Winifred raised an eyebrow, a contemptuous smile playing on her lips. “Why should I save someone who is completely unrelated to me? What does it matter to me if your mother lives or dies? Let’s be honest, if something happens to your mother, it’s your own impulsive fault.”
Leland clenched his fists tightly by his sides, his knuckles turning white, and stared unabashedly at Winifred with a look of resentment, as if he wanted to dig a hole in her chest to see what color her heart truly was.
Facing Leland’s fierce gaze, Winifred not only wasn’t afraid, but she also flashed a brilliant smile. “This world is just like this, it’s every man for himself. Look at you, you had plenty of chances to kill your father, but you chose to poison him instead. A quick stab would’ve been more efficient… If you fear legal repercussions, then you shouldn’t have harbored thoughts of murder. Now that you can’t kill the man, you’ll have to face the consequences. It’s survival of the fittest, Leland. Don’t try to manipulate me with morality. Your mother is your responsibility, not mine.”
“You did it intentionally!”
“What did I do intentionally?”
Winifred’s thoughts ran deep. She deliberately mentioned in front of him that cephalosporin mixed with alcohol could be lethal, but she didn’t give him the dosage. She may have already anticipated that the man would be poisoned but not killed, and once it was revealed that Leland had drugged him, he would act irrationally for revenge. With Leland not at home, he couldn’t be found, leaving the only one who could act to be the poor woman lying in bed.
“Who says the wealthy must save others? To save or not is a matter of voluntary choice. Even if I had the ability to help your family, I wouldn’t want to. When a life is at stake, Leland, you better hurry back.” Winifred put away her smile and finished speaking.
Leland, with his head lowered, hiding his expression, stood up, his thin figure faltering for a moment, then ran outside.
Should he resent Winifred? Winifred was right. Instead of blaming others, it was better to blame himself for lacking the ability and the skill. If he had wanted to kill that man, striking him when he was drunk and defenseless would have been the quickest solution. Yet, he chose the most foolish method – cephalosporin mixed with alcohol, all under someone’s influence.
For Leland, this involved the life of his mother, a mere hand’s reach for Winifred, yet she was unwilling to make a call to save her.
This person was cold and heartless; she enjoyed deriving pleasure from the suffering of others, reveling in their desperate pleas and watching them shed tears while circling in circles, trying everything yet failing to get what they wanted.
As Leland walked away, Mr. Hamilton hesitated, “Miss, are you really not going to save them?”
Winifred raised her cold gaze at him, and Mr. Hamilton fell silent, his throat moving slightly.
“Leland is probably itching to kill his father by now, but if he takes action, we’ll fish him out. As for his mother, she’s more of a burden and better off dead.” Winifred walked into the dining room casually. “Isn’t it time for lunch?”
“Yes, the chef has prepared it.”
As for Leland, as soon as he left, he saw the driver. After explaining the situation with several pleas, the driver took him back to the old street.
He ran with all his might towards “home”. He ran until he couldn’t catch his breath, his chest feeling like an inflating balloon squeezed hard, ready to burst at any moment. Suddenly, he stopped in his tracks, seeing the door wide open. His breath caught, blood rushing through his head. His eyes widened, ears ringing like bugs flying in.
The door open meant the man was back.
Leland climbed the stairs, but even with the door left open, it couldn’t dispel the smell of alcohol inside. He saw a puddle on the floor where the jug had shattered into pieces. Entering further, he couldn’t see the man.
His mother’s room was shut, so he went over to open the door.
A figure suddenly appeared before his eyes, emanating a strong oppressive aura.
The man had been waiting there all along, and as soon as Leland opened the door, he grabbed his hair forcefully and dragged him into the room.
“Leland, you are my good son. Your wings have become hard; you can even resort to poisoning. If I hadn’t felt something wrong when drinking, I might have tasted it and who knows, would have found my body by now.”
“Are you disappointed to see me alive and well in front of you? You dare to kill me, son? Today, I’ll either kill you and your mother, you filthy scoundrels!” The man’s expression turned even more fierce as he spoke.
In September, the room was damp, and after dragging Leland inside, he saw the woman lying on the bed, naked, with a vacant look in her eyes, her mouth agape, resembling a torn bird lying motionless on the cold wooden surface.
The man not only tortured the woman physically but also destroyed her spirit.
In this room, Leland also caught a whiff of alcohol. His eyes were keen, and with just one glance, he saw a big bowl on the table. The woman’s hair was wet, and there were water stains where her head laid.
“What have you done to my mother!” Leland roared.
The man slapped him to the ground. “Good son, it was the alcohol you poisoned. I drank that fine stuff, so naturally, your mother had a taste too, sharing blessings with me.”
The man was strong and sturdy. His height of over 6 feet gave women a sense of security. Leland’s mother had seen this in him before, seeking dependence.
The man was indeed strong and capable of heavy work, but he was also violent. At first, his character was good, honest and hardworking. But after marriage and having a child, his vile character surfaced. He began drinking, gambling, quit his job, and started asking for money from women when he had none, resorting to violence if needed.
One time, in a fit of rage, he hit his wife causing her to become paralyzed, turning her into a burden that he had to take care of but couldn’t since he was out all the time drinking, gambling, or working odd jobs.
Unable to bear the situation, he considered abandoning his paralyzed wife, but until one day he saw Leland coming back with 80 RMB, an idea struck him.
After eight years of raising Leland, he arranged for him to drop out of school and go out to make money. Leland was smart; even at such a young age, he could come back with a couple of hundred RMB a day. Using his paralyzed wife as leverage to make an eight-year-old find the money was almost a sure bet. But he hadn’t expected that his own son, drenched in his blood, would one day attempt to poison him and kill him.
This “little pup” he had watched grow up ultimately turned into a “wolf”.
A ten-year-old child with such deep-set revenge and cunning thoughts, poisoning his father. Would he dare think about it if he knew what consequences it would bring? Looking ahead, he hoped luck was on his side when the father tasted good rations and couldn’t down it all, left some of it behind. If Leland hadn’t come back, he might have found his cold body on returning.
“You beast! You heartless creature! She’s your wife!”
Leland, who was being beaten on the ground, glared at him with hatred, as if he wanted to tear him into pieces. The man was also enraged.
“Even if I’m a beast, I’m still your father. If I’m a beast, then you’re just a little beast! She’s my wife and you’re my son. When you poisoned me, how could you not think about this? You wretched creature, dare to play me at my own game. Today, I won’t kill you unless I break your legs and make you like your paralyzed mother!”
With a malevolent thought, the man decided to break Leland’s legs, make him mute, and take him to beg somewhere. Others would pity him, give money, and perhaps make more in a day than he did. Of course, this wasn’t a long-term solution, but he just wanted revenge. Once he amassed enough money this way, he planned to kill the boy, make some business deals with the money, and get himself a new wife.
It was at that moment that Leland ran and crawled towards his mother, his only intent being to take her to the hospital immediately. He had to get his mother out of this man’s clutches, by any means necessary. His mind was set on one thing – to kill this man. As long as this beast lived, neither he nor his mother could ever have peace, never be liberated.
The man reached out to grab Leland’s collar and pull him back when unexpectedly, Leland turned around, and in a split second, he saw a glint of light flash past. Before the man could react, he was stabbed in the abdomen.