Chapter 4

The next morning, I ran all the way to the hospital. Despite my body being covered in horrific wounds, I was still smiling.

It was the first time I had smiled in three years. After all, Marco would be waking up soon. As long as he woke up, the humiliation I had endured over the past three years would all be worth it.

Holding onto my last hope, I shoved open the hospital room door, but his bed was empty. The tubes that had been connected to several machines had already been unplugged and carelessly piled on the bedside table. Even the bedsheets were gone.

My breath hitched as I turned to grab a nurse walking past me. "Where's my brother? Where's the patient in this room? Has he been transferred to a better ward?"

The nurse stopped. Her eyes were full of pity. "Ms. Rossi, I'm so sorry for your loss. Your brother suddenly suffered multiple organ failure at six in the morning.

"They tried to resuscitate him for 40 minutes… but it was too late. They just sent his body to the morgue. You should see him one last time."

A deafening roar filled my mind, as if something within me had exploded.

"That's impossible! That can't be!"

I shoved the nurse aside and dashed for the elevator like a madwoman. "That's impossible! I already got the money!

"The neurological team from Sylora is already on its way. Why didn't he wait a while longer?"

The morgue was located on the second basement level. As I sprinted inside, the doctor was just about to cover Marco's body on the hospital bed with a white sheet.

"Don't touch him!" I rushed over, shoved the doctor aside, and clung tightly to my brother's bony body. He was already cold to the touch.

"Marco, I'm sorry it took me so long… I'm sorry… I'm so sorry…" I collapsed to the ground, burying my face in the crook of his neck and crying as if my heart had been torn apart.

The doctor sighed. "After he fell into a coma, his bodily functions had already begun to shut down. My condolences, Ms. Ricci."

Just as I was consumed by despair, the morgue door was pushed open, and a nurse poked her head inside. "Ms. Isabella Ricci, right? A man's waiting to speak to you outside."

I numbly looked up and saw a man in a black suit standing in the corridor. He had a piercing gaze and deep, defined features, and he came across as both gentlemanly and a killer.

"Ms. Isabella Ricci, right? Someone asked me to pass on a message."

The man paused before continuing in a low voice, "Today, I'm here to tell you something about your brother, Marco Rossi. It's about the abduction case from back then."

He pulled a brown paper envelope from his briefcase. "Your brother didn't just stand by back then. When he learned that Rachel Vitale had been abducted, he immediately rushed over to save her.

"He was alone and unarmed, yet he still took on four attackers wielding steel pipes. He clung tightly to one of the thugs' legs, giving poor Rachel a few precious minutes to escape. However, Marco himself had over a dozen bones broken."

My legs gave out, and I collapsed onto the floor. My back was pressed against the wall. "What… What did you just say?"

The man snapped his folder shut and got to his feet. "The Vitales thought your brother stood by and did nothing to help Rachel.

"The truth is, he was no coward. He risked his life to save Rachel during her abduction. The Vitales have always been wrong about him."

A heavy silence fell over the entire morgue. At that moment, a sharp clang rang out from the doorway, and I turned around stiffly.

I had no idea how long Enzo had been standing outside the morgue. His eyes were fixed on Marco's body on the hospital bed before he turned to the man.

Enzo pointed at the envelope. His lips quivered as he asked, "You… What did you just say?"