Sean Harrison turned his phone to face Evan Hollis, the screen already showing Charlotte Rhodes’s contact.
The call was ready to be placed.
Now, all he had to do was press the green button to call Charlotte Rhodes.
Sean Harrison’s hand hovered inches from the button. "She’s waiting for your call, too."
Evan Hollis’s expression twisted in conflict for a few seconds before he snarled, "Don’t call! Don’t think I don’t know what you’re up to. You just want her to see at my lowest, don’t you?"
"She already knows what you’ve done. But she’s willing to accept you as her son, which ans she’ll accept all of you. She believes you were just confused for a mont and that you’ll change."
Sean Harrison kept the phone held up. "She’s only in her sixties. As long as you’re alive, you can still be there for her in her old age. That would give her sothing to live for."
He spoke each word slowly, earnestly trying to persuade Evan Hollis.
The surroundings were completely silent.
A breeze blew past, making the leaves RUSTLE.
Sean Harrison continued, "As long as Rory Linden is safe and sound, I promise that when you get out of prison, even if you can’t return to Celestria, I’ll charter a plane to reunite you and your mother."
’He had already completely given up on that ager, laughable, and twisted familial bond.’
’A mother who had never given him any trust, who had wanted to give up on him countless tis.’
’A woman who, despite knowing nothing of his past, had told him "I love you, I believe in you" over and over again.’
’He would always only have one choice.’
’Standing here right now, he only wanted one outco.’
’For Rory Linden to be safe!’
Evan Hollis’s expression practically froze when he heard Sean’s words.
’He had always felt that he had no way out, that everything he wanted was no longer achievable.’
But Sean Harrison’s words at this very mont made him realize that perhaps his back wasn’t completely against the wall...
’The whole reason he had the opportunity to co to Celestria in the first place was that he had a purpose.’
’In exchange, he had also made his own demands.’
’He had done so much, assuming he was dood to rot in prison and would never be able to return to Celestria.’
But Sean Harrison’s words had ignited a small fla in his heart.
’Maybe...’
Evan Hollis’s hand, holding the syringe, loosened slightly.
A few more police officers ran over.
He heard the commotion and looked over. The sight of the swarming police and bodyguards, combined with the mory of what he’d done, forced him to face reality again!
"Impossible! Stop trying to fool ! I’m at a dead end. There’s no future for ." Evan Hollis glared coldly at Sean Harrison. "I knew you would co. I wanted you to go to hell with !"
A police officer spoke up, "Evan Hollis, don’t be rash. We’ve already investigated your case. Your cris don’t et the standard for the death penalty."
"That’s right," Sean Harrison said, trying to persuade him. "I’ll get you a lawyer. If you’re only sentenced to ten years, and you have good behavior in prison, you could be out in seven or eight."
He simply left the phone on the dialing screen and tossed it toward Evan Hollis, leaving him to make the choice.
The phone hit the ground with a CRACK.
The screen shattered, the display turning into a blurry ss.
"Enough! Shut up!" Evan Hollis didn’t even glance at the phone on the ground. "Don’t you get it? The drug I gave her... even if she gets a new heart, she won’t live for ten years. She’ll be dead before I even get out!"
The scene fell silent.
Evan Hollis continued, "Are you wondering why I did this? Dr. Linden already asked. If she were healthy, with the energy to go out and socialize, she would definitely prefer a son like you!"
"..."
"But if she’s frail and sick, unable to get out of bed, needing soone to take care of her every need, then she would definitely prefer . That’s the one thing I can do that you can’t!"
Evan Hollis spoke each word distinctly, his expression sowhat twisted.
He had kidnapped Rory Linden and lured Sean Harrison here, fully prepared to die.
Sean Harrison’s brows furrowed. "Then you shouldn’t have done any of this. That way, you could have truly been there for her."
"You think I didn’t want that? Auntie Rhodes says she doesn’t care, but she’s still used to the best food, the best clothes, the best of everything." Evan Hollis gave a bitter smile. "Is it that I don’t want to be a worthy son? I’m just an anesthesiologist."
An anesthesiologist’s salary is quite a bit lower than a surgeon’s.
"Evan, Evan..."
The area fell quiet, and a faint voice could be heard coming from the ground.
Evan Hollis froze for a second, his gaze slowly shifting downward.
’The phone call...’
’It was connected!’
Evan Hollis’s eyes went wide. For a mont, it was as if he’d lost the ability to think. He took a few steps toward the phone, wanting to pick it up.
It was only a brief mont of distraction, and the police hadn’t moved...
"Don’t co any closer!"
Evan Hollis instantly snapped back to his senses.
He glanced at the connected call and heard Charlotte Rhodes’s sobbing voice calling his na.
In the distance were the police, ready to move at a mont’s notice.
Evan Hollis looked at Sean Harrison, the corner of his mouth twitching. A mix of shock, helplessness, sorrow, and rage played across his face.
"As expected of President Harrison, to co up with a thod like this." Evan Hollis sat right where he was and sneered, "Actually, you’re all just wasting your ti. I have no intention of leaving here alive today."
He looked at Sean Harrison. "President Harrison, you’re going to be just like . You’ll watch the person you want to cherish die right before your eyes. You’ll live forever in a nightmare, a living hell!"
"Evan, son, don’t do anything rash, don’t..."
Charlotte Rhodes’s voice, broken by sobs, ca intermittently from the phone. She was clearly crying uncontrollably.
The background on her end was noisy; it sounded like a nurse was trying to calm her down.
Evan Hollis held the remote in one hand and the syringe in the other. He slowly lowered his body, trying to press his ear closer to the phone, but his eyes never left the surrounding police.
He spoke to Charlotte Rhodes in a gentle voice, "Auntie Rhodes, please take good care of yourself. I’m so sorry. It’s all my fault your health has gotten this bad..."
"It’s okay, it’s okay..."
Charlotte Rhodes’s voice was weak.
"I’m sorry. I know I’m not as capable as President Harrison. I must have been possessed to co up with this thod, just to make you think I was a better son than him..."
Evan Hollis plunged the syringe in his right hand into his own vein.
Hearing Charlotte Rhodes calling him "son" from the other end of the line, he said slowly, "In my next life, let ..."
SWISH—
Before Evan Hollis could finish, a police officer who had been lying in ambush near the wall rushed out. He drew a prepared knife and, with a single fast, ruthless, and precise strike, severed Evan Hollis’s right hand—the one holding the remote!
It all happened so fast that Evan Hollis had almost no ti to react.
By the ti he realized his arm had been cut off, before he could even process it, the officer landed a karate chop on the back of his neck...
Evan Hollis fell unconscious on the spot.
The mont Evan Hollis collapsed, police and doctors sward forward.
Sean Harrison rushed into the villa behind the police.
The staircase was narrow.
He hadn’t even reached the stairs when he heard a police officer inside shouting, "Don’t move! Get the bomb squad in here! Everyone else, out of the room!"
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