Chapter 342
Those answers were not what Stephen wanted to hear.
He took a deep breath and asked, “Are you just going to stand by and watch people die?”
Ethan slowly turned around. Stephen’s question almost made him laugh.
“You can say that, but I have a question for you.” Ethan asked, “How did Julius and Tommy die?”
Stephen was confused by the question. He had explained it back in the ward.
“They died protecting Hill City.”
Ethan said, “That’s too vague. Tell me again. How did they die?”
Stephen thought about it for a moment.
“Nico was going to shoot George, but Tommy jumped in to take the bullet. He saved George and died for Hill City. Julius died trying to stop Nico.”
Ethan repeated, “It’s still too vague. Say it again.”
Stephen’s frustration grew, and he repeated what happened again, this time in greater detail.
He even recalled Julius‘ final words as he died in Stephen’s arms. “Don’t… be deceived again.”
Ethan said calmly, “You still don’t get the point. Say it again.”
Cold sweat started forming on Stephen’s forehead as memories of what happened replayed in his mind.
“You still don’t get it. Keep going.”
Stephen’s body began to tremble.
How did Julius and Tommy die? Was it not because of Hill City? They died because of Nico, did they not? Why was Ethan asking the same question over and over?
Stephen started to feel dizzy.
“Julius and Tommy died trying to stop Nico. Why did they need to stop Nico? Because we were too useless! We let Nico’s scheme succeed. We had nowhere else to turn, so they sacrificed themselves to give us a chance!”
The realization hit Stephen hard, and he wobbled on his feet as the cold wind whipped around him. Finally, he slumped weakly on the steps at the entrance.
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བར་ཕུང་དུ་སྣུན 1:|:ཀུཡན་བྲག་གཡུས་ལུ་
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Chapter 342
He finally understood how Julius and Tommy died. It was because of him!
“It seems you’ve figured it out.” Ethan said, “You can say that I’m leaving people to die. You can say that I’m cold and heartless, or you can even call me cruel, but there’s only one response I have to that: you’re the one who killed them.”
Stephen sat frozen on the ground, his mind blank and body shaking.
He killed Julius and Tommy? How could that be?
“That can’t be! That’s not true! You’re lying to me!” He paled, his psyche almost breaking
down.
Ethan continued, “You can lie to everyone else but you. You killed Snow before, and now, you’ve killed Julius and Tommy. How many more people do you plan to kill?”
Stephen cried, “No! I didn’t mean for this to happen. I didn’t mean it!”
Ethan nodded. “I know, but it’d be better if you actually did mean it. At least then, you’d be able to fix your mistakes. However, there’s no fix for incompetence.”
“Ugh!” Stephen coughed up a mouthful of blood and almost collapsed on the ground.
Every word from Ethan cut through him like a dagger–each sentence driving deeper into his heart and soul. He could not take it anymore.
Horrified by what he saw, a doctor ran out of the hospital. However, Ethan simply turned and walked away, saying nothing more.
Stephen was brought into a ward, where the medical staff performed a thorough check–up. They only sighed in relief when they confirmed that Stephen was fine. However, something was not right. They could see it in Stephen’s hollow gaze staring blankly at the ceiling. Although physically, Stephen was fine, his mind seemed to have taken a hit.
That night, Stephen could not sleep at all. He sat upright on the bed, wracking his brain, trying desperately to recall the fading image of Snow walking away and the warmth of Julius‘ body slowly slipping away.
