Chapter 3

"Doctor! Doctor, please come quickly!" Crystal shouted with an anguished expression, seeming as though she wished she could take my pain upon herself.

"Elijah, this is all my fault. I was so eager to pick you up that I didn't get enough rest last night and zoned out while driving. Don't worry. I've found the best doctors for you. No matter how much it costs, I'll make sure you get better."

At that moment, a man in a white coat walked in.

I recognized him. He was a quack who didn't know the first thing about medicine.

Shaking my head, I said, "I don't want him treating me."

"Come on, Elijah. You're 30 years old now. Do you still need to be coaxed like a child?" Crystal huffed.

"Crystal, are you really sure you want him to treat my leg?" I asked, staring into her eyes.

A hint of panic flashed through her gaze, but she quickly composed herself and said firmly, "Yes."

"Alright. I'll do as you wish." I closed my eyes, hiding my bloodshot eyes.

The quack began kneading and squeezing my leg.

"Ah!"

I felt the bones in my leg being crushed to pieces, and large beads of sweat rolled down my face as I bit my lip until it bled.

Crystal gently wiped the sweat from my face. "It'll be better once you get through the pain. Just hold on a little longer. Just a little longer…"

She was crying as well.

When the quack finally stopped, my leg was completely and utterly ruined.

After Crystal left the hospital room, I took out my phone and made a call.

"I accept your offer. Help me clear my name, and have a lawyer draft a divorce agreement for me."

…

A few days later, as Crystal pushed my wheelchair into the company, a former coworker from the finance department sneered at me.

"Well, look who it is. The man who went to prison for cooking the books dares to return to the company?

"Now that someone with sticky fingers is back in the company, we'd better keep an eye on him. Wouldn't want him stealing from the company again."

I clenched my fists tightly.

"Shut up! What happened back then was a misunderstanding," Crystal snapped.

I looked at Crystal in surprise when she defended me.

"I hereby announce that Elijah will be reinstated to his position in the accounting department," she added.

"I object. Ms. Morgan, Elijah has a record. What if he embezzles company funds again?"

Crystal scowled slightly. "He won't. I trust him. What happened last time was a misunderstanding."

"He's been to prison, and he doesn't meet the educational requirements for the position."

"Enough. My decision is final," Crystal said, cutting off the objections.

She then crouched down so we were at eye level. "Elijah, even though you've lost the use of your legs, you can still work and provide for the family. Let's just build a good life together from now on, okay?"

My hardened heart softened ever so slightly at those words.

…

After a few days back at work, I managed to handle my coworkers' provocations with ease.

But just before I left for the day, I noticed something was wrong with the accounts. They were off by one cent.

I assumed I had made a mistake somewhere, so I stayed up all night going through the accounts until I finally found the problem.

"Damon, who told you to enter this figure?" I questioned.

Damon was utterly indifferent as he replied, "I just wanted to make the total a round number, so I added a cent. What's the big deal?"

I was so mad that my chest heaved heavily. "Did you know I wasted an entire night because of what you did? As an accountant, don't you know you can't just alter the numbers?"

"I already made up for the cent. What more do you want? You fixed it, didn't you?" Damon shot back nonchalantly.

As an accountant, this was the one thing I couldn't stand people doing.

Crystal appeared just in time and pulled my wheelchair back, saying, "Alright, Elijah. Don't get so worked up. You worked out the problem, didn't you? Damon is your younger brother, after all. Cut him some slack."

She continued, "Don't be angry. It's not worth ruining your health over. Oh, and there’s a document I need you to sign."

I wanted to look it over carefully, but she seemed anxious and kept urging me to sign.

Even so, I managed to read it closely. It was a liability waiver.

That idiot Damon had been an accountant for less than three years and had already committed a string of serious offenses.

He falsified accounts, issued invoices however he pleased, and embezzled company funds, among other things.

But the worst of it was that he took kickbacks and bought substandard construction materials, resulting in more than a dozen workers being buried alive.

Crystal had gone to so much trouble to get me released early. I had even thought it meant she still cared about me.

Seeing this document, I couldn't help but burst out laughing.

"Elijah, w-why are you suddenly laughing?" Crystal asked, looking at me guiltily.

I shot her a cold look. "Do you really want me to sign this? Even if it means I'll spend the rest of my life behind bars and be condemned by everyone?"