Chapter 1 - Hospital

Third person’s point of view

When Maddox arrived at the hospital, he ran straight to his parents, who were in the operating room. Maddox and Lowe were merely waiting outside at the OR, praying that their parents will be saved from the on-going operation.

Lumipas ang apat na oras ay doon lang may lumabas na dalawang doctor sa operating room. The two walked toward the doctor with a sympathetic expression.

“I’m sorry, we did everything we could to save the patient. Your mother has a traumatic brain injury. Severe head injuries from the force of a car accident caused your mother to suffer brain trauma, which may have resulted in fatal outcomes, and she did not make it.” Pagpapaliwanag ng doctor. Maddox expression hardened when he heard what the doctor said, he’s palms curled into fists, his knuckles shifting white.

“What about my father?” Lowe is the one who asks the doctor since Maddox can’t seem to restrain his anger and is about to launch a punch at the doctor.

The doctor went on to say. “Your father has died due to exsanguination, it indicates that he suffered a significant loss of blood that was essentially fatal. That’s a bit late for him when you were all able to bring him in.” Hindi na napigilan ni Maddox at sinugod na ng isang suntok ang doctor.

“How dare you say that? You’re a doctor, right? You should be doing everything just to bring them back to life, yet you have the guts to blame it on us.” Maddox spits at the doctor, his eyes burning with flame. Pinigilan naman siya kaagad ni Lowe ng akma na naman siyang lalapit sa doctor.

“Kuya, calm down. Parating na sila Kenzie at mga pinsan natin,” Lowe grumbles in frustration, unable to stop Maddox from going ballistic. Humingi ulit ng paumanhin ang doctor at inalikuran na sila at pumasok sa kabilang room.

Napaupo naman sa Maddox sa sahig hindi alam ang gagawin. He can’t believe his parents are really gone. It just doesn’t feel real to him. He kept thinking about what he wished to say and the concerns he had asked about. He seems to have an empty space in his life right now.

Lowe’s nose flared. “The things that used to bring me comfort now leave me lifeless. It’s like I’m going along with the movements, but I’m not really here,” he said, clinching his jaw while standing in front of Maddox.

“We might never fully recover from losing Mom and Dad, yet I hope we will find some comfort in knowing how deeply they love us and how grateful we are to have them,” Lowe stated, staring at Maddox with shed tears in his eyes.

“Come on, get up. We have something entertaining to do.” Lowe nudged Maddox.

Maddox is still thinking about their parents. In general, he’s thinking that might be the ideal plan of action, considering Sullivan, Maddox’s cousin, despises Finn Dixon just as much as they do. Matagal na nilang gustong pabagsakin si Finn Dixon pero hindi nila magawa dahil sa dami nitong kasabwat sa gobyerno idagdag pa ang mga illegal business na binabarter nila. They need to gather all of the information about Finn Dixon so that they can use it against him. That includes his niece, Sariel, who has become one of his accomplices.

“Kuya!” They all turned when they heard their sisters whimper. Tumakbo ito papunta kay Maddox at niyakap, umiiyak sa balikat niya. He hugs his sister back, knowing she is the closest to their parents. Aster’s the one who will suffer the most among their siblings since she is more used to spending time with their parents.He caresses her back, assuring her that everything is going to be fine. Even Maddox himself is at a loss for where he should start.

Nang makarating ang mga pinsan at iba pang Kapatid ni Maddox ay iniwan muna nila ito dahil may gagawin pa silang mission ‘kuno’. They have two goals to do. Finn Dixon will die. And his niece will pay for everything.

Finn and Sariel, on the other hand, were throwing words one at a time.

“Tito, hindi ‘to nasama sa usapan. Why do you have to crash at their car?!” Sariel was on the verge of panic when his uncle’s speeding the car and suddenly halted it, making the tightness in her chest ease.

“Shut the hell up! The Ventura’s siblings are chasing after us while we are chasing their parents car, anong gusto mong gawin ko?” Finn’s barks back at Sariel’s face.

“Kasalanan mo naman, e. Si Maddox, at ang kompanya lang niya, ‘yong dapat natin sirain bakit kailangan mo pang idamay ang parents niya?” Sariel hissed.

Finn’s jaw clenched. “They are the Ventura’s parents, you think wala silang gagawin para pigilan ‘yong dapat nating gawin sa pagbagsak ng kompanya nila?” Sariel’s mouth snapped shut.

“What if Maddox’s parents is dead? What are we going to do?” Kinakabahan na tanong ni Sariel sa tito niya. Anger shines in Finn’s eyes as he gaze at Sariel’s face, tears shimmers in her eyes.

Finn’s spits at Sariel. “This is not my problem to deal with. Get out of the car, now!” Sariel’s jaw dropped. “You’re going to leave me here in the midst of nowhere?” Sariel asks, batting her eyelashes.

“In the count of three, if you’re not out in my car, I’m going to shove you out myself, I swear to the devil,” Finn’s warns. Releasing a shaky breath, Sariel carefully took steps out of the car. The quicker she moved, the quicker she could get the hell out of there.

Nang makababa siya sa sasakyan ng tito niya ay pinaharurot kaagad ni Finn ang sasakyan palayo kay Sariel. When she’s about to walk to the side. Ganon rin ang pagtigil ng SUV sa harapan niya at dinukot siya papasok sa loob. Tears stung Sariel’s eyes, but she batted them away. Hindi siya pumalag dahil parang wala na siyang lakas dahil sa pangyayari ngayong araw.