Chapter 5

“You’re awake,” Sylvie spoke up beside him.

It took him a lot of effort to turn around. Then, he saw her sitting by the bedside with her brows furrowed.

For a moment, he thought he might have caught a glimpse of what seemed to be heartache on her face, but it was quickly replaced with anger.

“You broke your bones!” she hissed, her voice lowered. “The doctor says you would’ve died if the car had hit you at another angle!”

When Theodore spoke, his voice was dry. “Carmelo pushed me.”

Sylvie’s expression darkened instantly. “How could you still be trying to frame him at a time like this?”

“I’m not!” Theodore struggled to sit up. “Your father was the one who hurled me into traffic!”

“Enough!” Sylvie jumped to her feet, her eyes burning with rage. “Dad just woke up too, and he said you were the one who pushed him! Carmelo said he saw with his own eyes that you pushed Dad’s wheelchair!”

Theodore glared at her. “Check the surveillance footage.”

“What footage?” She twisted his wrist and had to actively suppress the fury in her voice. “Don’t I know what kind of person my dad is? Carmelo is a good person. What reasons do they have for trying to kill you?”

Theodore could not help but laugh until his eyes turned red. It seemed Sylvie would believe just about anyone other than him.

With that, he pressed the call button by the bedside.

When the nurse entered, he went straight to the point. “Please call the police for me.”

Sylvie’s face dropped as she exclaimed, “Have you lost it?”

Soon, the police arrived and started to ask a set of questions.

While they were doing so, Sylvie interrupted and remarked, “He has depression and some other mental issues. It leads him to become very paranoid, and he thinks people are out to get him.”

The officers cast a suspicious look at Theodore, who stated calmly, “All I’m requesting is that you check the surveillance footage by the roadside.”

Sylvie lowered her voice and explained to the officers again, “I’m very sorry about this. He’s been very emotionally unstable lately. I’ll make sure he sees a psychiatrist after this.”

Although there was some brief hesitation, the officers ended up leaving after jotting down some notes.

As soon as they left the ward and closed the door, Sylvie grabbed Theodore’s shoulders and hissed, “Must you make a big deal out of this?”

Theodore gave her a look and declared bluntly, “I just want the truth. That’s all.”

“The truth?” Sylvie sneered. “You’ve been putting on this act since yesterday, all so you can try to murder Dad and frame it on Carmelo! You’re a lot more evil than I thought you were.”

Rather than responding, Theodore looked at her silently. Sylvie felt her heart drop when she saw the look in his eyes.

Suddenly, Carmelo barged into the room with tears in his eyes while crying out, “Sylvie, your dad is awake! He says it was Theodore who pushed him!”

The look in Sylvie’s eyes turned cold.

“I knew it.” With that, she released her grip on Theodore and motioned to the bodyguards outside. “Take him to the shock room.”

Soon, Theodore found himself pinned to the bed with his limbs restrained with belts.

Sylvie stood by the doorway with a frown on her face. For a brief moment, there was hesitation in her eyes.

That was until Carmelo stepped forward and remarked faintly, “Sylvie, Maurice says he’s not feeling very good and that he’s spiraling. What if he hurts himself again?”

Sylvie closed her eyes for a moment before announcing, “Go.”

The moment the current surged through Theodore, excruciating pain spread across his body. He bit down hard on his lip until the taste of blood filled his mouth.

The doctor asked, “Were you the one who pushed Maurice?”

When Theodore did not answer, he felt another bout of electric shock, which made his body convulse uncontrollably. The sheer pain forced a nearly inhuman sound from his lips.

Standing next to the door, Sylvie shook as she cried out, “That’s enough!”

However, Carmelo put a hand on her arm and prompted, “Sylvie, Maurice says Theodore won’t confess unless we make him suffer a little.”

Sylvie balled her fist, then turned away.

After the third bout of electric shock, Theodore broke at last.

He whimpered in an unrecognizable voice, “It was me…”

Sylvie spun around abruptly. A flicker of pain crossed her eyes, but her expression quickly returned to its usual icy composure.

“That wasn’t so hard, was it? You should have just confessed sooner.”

She stepped forward and tried to caress his face, but he turned away from her touch. Her fingers hung mid-air for a moment before she pulled back.

Then, she issued another order, “Have him locked up for two days so he can cool down.”

With that, she walked away.

Carmelo, however, was not in a rush to leave. Rather, he turned to the doctor to give a signal.