[{"data":1,"prerenderedAt":10},["ShallowReactive",2],{"viewer-data-260322AB8D26-491":3},{"id":4,"number":5,"name":6,"content":7,"isLocked":8,"price":9,"hasRead":8},491,14,"Chapter 14: \"I Sold My Blood For Your Degree.\"","\u003Cp class=\"chapter-paragraph\">Alan Moore drew back, his gaze settling calmly on the daughter he had once cherished like a rare jewel.\u003C/p>\u003Cp class=\"chapter-paragraph\">\"How dare you show your face here?\" Alan asked, his voice barely a whisper. \"Charlotte, do you remember when you were eight, when the teacher sent you home because your tuition hadn't been paid?\"\u003C/p>\u003Cp class=\"chapter-paragraph\">Charlotte froze.\u003C/p>\u003Cp class=\"chapter-paragraph\">\"That day, I went to the black market and sold my blood,\" Alan said, his tone detached. \"To scrape together that $200, I gave two donations. By the time I walked home, the world was spinning. I couldn't even stand. I collapsed face-first into the snow.\"\u003C/p>\u003Cp class=\"chapter-paragraph\">Charlotte’s complexion shifted, her eyes darting away in discomfort.\u003C/p>\u003Cp class=\"chapter-paragraph\">\"I paved the way for you, put you through your PhD, and made sure you could sit in places like this with your head held high,\" Alan said, studying his daughter's polished makeup. \"But what were you doing? While your precious Killian was sitting at my table, slurping the soup I spent hours preparing, and calling me a 'vulgar man' to my face—what were you doing?\"\u003C/p>\u003Cp class=\"chapter-paragraph\">\"You just smiled and handed him fruit, agreeing that your father lacked sophistication.\"\u003C/p>\u003Cp class=\"chapter-paragraph\">Charlotte opened her mouth, but for a long moment, no sound came out.\u003C/p>\u003Cp class=\"chapter-paragraph\">\"And you, Brody,\" Alan turned to his son. \"When you were five, you threw a tantrum on the floor because I couldn't afford to buy you a candy apple.\"\u003C/p>\u003Cp class=\"chapter-paragraph\">\"When your mother’s department sent word she wouldn't be back for a long time, I was left to raise both of you while caring for your grandmother, who was paralyzed in bed. For three straight months, I didn't eat a single full meal so you two could have enough. In the end, I passed out from starvation right next to the stove.\"\u003C/p>\u003Cp class=\"chapter-paragraph\">Alan let out a soft, dry laugh. \"Look at you now. You're grown up. You’ve made something of yourselves.\"\u003C/p>\u003Cp class=\"chapter-paragraph\">\"At that awards ceremony, you were embarrassed by the food I brought, disgusted by the protective amulet I gave you, calling it superstitious nonsense. Brody, when you were looking down at these rough, calloused hands of mine with such disdain, did you ever stop to think… that the life of luxury you’re enjoying was built, brick by brick, by these very hands?\"\u003C/p>\u003Cp class=\"chapter-paragraph\">\"Dad… we were just kids. We didn't know any better,\" Brody said, his face flushing deep crimson as he ducked his head in shame.\u003C/p>\u003Cp class=\"chapter-paragraph\">\"Didn't know any better?\" Alan shook his head. \"It wasn't ignorance. You just assumed my sacrifices were your birthright, and that I wasn't worthy of a seat at your table.\"\u003C/p>\u003Cp class=\"chapter-paragraph\">\"Now that Killian has fallen and there's no one left to wait on you hand and foot, you’ve suddenly remembered I exist?\" Alan stood up slowly. \"I spent thirty years living for you two. The rest of my life? I want to live it for myself.\"\u003C/p>\u003Cp class=\"chapter-paragraph\">\"Leave now. Don't come back and make me sick.\"\u003C/p>\u003Cp class=\"chapter-paragraph\">It was the first time he had ever truly lost his temper with his children.\u003C/p>\u003Cp class=\"chapter-paragraph\">Judith Palmer stepped forward quickly, her gaze cutting through Brody and Charlotte like a blade. \"I suggest you both walk away. If you harass Alan again, I won't just call the authorities; I will contact your workplaces and expose exactly who you are.\"\u003C/p>\u003Cp class=\"chapter-paragraph\">The threat hung heavy in the air. Shaken by Judith's authority and burning under the judgmental stares of passing tourists, Charlotte and Brody could no longer hold their ground. They shielded their faces and scrambled away in a panicked retreat.\u003C/p>\u003Cp class=\"chapter-paragraph\">Night began to fall. Alan watched their retreating silhouettes until they vanished into the shadows, letting out a long, heavy breath.\u003C/p>\u003Cp class=\"chapter-paragraph\">\"Judith, thank you.\"\u003C/p>\u003Cp class=\"chapter-paragraph\">Judith pulled out a chair and sat down, her hand covering his slightly trembling one. \"Don't thank me. Your food is getting cold. Finish this meal, and tomorrow, we’ll head out to watch the sunrise. Does that sound good?\"\u003C/p>\u003Cp class=\"chapter-paragraph\">\"Yes,\" Alan nodded, picking up his utensils. This time, his hand didn't shake.\u003C/p>\u003Cp class=\"chapter-paragraph\">Meanwhile, back in the city, Luciana Moore’s phone exploded with frantic calls that very night. When they had left to chase after Alan, they had left their young grandson, Felix, in the care of a distant relative named Gloria.\u003C/p>\u003Cp class=\"chapter-paragraph\">By the time Luciana and her children rushed back to the house, heart rates skyrocketing, they were met with the suffocating smell of medicine and the sound of a child crying in the dark.\u003C/p>\u003Cp class=\"chapter-paragraph\">\"Felix!\" Charlotte sprinted into the bedroom.\u003C/p>\u003Cp class=\"chapter-paragraph\">She found her son curled into a ball on the bed, his face flushed with a high fever, his frame looking gaunt and frail.\u003C/p>\u003Cp class=\"chapter-paragraph\">Gloria sat in the living room, casually eating sunflower seeds and watching television. When she saw them return, she rolled her eyes and groaned, \"Finally! You're back.\"\u003C/p>\u003Cp class=\"chapter-paragraph\">\"This kid is impossible to deal with! He kept complaining his stomach hurt, demanding fish porridge with every single bone picked out. I didn't have time for that nonsense, so I fed him some leftovers and took him to a street stall for a hot dog. Who knew he’d start throwing up and having diarrhea?\"\u003C/p>\u003Cp class=\"chapter-paragraph\">\"He has a severe stomach infection! The doctor ordered a strict diet of liquid foods and constant monitoring!\" Charlotte screamed, tears streaming down her face.\u003C/p>\u003Cp class=\"chapter-paragraph\">Gloria shot up, affronted. \"Oh, so now it's my fault? If you want to blame someone, blame Alan! He’s the one who spoiled the boy rotten. Who picks the bones out of fish? Who spends two hours boiling porridge? He didn't raise a child; he raised a prince.\"\u003C/p>\u003Cp class=\"chapter-paragraph\">Gloria cast a disdainful look at Luciana. \"When he was here, none of us realized how hard it was. We all thought, 'How much work could looking after a kid actually be?' Now that he’s gone, the whole house is a disaster. I bet he did this on purpose—he trained the boy to be dependent on him just so he could keep a leash on all of you!\"\u003C/p>\u003Cp class=\"chapter-paragraph\">Luciana stood in the center of the room, staring at the wrecked kitchen and the debris scattered across the floor. She listened to Gloria’s abrasive, piercing words, and she felt like a statue carved from ice.\u003C/p>\u003Cp class=\"chapter-paragraph\">She had always viewed Alan’s role at home as \"easy\"—just cooking and minding the kids. Only now did she realize what she had discarded.\u003C/p>\u003Cp class=\"chapter-paragraph\">It was Alan who had stood by the stove for thirty years. It was Alan who woke up in the middle of the night, every single night, to check the boy’s temperature. He had swallowed every scrap of labor and exhaustion so that she and her children could project an image of effortless perfection to the world.\u003C/p>\u003Cp class=\"chapter-paragraph\">She had assumed that comfort was a natural law of the universe, never realizing it was being sustained by Alan’s very life.\u003C/p>\u003Cp class=\"chapter-paragraph\">Charlotte held Felix tight, staring at the familiar yet cold surroundings of her home, and finally, she broke down in uncontrollable sobs.\u003C/p>\u003Cp class=\"chapter-paragraph\">\"Mom,\" Charlotte looked up, her voice strangled by grief. \"Do you think… Dad is really never coming back?\"\u003C/p>",false,0,1774272925728]