CHAPTER 6: BREWSTER'S TEARS

Brain tumor. 

The word echoed in his ears repeatedly. 

Brewster walked out of the doctor's office with emptiness in his eyes. His legs felt like they weighed tons, and his mind wasn't any different. 

But he knew it wasn't over yet. 

As long as his mother was alive, all he needed was to find money to make sure the surgery was possible.

"I know a friend who is an expert in this field, Brew. But it will cost a lot of money... a whole lot of money." The doctor had told him. 

Of course, Brewster knew this more than anyone. While he was happy to know that his mother could survive, he knew everything came down to money. 

He lowered his head to the phone in his hand, and he slightly bit his lower lip... He had no connection. 

He knew Ace. But would Ace be willing to give him so much money? 

Brewster's lips curled, and he laughed bitterly. "Who would give so much to a plaything?" 

He swallowed the lump in his throat and let out a deep breath. He controlled his emotions and pushed open his mother's ward door. He stepped in, the usual disinfectant scent filling his nose again, but this time_ it brought with it a taste of exhaustion. 

Brewster felt exhausted. 

His mother sat elegantly in bed. Her dim eyes stared at the heavens___ just like always. 

He walked closer to his mother and silently sat beside her. He raised his head, too, staring at the cloudy sky with a messed-up mind. 

"Brewster?" 

He suddenly heard his mother call. 

Taken aback, he lowered his eyes and looked at his mother. 

A smile formed at the corner of the beautiful middle-aged woman's face. She stretched her thin hands and slowly cupped Brewster's face. "You've grown so mature." She mumbled as if reminiscing about a past only she could remember. "My Brewster used to be so happy and innocent." She sighed. 

"We failed, son. Your father and I... failed you." She slowly closed her eyes, and a single tear rolled down. 

"Thinking about it now, there were so many things that could have been changed back then if we had been careful. Your father could have..." She suddenly stopped, and her sad eyes slowly turned empty again. 

She returned her gaze to the sky, mouth closed, and her hand fell back in bed. 

It was as if she was never the one speaking just a few seconds earlier.

Brewster's eyes turned blurry. He calmly stared at his mother, who had returned to her usual state, and he closed his eyes painfully. 

"I can't help it." He muttered. "But I will do everything to bring our family back." He made a vow. 

Right then, Brewster felt a hand grip his collar. 

Opening his eyes, he saw his mother glaring at him like she had seen his mortal enemy. "Beast!" His mother shouted. 

Brewster froze, unable to recognize the hatred in his mother's eyes. 

She jerked him forward and spat out, "How could you do that to us?! He was your best friend! How? Why?" She gripped tighter. 

Brewster's face turned red from the lack of oxygen. He tried to escape from his mother's grip, but his hands had no energy. His tears wouldn't stop falling. His mouth slowly parted, "Mum..." He called with painful sorrow in his voice. 

"Bastard. You ruined my family!" His mother screamed and pushed him backward. 

She ran to the table, picking up a vase that she threw at Brewster's feet. She screamed again, hands pulling her hair. 

The door opened, and nurses rushed in. They immediately held her and helped her back to bed. 

"Leave me. I will kill him!" Her voice remained hysterical. "He ruined us. I can't take care of my son anymore. It's all because of him!" She continued shouting until she was injected, and her eyes slowly closed. 

Brewster stood at the side. It was like his soul had left his body. He watched everything unravel without blinking or doing anything else. His tears wouldn't even fall anymore...

"Mr Brewster, let's treat your leg." 

He heard a nurse say to him. He lowered his eyes and saw blood pooling at his feet, but he felt no pain. He even had no idea which of his toes was injured. 

Brewster shook his head, "No need. Thank you." He turned around to leave. 

He felt too weak to stay any longer. 

"I will come back another time." He whispered as if comforting himself. 

********

"What's the response from the other end?" Ace's cold voice rang in the chilly office. 

The man standing before the desk, standing at 6'1, with broad shoulders and eagle eyes slowly bowed, his eagle eyes held fear at the moment, "He wasn't the one. The report was..."

Ace's hand briefly clenched, "Another lie." He completed the man's word. He raised his head from the document before him and slowly tapped the table. "It's been four years, and you're still unable to find a single person." His lips slowly curved. "Aren't you too incompetent?" His tone was calm, but this exact calm made the man tremble. 

Sweat formed on the man's forehead, and he bowed his head even deeper. "We will do everything in our power to find him as soon as possible. We've extended our search, and we are certain of the result this time around." He tried to reassure. 

Ace scoffed. "Okay." He dryly replied.

The man quickly wiped the sweat and breathed in relief. "We won't disappoint you..."

"Shut up and get out." Ace snapped. 

The man swiftly turned around and left the room without saying another word. 

Ace lowered his eyes, and a strange glint flashed through his eyes for a brief second before he picked up his phone and typed something___ 𝑴𝒆𝒆𝒕 𝒎𝒆 𝒂𝒕 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒖𝒔𝒖𝒂𝒍 𝒔𝒖𝒊𝒕𝒆 𝒊𝒏 20.

Then, he sent it out.