Twisted paths

Chapter 5: Death

Andrew and Andre, please stay away from those castor oil plants. They can be harmful to you. "Oh, my goodness! Ryan! Ryan! Where is that useless human being?" Anna shouted with anger. Ryan quickly came running, and as soon as he reached, he received a scorching slap from her.

"Aren't you supposed to be looking after my children? Or do you want them to die just like your parents?" she questioned him.

"I'm so sorry, Mom," he replied, and she slapped him again. "This should be the last time you ever call me 'Mom,' understood? Both of your parents are dead, and the funny thing is, they must have been thieves too. Who knows if they were killed for their theft?" she jeered.

"Now take my children inside the house before I kill you with my bare hands!" she said and went back to doing her nails.

"What a life! It has been an immense burden for me, especially since the birth of my twin brothers, Andrew and Andre, who are the biological children of the Carters. I wished I stayed back at the orphanage that day. It has been eight years of suffering, from one hardship to another!" Ryan thought to himself.

Lost in his thoughts, he didn't notice when one of the twins accidentally bumped into his leg, causing him to fall to the ground. He started crying loudly, and Anna rushed out immediately. Witnessing her son in distress, she lifted him and comforted him until he quieted down. Then she promptly called the family doctor. After he gave him some injections, the child's pains reduced, and she put him to bed.

This time, she didn't bother hitting Ryan herself. She summoned two guards and ordered them to beat Ryan mercilessly.

"What!" Ryan's eyes bulged with disbelief.

Ryan begged for mercy, but before he could say anything, a sudden slap landed on his cheek, leaving him speechless. He collapsed to the ground as multiple hands struck his body with tremendous force. Each blow felt like it could be his last, the pain so intense that he thought he might not survive.

When they finally stopped, Ryan was coughing up blood. The pain in his body was excruciating, as if all his bones were shattered. He curled up into a tight ball, trying to shield himself from the agonizing ache rolling through him.

Slowly, Ryan summoned the strength to stand up, despite the searing pain pulsating throughout his body.

A young maid in the house quickly helped him with hot water and some pain relief medication. After some time, he started feeling better and finally fell asleep.

It was 6 pm, the usual time for Mr. Carter to return home from work. Ryan had woken up earlier to have a warm bath and quickly went to the compound balcony to wait for Mr. Carter. Anna had successfully reduced him to a mere guard in the house and was somehow able to instigate so much hate in Mr. Carter's heart for him. He heard a similar noise, and he guessed that it was Mr. Carter. He guessed right as he saw a black Bentley drive into the compound through the automatic gigantic gate, beautifully structured in the Carter mansion.

"Daddy, Daddy!" shouted Andrew and Andre, their faces beaming with smiles as soon as they sighted their father.

Mr. Carter stepped out of his car and held them in his embrace. "Good evening, sir," Ryan greeted, but as usual, there was no response from Mr. Carter. He was already used to it, so he just went straight to the car, picked up the briefcase, and silently went into the house.

"Welcome, darling," said Anna as soon as she sighted her husband. "Good evening, my dearest," he answered. He couldn't embrace her because he was carrying the twins in both hands, so he just gave her a slight peck on her forehead. "Dinner is ready, dear. Come and eat," Anna said, as she was already setting the table.

They had their dinner in silence as it was the family's rule not to talk while eating. As soon as they were done with dinner, the twins thanked their parents and retired to their rooms to continue their video games.

"Ryan!" Mr. Carter called. "Yes, sir," Ryan ran out of the chore he was doing at that time and went to answer immediately.

"Here are the keys to my white Benz. Make sure you keep it clean. We have an early appointment to catch up tomorrow."

"Where are we going to?" Ryan asked. Mr. Carter ignored him at first, but when he asked again, he then turned and, this time, gave him a glare of contempt and disgust.

"Just do as I instructed and don't question me." Ryan obeyed immediately and went back to what he was doing.

Anna already knew Mr. Carter had an early appointment, as she was already folding his clothes neatly in his mini travel box. Mr. Carter smiled as he walked into their master bedroom. "You know just how to take care of me, my love."

"Well, I'm glad you finally want to return that good-for-nothing boy to where we picked him up from. He has overstayed his welcome in this house!"

The Carters finally decided that Ryan should go back to the orphanage.

As early as 7 am, both Ryan and Mr. Carter were set to leave.

"Honey!" Anna came almost immediately. "I want you to drop me at Jennifer's house first, then you can come back and pick him up. It's too early, and I'm sure the people at the orphanage are still asleep. Also, you're off from work today. So you have all the time," she pushed further in a persuasive tone.

Mr. Carter quickly agreed. They ignited the car engine and they left.

After about two hours, Mr. Carter was back to pick up Ryan, but this time, he decided to use his black Bentley.

They headed for the orphanage immediately. There was a very cold silence between them. Ryan dared not say a thing, but deep down, he was very excited to go back to the orphanage. He just stared at the sky and enjoyed the ride.

"Hello… hello… is this Mrs. Carter?" Anna answered, "Yes," she answered, "we are calling from the hospital. Your husband and your son were involved in a deadly motor accident." "What?" Anna answered shakingly, "how? Where? When? Which hospital? Oh my God!" she said, almost sobbing. She picked up a few things and dashed out to the hospital.

In about thirty minutes, Anna was already at the hospital ward, panting and crying out loud. "Where is my husband? Where is my husband?" She kept shouting at every nurse who came out of the theatre.

Mr. Carter was seriously injured and had to undergo a quick surgery.

The nurses around the hospital finally helped her calm down and catch a breath.

Meanwhile, Ryan didn't sustain much injury. He only fell unconscious and was quickly recovering already.

"This accident came at the right time, I must say. If Carter doesn't make it alive, then I would no longer be worried about eliminating him and not getting caught. And then the whole property would go to me and my children. He is no longer relevant anyways, and all thanks to those children for finally coming into this world. Everything is finally making sense now," Anna thought to herself.

The doctor finally came out and Anna rushed to him immediately. "Tell me my husband made it! Tell me he is going to be fine, doctor!" Anna wailed. "Calm down, ma," the doctor finally spoke up. "Your husband is okay now and on life support, but he is still in a very critical condition. He sustained critical brain and spinal cord injuries and lost a lot of blood. Of a truth, he has a low chance of making it alive. We urge you to keep calm and pray as we would do anything within our power to make sure that he comes out of this alive," the doctor assured her.

It's been seven days since Mr. Carter was involved in an accident, and he wasn't showing any signs of recovery. Ryan got discharged from the hospital three days ago and stayed back for a while before he finally went back to the house to stay there and wait for the tension to die down.

There was chaos in the hospital. The Carter family was a big name, so special attention was always given to them. Doctors, nurses, anyone, even if it would have to cost another person's life.

Ryan was heard screaming the nurse's name from Mr. Carter's ward, and they rushed in immediately to get a hold of what the problem might be. Before the doctors could show up, the life support machine he was breathing through had already stopped. The beeping sound had gone off. Mr. Carter has given up the ghost. He didn't make it alive as his brain was badly damaged. Every effort made by the doctors and nurses proved abortive.