Chapter-2 Now The Time To Take Responsibility!!!

Ryu's eyes fluttered open to a harsh, sterile light. The rhythmic beeping of machines filled the room, a constant reminder of life clinging on. His vision slowly cleared, revealing the sterile white walls and monitors flickering above him. At first, his thoughts were a confused haze of pain and fragments of memory. Then the truth pressed in: he was alone in a hospital bed.

A soft, trembling voice broke the silence.

"Ryu… Can you hear me?"

 It was Nurse Meera; her tone was both gentle and urgent.

"You've been awake for an hour now."

Ryu's throat felt raw as he attempted to speak.

"Where… where am I?"

Croaked, his voice barely above a whisper.

"Here at City Heart Hospital," she replied, dabbing a cool cloth on his damp forehead.

You were in an accident… Or rather, it's better you rest right now.

But there's something you need to know."

Her eyes flickered with empathy behind delicate glasses as she hesitated. "Your mother…the doctors say she's in critical condition."

Ryu's heart clenched in agony. He tried to sit up, his broken memories surging back—images of a night filled with screams and betrayal. Despite the calming buzz of the machine, his chest tightened with the weight of loss. "My mother…?" he repeated as if daring the words to be true.

Meera nodded; her voice was hushed.

"She was stabbed by the man…your stepfather. The wound is deep. They say her condition is unstable. I'm so sorry."

Before Ryu could breathe, another voice wavered through the door—a grim announcement from a doctor in the hallway.

 "We haven't located his father either, and there's no record of him ever coming to help. It appears he's vanished without a trace."

As the words settled, Ryu closed his eyes for a moment. The screams, the twisted laughter of his tormentor echoing in his memory. He remembered her voice from that terrible night, pleading for mercy and begging for her son's protection. He remembered the cruelty in the stepfather's mocking tone:

 "Hurry, baby! Don't waste a second!"

Even through the haze of pain, those words rang clear.

After a long, agonizing silence, Ryu managed to whisper,

"I—I need to see her."

His voice trembled with barely contained emotion.

 Nurse Meera gently patted his hand.

 "I'm afraid you can't, dear. It's too dangerous. She's fighting for her life in the ICU."

A cold anger kindled within him.

"Then tell me, why is it that I'm here and she isn't? Why was I left to suffer while she—my mother—bears the brunt of his cruelty?" His voice cracked as he demanded answers, his eyes brimming with unshed tears.

Meera's eyes filled with sorrow.

"I wish I had answers for you, Ryu. All we know is that your stepfather attacked her that night. And after…after you left for college, you never heard from her, and then this happened." The nurse paused, biting her lip. "We need funds for her treatment. She'll need a very expensive surgery soon. Unless… unless someone can help."

Ryu's mind raced. His father—the man who was supposed to be his protector—had been missing, leaving him alone in a sea of cruelty and broken promises. The thought of that absence, of a father whose presence might have made some things better, stung like acid. "My father," he repeated bitterly. "They say he's missing too…gone without a trace."

As the words settled, Ryu closed his eyes for a moment. The screams, the twisted laughter of his tormentor echoing in his memory. He remembered her voice from that terrible night, pleading for mercy and begging for her son's protection. He remembered the cruelty in the stepfather's mocking tone:

 "Hurry, baby! Don't waste a second!"

Even through the haze of pain, those words rang clear.

After a long, agonizing silence, Ryu managed to whisper,

"I—I need to see her."

His voice trembled with barely contained emotion.

 Nurse Meera gently patted his hand.

 "I'm afraid you can't, dear. It's too dangerous. She's fighting for her life in the ICU."

A cold anger kindled within him.

"Then tell me, why is it that I'm here and she isn't? Why was I left to suffer while she—my mother—bears the brunt of his cruelty?" His voice cracked as he demanded answers, his eyes brimming with unshed tears.

Meera's eyes filled with sorrow.

"I wish I had answers for you, Ryu.

All we know is that your stepfather attacked her that night. And after…after you left for college, you never heard from her, and then this happened." The nurse paused, biting her lip. "We need funds for her treatment.

She'll need a very expensive surgery soon.

Unless… unless someone can help."

Ryu's mind raced.

The thought of that absence, of a father whose presence might have made some things better, stung like acid.

"My father," he repeated bitterly.

"They say he's missing too… gone without a trace."

That morning, as Ryu sat propped up on pillows, the hum of the hospital faded into internal murmurs of despair and determination. He reached out with shaking fingers to press the call button by his bed.

"I want to speak with someone… someone who can help me get my mother proper treatment,

"He said, his voice ragged with resolve.

An hour later, he found himself in a quiet hospital corridor, meeting an unexpected visitor.