Chapter 2 COLLAPSE
Kael’s POV
I nearly crashed the bike twice while getting to the hospital.
Rain blurred my vision while panic clawed at my chest so hard I could barely breathe.
Every red light felt personal and every slow car in front of me felt like an obstacle designed to ruin me.
“God, please let her be okay.” I prayed desperately on my way.
The emergency entrance came into view and I jumped off the bike before it fully stopped, almost slipping on the wet pavement as I ran inside.
The smell of bleach , medicine and death hit me immediately.
Hospitals always smelled like people trying not to die.
I rushed toward the front desk. “Room 306, my mother..”
The nurse behind the counter recognized me and the look on her face made my stomach drop.
“She’s stable,” the nurse said quickly, probably noticing the terror on my face. “But you need to speak with the doctor immediately.”
That should’ve made me feel better but it didn’t as I ran a hand through my soaked hair and nodded tightly before heading upstairs.
The hallway outside my mother’s room was too quiet and a doctor stood near the door flipping through a chart.
He was an older man that had tired eyes, the kind of face that had delivered bad news too many times.
When he saw me, his expression grew worse.
“How bad is it?” I asked immediately.
He exhaled slowly. “Her condition is worsening faster than expected.”
The floor felt unstable beneath me as I felt my head spinning.
“She collapsed because her lungs are no longer responding properly to treatment. We tried stabilizing her, but..”
“But what?”
He hesitated and I hated that hesitation.
“She needs a specialized procedure immediately.”
Hope flickered violently inside me. “Then do it.”
The doctor’s eyes hardened with something almost apologetic.
“The treatment is expensive.”
Of course it was, everything that kept poor people alive always came with a price tag.
“How much?” I asked quietly.
“Two hundred thousand dollars.”
The number hit like a truck and I laughed not because it was funny but because my brain couldn’t process it.
Two hundred thousand dollars? I could work until my body gave out and never touch that kind of money.
The doctor softened his tone. “We can buy her some time with temporary treatment, but realistically…”
He didn’t need to finish because I knew realistically, my mother was dying and it was another thing I couldn’t stop.
I stared at the floor for several seconds before asking, “How long?”
There was silence that stretched too long.
“A few weeks. Maybe less.”
Something inside me cracked quietly as the doctor placed a hand on my shoulder. “I’m sorry, son.”
Son? That was funny because I’d spent my whole life without a father, yet strangers kept calling me son while delivering the worst moments of my life.
I swallowed hard and forced myself to nod.
“Can I see her?”
“Of course.”
He stepped aside and I stood outside the room for a moment before entering because I was terrified of seeing her weaker, of seeing the truth on her face and terrified that this might be one of our last conversations.
The room was dimly lit as machines beeped softly beside the bed while rain tapped against the window behind her and my chest tightened painfully when I saw her.
She looked smaller and fragile like the illness had stolen pieces of her while I wasn’t looking but when she noticed me, she smiled which destroyed me.
“You’re soaked,” she whispered weakly.
I forced a grin and teased, “Fashion statement.”
She laughed softly before coughing hard into her hand and I moved closer immediately.
“Careful.”
“I’m okay," she assured but we both knew it was a lie.
I pulled the chair beside her bed and sat down quietly.
For a while, neither of us spoke and the machines filled the silence instead.
Finally, she looked at me carefully and said, “You’ve been crying.”
I scoffed, “Nah, it's the rain.”
“Kael.”
Mothers always knew when a child was lying and I looked away because if I looked directly at her, I might completely fall apart.
“I’m sorry,” I muttered.
“For what?”
“For not being enough.”
The words slipped out before I could stop them and her expression changed.
There was pain in her expression, not physical pain but emotional.
“Don’t say that.”
“But it’s true, Mom.” My voice cracked slightly. “I can’t even pay for your treatment.”
“You think money decides your worth?”
“In this city?” I laughed bitterly. “Yeah. I do.”
Because Blackthorn City worshipped wealth like religion and poor people weren’t humans here. We were like background noise, easily disposable.
My mother reached for my hand weakly and I froze because her hands which used to feel warm now felt too cold.
“You are the best thing that ever happened to me,” she whispered and my throat burned painfully.
“If I lose you…” I stopped talking because I couldn’t finish the sentence.
Her eyes softened as waves of emotions crossed my mind and real fear crossed her face.
I frowned immediately.
“Mom?”
She glanced toward the door before lowering her voice.
“Listen to me carefully.”
The shift in her tone made my chest do a thing.
“What is it?”
“If anything happens to me..”
“Nothing’s gonna happen.”
“Kael.” Her voice sharpened.
“Listen.”
I fell silent as her fingers intertwined tightly around mine in a frail manner.
“You need to leave Blackthorn City.”
I blinked. “What?”
“Yes son, you have to disappear.”
Confusion slammed into me.
“What are you talking about?”
She swallowed hard like even speaking hurt.
“There are people… dangerous people…”
A strange chill crawled down my spine.
“Mom, what people?”
Her breathing became uneven and she whispered words that shattered my world.
“Your father was not a good man.”
I stared at her.
What? My father?
My entire life, she’d avoided talking about him, every single time I asked, she shut down completely and now suddenly..
“What do you mean?” I asked quietly and fear flickered across her face.
“He was powerful,” she whispered. “Too powerful and he was one of the most dangerous men in this world.”
Nothing made sense to me anymore.
“Who was he?”
She looked toward the window as rain streaked down the glass and whispered a name so softly I almost didn’t hear it.
“Alessandro Varez.”
The air left my lungs because even people from the slums knew that name.
Alessandro Varez was the ghost billionaire, the untouchable king connected to half the corruption in Blackthorn City.
People whispered about him like he wasn’t fully human.
Politicians feared him, criminals obeyed him and according to rumors, bodies disappeared when he was angry.
I stared at my mother in disbelief. “That’s impossible.”
“I wanted to protect you, you are his heir and successor.”
“No.” I shook my head immediately. “No, there’s no way…”
A sudden cough tore through her violently and blood splattered onto the bedsheet as my heart stopped.
“Doctor!” I shouted instantly.
Nurses rushed into the room while alarms started blaring loudly.
Everything happened too fast as doctors were pushing me aside, machines were screaming and my mother was gasping for air.
“Sir, you need to step back!”
“No!”
I tried moving toward her but someone grabbed me.
My mother looked terrified not because she was dying but because of something worse and she reached toward me weakly.
“Kael..”
“I’m here!”
Her lips trembled before she whispered words that froze my blood completely.
“They found us.”
The lights suddenly went out as darkness swallowed the room instantly, people screamed in the hallway and backup alarms started flashing red.
My pulse exploded.
What the hell?
Gunshots rose frantically and my whole body went cold.
Screams echoed outside the room and heavy, slow and controlled footsteps followed, coming closer.
Every instinct in my body screamed danger, the nurses looked terrified and the doctor backed away from the door.
The hallway fell dead silent and a shadow appeared beneath the door.
My mother grabbed my wrist with terrifying strength.
“Run.” Her voice shook violently. “NOW.”
The door handle slowly turned.
