Louis, a boy of merely fifteen years, sat quietly within the modest stillness of his home. The afternoon carried an unusual silence—until the shrill ring of the landline telephone shattered it.
He lifted the receiver hesitantly.
"Hello… yes? Who is this?"
A brief pause followed on the other end before a man's voice spoke, careful and restrained.
"Are you Louis, the son of Alfred?"
Louis frowned slightly.
"Yes… I am."
Another pause lingered—longer this time.
"Alright… um… I do not quite know how to say this," the man continued, his tone heavy with unease. "But you must be strong. You are not a child anymore… There has been an accident involving your father and your mother… and they… have passed away."
The words struck like lightning through Louis's chest.
For a moment he simply stood there, the receiver still pressed against his ear—yet the world around him seemed to vanish. The sound of the doctor's voice faded into distant noise.
Then suddenly—
Louis collapsed onto the floor.
The shock tore through him like a violent storm.
His breathing grew uneven, his hands trembling uncontrollably. The house that once felt warm and alive now felt hollow—like an abandoned shell.
Without wasting a single second, Louis stumbled to his feet and ran out of the house.
He ran through the streets with tears streaming down his face, searching for the only person he knew nearby—his aunt. Everyone else was far away; his uncle had traveled abroad. She was the only family left within reach.
Louis kept running.
Past narrow streets… past strangers… past the blurred lights of shops and houses.
Finally, he reached her door.
He knocked desperately, his small body shaking with sobs.
The door opened.
His aunt stood there.
But instead of concern, her face twisted with visible disgust.
Louis gasped between tears.
"Aunt… Aunt, m-my father and—"
She cut him off sharply, her voice dripping with irritation.
"I know."
She folded her arms coldly.
"It's all because of your mother. Damn that woman. I always hated her. She was nothing but bad luck for my brother Alfred. I told him not to marry her, but he insisted."
Her eyes narrowed at the trembling boy before her.
"Do you actually think I'm going to take care of you? That will never happen. I'm calling the orphanage."
Louis broke into desperate sobs.
"Please… please, Aunt! I'll work—I promise! I'll pay for everything I use. Just… please don't send me to that place… please…"
She stared at him with nothing but revulsion.
At that moment her fat husband stepped forward, grabbing Louis roughly by the collar.
With sudden force—
SLAP.
His palm struck Louis's face hard enough to send him stumbling.
"Useless filthy dog," the man sneered, spitting to the side. "You're nothing but a worthless burden."
Louis cried out, tears blurring his vision.
"Please… Aunt… please!"
But when Louis realized that begging would change nothing—and that his aunt had already called the orphanage—
He ran.
He turned and ran with every ounce of strength he had left.
Behind him his aunt shouted angrily.
"Go after him!" she screamed to her twin sons. "Catch that brat!"
Footsteps echoed behind him as they began chasing.
But Louis ran faster.
Through crooked alleys… through dim streets… weaving between corners like a frightened animal fleeing a trap.
And as he ran, his father's warning echoed in his mind.
The orphanage.
His father Alfred had warned him about that place many times before.
They pretended to be a charitable institution—kind caretakers sheltering abandoned children. But behind those walls lived something far darker.
The boys were beaten.
Forced into crimes.
Made to sell drugs and weapons in the streets.
All under the respectable name of an orphanage.
Because the people who owned it were powerful.
Too powerful.
No one dared expose them.
No one knew the truth—
Except Louis's father.
Alfred had once been a famous lawyer. He had tried to bring the orphanage to justice. He had filed a lawsuit against them, determined to reveal their crimes.
But the case had been crushed.
Buried beneath the influence and power of the orphanage's owners.
And now—
With his father gone…
Louis was alone in a city that had already decided his fate.