One Hundred and Thirty One

CHAPTER 131

Ace opened the cabinet in the room of a man named Jason. He looked at the man's entire collection of clothes and mumbled for a long time. His eyes narrowed, and he thought for a long time to choose one out of the many clothes there.

His choice then fell on a long brown coat hanging inside the cabinet. He pulled it out and put it on. After feeling good about his new clothes, Ace walked over to the large mirror in the corner of the room.

"This is a nice outfit. Too bad this style just makes me look like Nicholas," Ace said, he gave a small grin while tugging the coat on his body. Patting the sleeves of the coat, Ace continued. "I'm going to be taking Nicholas' place soon, so... there's no harm in looking like that asshole detective."

He turned around and looked at the valuables belonging to Jason, the man he had just killed, and dumped Jason's body into a riverbed in the suburbs of New York City. While tapping the surface of the table filled with money and weapons, Ace tilted his head. He thought of many scenarios of what he would do to get Alicia, but none of them seemed to fit Ace's desires.

"I don't think I can carry out this mission alone. I need help, but... can I run away from my own mother?"

An irritated sigh sounded from Ace's mouth. He hit the table in anger at the complicated situation. He was now a fugitive, soon the media would highlight his departure from the city jail and that would make it difficult for him to join the streets.

"I guess I should meet someone first."

****

The sound of the device that allowed Wilson to survive this far greeted Ace's sense of hearing. After he managed to immobilize the two guards in front of Wilson's room, the young man walked into the VVIP hospital room.

It had been almost two years since Wilson had been lying in a coma there. He needed a miracle to wake his father from the brink of death. But when those hazel eyes met his father's pale face, Ace was convinced that there was little hope for the man to live... at all.

"Dad... how are you?"

Wilson couldn't answer. And Ace could only take a deep breath. He didn't know when his life had become this difficult. He was living a life he didn't even want to have.

"I thought you'd be happy to see me come to see you," Ace said, and then approached. He sat next to Wilson, then continued. "I broke out of prison because of Mom. Isn't that too bad? That bitch came just to make me beg you, Dad. She was disgusting. She made me want to kill her."

Ace spoke of Angela, his mother, in a fiery tone. He had been angry for a long time and it was only to an oblivious Wilson that he could talk.

Ace's emotions churned like a storm inside him, a tangled mess of hatred, despair, and a flicker of guilt. He felt like a pawn in a game orchestrated by forces beyond his control. Standing there, in the middle of a sterile hospital room, he struggled with the weight of his past.

"I'm sorry, Father. I shouldn't have said that. But I couldn't stop myself from swearing. I hated Mom so much, but she came... as if she had no sins at all," Ace muttered, regret coloring his words. The bitterness he harbored for Angela wasn't entirely fair to Wilson, but frustration had clouded his judgment all along.

The machines hummed rhythmically, a counterpoint to the chaos in Ace's mind. He glanced at the monitor, tracing the lines that depicted his father's precarious grip on life. It was a very vivid reminder of how fragile everything was.

Sitting up, Ace leaned closer to Wilson, studying the lines etched into his face, a testament to a life lived. Memories flooded back - better days when laughter echoed in their home, before everything crumbled into shards of pain and betrayal.

"Why does it have to be like this, Father?" Her voice was shaky, laden with a mixture of anger and longing. "I never wanted any of this. The lies, the deception, the death, even the choices made for me. I didn't want to kill the people who were related to Alicia. I only have Alicia now, Dad."

The heavy silence that followed was suffocating, pressing against Ace's chest. He wanted forgiveness, a chance to rewrite their story, to fix what had been broken.

"I'll find a way to make things right. Even if it means going against everything I know, including going against you and Mom. I just want to fight for Alicia, I just want to live and die for Alicia." Ace swore, the determination in his voice piercing the air. He grasped Wilson's hand, seeking comfort in the faint warmth it offered. "I'm sorry that I'll be leaving you soon, Dad."

As the room embraced the silence with them, a distant sound pierced the stillness - a rapidly approaching commotion.

Ace's heart raced, knowing that time was running out. He planted a soft kiss on Wilson's forehead, a goodbye full of unspoken promises, before slipping out of the room, leaving behind a trail of unresolved emotions and a world of uncertainty.

Ace then left Wilson's room at the hospital and walked through the corridor wearing a black baseball cap to cover his face on CCTV. He avoided many spotlights because he knew the blind spots of the cameras so that he could be safe. And when his body had entered through the emergency stairway, then Ace took out his cell phone from his pants pocket.

Ace called an old friend for help. He couldn't possibly get through this alone now.

"Hello, Selena?"

[...]

"Yes, you're right. I do need help. Can we meet now? I'll send you the address right away." Ace descended the stairs leisurely, he passed through the dark hallway without any fear at all. "Meet me alone. Don't bring anyone with you. Do you understand?"