciousness slipped away, the last thing he heard was a doctor saying, "What a shame. He was brought in too late."

Eli's eyes widened slightly before he blacked out completely.

…

When Eli woke again, he had already been taken back to a hospital room. He tried to move, only to end up tugging on his injuries and collapsing back onto the bed.

A hoarse voice came from the corner. "Eli, you killed our son with all your recklessness. Are you satisfied now?"

Eli turned toward the voice.

Christina was sitting on the couch in the corner of the hospital room, her face haggard and her eyes bloodshot as she stared at him.

A small urn rested on her lap.

Eli stared at the urn. Then he rolled over and crashed heavily onto the floor. He couldn't get back up. He could only stare fixedly at the urn as tears streamed down his face like water from a broken dam.

The pain was unbearable. He struggled to breathe, barely able to draw enough oxygen. He opened his mouth, wanting to cry, but all that came out was a harsh, wheezing sound like air escaping from a broken bellows.

After a long while, he finally managed to choke out a few broken words.

"Give me back my son."

Christina stood, holding the urn in her arms, her voice cold as ice as she declared, "The Sniders have reported you to the police for hurting Jason.

"Out of consideration for Zach's death and my family's reputation, Jason agreed to settle this privately. All you have to do is apologize to him in person, and he'll sign a letter of forgiveness."

Eli's eyes filled with hatred. "He killed our son, and you still expect me to apologize to him?"

Christina stared at him expressionlessly. "If you refuse to apologize, even the Foley family won't be able to protect you. Once you go to prison, your life will be ruined. And besides, don't you want Zach's ashes?"

Eli felt chilled to the bone. In the end, all that remained was bitter resignation.

"Fine."