Chapter 3

I found them in the hospital cafeteria, huddled together like a pack of vultures. Jessica, Kevin, Frank, and Brenda.

Jessica was showing them the GoFundMe page on her phone, a small, triumphant smile on her face. "We're already at fifty thousand dollars," she said. "People are so generous."

"It's enough for the initial treatments," Brenda said, patting her hand. "We'll show him. We don't need his blood money."

I walked right up to their table.

"What are you doing here?" Jessica hissed, trying to hide the phone.

"I came to see my son," I said loudly, making sure the people at the nearby tables could hear.

"You have no right!" she shot back. "You gave up on him!"

"That's right, I did," I announced. "I'm giving up. A son who requires this much trouble isn't worth it. It's better to just let it end quickly. Less suffering for everyone."

A woman at the next table gasped.

Jessica looked at me, her eyes wide with disbelief and fury. "You're a monster."

"And you," I said, turning to her, my voice dropping to a low, cruel tone. "You're the one who let him get this sick. You were always so careless. Maybe this is your fault."

The slap was loud. Jessica's hand cracked across my face, leaving a stinging heat.

"Get out!" she screamed, tears flying from her eyes. "GET OUT!"

I didn't move. I just looked at her.

"I froze the accounts," I said quietly, just for her to hear. "The cards are all canceled. That fifty thousand you raised? I hope it lasts."

Her face went pale. The triumph she felt just moments before drained away, replaced by pure, helpless panic.

"You wouldn't," she whispered.

"I already did."

Bystanders were starting to gather, drawn by the shouting. A large man stood up from his table. "Hey, buddy, you should leave the lady alone."

Jessica fell to her knees, grabbing my pants leg. "Alex, please! I'll do anything! I'll take down the page! Just... please don't do this! We need the money for Leo!"

Kevin stepped forward, puffing out his chest. "Yeah, listen to her, you bastard. You're just trying to kill him to save a buck."

The crowd murmured in agreement, closing in. The man who spoke before put a heavy hand on my shoulder.

"I think you heard the lady," he said.

I looked at all of them. The angry strangers. My scheming family. My weeping, desperate wife.

The time was right.