In the sterile chill of the morgue, Mathilda Evans, Ethan's mother, stood beside a covered gurney. As the sheet was pulled back, a raw, agonized sob tore from her throat.
"Ethan, my child, my precious son... How could you leave your poor mother alone, how could you leave me?" She burst into tears. "Oh why, oh why God, why did you take him? Oh Ethan, why did you go before me? I'm older, I should go first; you had an entire life in front of you."
Just then, the door opened, and Sarah, in a wheelchair and supported by Chloe, entered hesitantly. Sarah felt it was her duty to see Ethan for the last time, even without memory.
Sarah spoke: "Mrs. Evans, I... I'm sorry."
Mathilda looked up and spat toward her. She then got up, her eyes blazing with fury.
"You!" she shrieked, her voice echoing through the silent room. She lunged at Sarah, her hand connecting with a sharp slap across Sarah's face. "You killed him! You killed my son. My only son. You have ripped my heart out of my chest. Oh, why, Ethan..." She fell to the floor, crying and screaming, "How am I supposed to live without you, my son?"
Sarah's eyes were wide with shock and confusion. "I… I don't understand," she stammered, her hand flying to her stinging cheek.
"It's your fault my son is dead!" Mathilda screamed. "You took my son away from me! If it wasn't for you, he would still be alive! He should have left you the moment I told him you weren't worth the trouble! I warned him. But he wouldn't listen... And now he's dead because of you!"
The medical examiner gently intervened, but Mathilda ignored him, returning to her son's lifeless body.
Chloe stood there, finding Sarah's humiliation entertaining. Mathilda's pain and Sarah's confusion felt like a free ticket to a great show.
The slap was painful, but not as painful as the loss of memory. Sarah felt a deep sadness watching Mathilda's grief. I am miserable, but the mother who lost her child is even more miserable than I am, she thought. I wish it was me... I wish I had died instead.
Sarah's mind was a blur. The name "Ethan" echoed, now tainted by accusation. "Maybe it is my fault." The weight of the accusation threatened to crush her.
Chloe wheeled her back to the hospital room. In contrast to Sarah's turmoil, Chloe's mind was calm. That stupid Ethan, he ruined everything. If it weren't for him, Sarah would have married that old man, and she and Caroline would have gotten ten million. She thought about how lucky she was that Sarah was being blamed for Ethan's death, and hoped no one would find out she was involved in the accident. But she still had a plan for their "happy future." As long as she could get rid of Sarah, she would have everything.
Chloe went back home to her mother, Caroline, and recounted the dramatic scene at the morgue. They laughed.
Caroline then took papers out of a drawer and gave them to Chloe. "Make sure she signs this and leaves us the house. Then we can sell it and run away from the debt collector and he can go after Sarah instead."
Chloe interrupted her. "But didn't we say we're going to sell Sarah to Mr. Kang?"
Caroline: "But he's angry at us because we failed to do so last time."
Chloe: "Mom, that was because of Ethan, but now he's dead."
Caroline maliciously smiled. "You're right, he can't rise from the dead to rescue her this time. And she has amnesia, we can do it easier. No need to tie her, just give her two pills and she's going to wake up on Mr. Kang's bed."
Chloe: "Exactly!"
Caroline: "But she's still injured. Nobody wants her in this state. Looking like a cripple in that cast."
Chloe: "We can wait for a few weeks and then do it. It's not like her memory will return by then."
Caroline: "You're right. And if that doesn't work, there's always another option, the black market. Her organs must be worth something."
Chloe smiled, satisfied with her mother. "I'm going back to the hospital now."