Vanessa suddenly stopped dead in her tracks. She turned to face me, her eyes hardening.
"Gabriel, why can’t you let Keith go? What are you holding onto that video for? Are you trying to ruin him on purpose?!"
My rage exploded. I clenched my teeth so tight I could feel my lip tear. A thin line of blood trickled down my chin, but I didn’t care.
"Vanessa, he killed Lara! As long as I’m alive, that bastard isn’t getting away with it. How could you do this to your own daughter? You're a monster like him, and I won’t let our daughter’s death be in vain!"
Vanessa stared at me with disgust. Without a second thought, she grabbed my phone from the director’s hand and threw it to the ground, shattering it.
She then slapped me across the face, the sting sharp and biting.
"Gabriel, you can't force something that isn’t meant to happen."
I barely held back my anger, my voice thick with fury. "It’s useless to throw it away, Vanessa. I’ve made hundreds of copies of that video. Unless you kill me right now, as long as I breathe, I will expose the truth."
Vanessa’s breath came in quick bursts, her anger rising. She shoved the director aside, grabbed the cage, and yanked it open. She rushed toward me, eyes blazing with fury.
Grabbing my head, she slammed it hard against the bars, the metal rattling violently.
As she dragged me out of the cage, her teeth grinding, she hissed, "Gabriel, today’s the day I make you pay for Keith. There’s gotta be something in this world you’re scared of!"
She signaled to two of her assistants, who pulled me toward a waiting car. Thirty minutes later, the scene in front of me shattered my spirit. I felt the heaviness of hopelessness settle in my chest.
Vanessa grabbed my head again, pressing it against the glass of the ICU. She pointed at my mother, lying still on the hospital bed.
Her voice was a screech, full of raw anger. "Gabriel, you'd better remember this—if your mom dies right now, it’s all on you!"
"Vanessa..." My legs gave way, and I collapsed to the ground with a dull thud. I reached out, grabbing at her pants in desperation. She kicked me away, not even sparing me a glance, and stormed into the ICU.
Without a word, she reached for my mother’s oxygen tube and yanked it out of her throat, her eyes locked on me, filled with nothing but fury.
"Gabriel, apologize to Keith!"
I crawled toward her with what little strength I had left, my voice cracking with desperation. "Vanessa, my mom was hurt trying to save you. What are you doing?"
My words only seemed to make her angrier.
She tightened her grip on the oxygen tube, and within seconds, all the warning lights in the ICU flashed bright red, the alarm screaming into the sterile room.
"Gabriel! I told you to apologize to Keith!"
At that moment, I completely broke. I scrambled to find Keith in the room, my heart pounding in my chest.
When I finally spotted him, I rushed toward him, pounding my forehead against the floor, begging. "I’m sorry, Keith. I was wrong. I’m sorry…"
Keith crouched down, his grip tightening around my throat. He shot a smug look at Vanessa, a grin spreading across his face.
"Vanessa, looks like Gabriel is still obedient. I’m not as pissed off now..."
Vanessa’s eyes brightened with relief as she finally loosened her grip on my mother’s oxygen tube. The heart monitor beeped steadily, and my mother’s heart rate appeared to stabilize. I was able to get to my feet, leaning against my mother’s bed, struggling to stay upright.
I wanted to leave the room, call a nurse to check on my mother, but as I took a step, Vanessa grabbed my wrist.
"That day in court, you terrified Keith," she said in a low and cold voice. "You need to apologize to him in front of everyone. You’ll also need to repeat everything I said in court, in front of the reporters, stating that Lara's death is not Keith's fault."
My whole body trembled, a sense of helplessness threatening to swallow me whole.
I turned to face her, my disgust clear in every line of my face. "Vanessa, do you even have a soul left? Do you have no conscience?"
