Chapter 390 A Mother’s Pain

Johnathan had only just regained consciousness and was still groggy, but when he saw Sierra, he instinctively gave a faint smile.

“I want to go in and see him.”

Sierra spoke quickly, then turned to consult with the doctor. After getting permission, she changed into sterile clothing and entered the room.

Seeing Johnathan lying there unable to move, her heart clenched. “Does it hurt?”

Johnathan wore a ventilator and couldn’t speak. He simply shook his head slightly.

“Mr. Yaeger, I was so scared.”

Sierra sat at Johnathan’s bedside and spoke softly. “I’ve never been that scared before. Please, don’t ever let it happen again, okay?”

Now she finally understood how Johnathan must have felt the last time something happened to her.

When she’d heard he was injured, her mind went completely blank. She rushed to the hospital on autopilot. Whatever happened on the way, whatever people said—none of it registered. She couldn’t hear or understand anything.

It wasn’t until the doctor said Johnathan had made it through the critical stage and was no longer in life-threatening danger that her senses slowly returned.

“Johnathan, you promised my grandma you’d take care of me. You can’t go back on that promise.”

Sierra had always been strong and reserved. She rarely showed her emotions like this. Seeing her like this made Johnathan’s heart ache. He tried to lift his hand to pull her into his arms and tell her not to be afraid—but even that simple motion was impossible.

His breathing suddenly grew fast and shallow, triggering an alert on the ventilator. Sierra realized what he was trying to do and quickly said, “Don’t move! Mr. Yaeger, I just want you to get better. Don’t move!”

She gently calmed him down.

Johnathan couldn’t speak, so he could only fix his deep gaze on her.

Outside the ICU room, Mateo witnessed the moment and let out a long sigh. Suddenly reminded of something, he picked up his pace.

Let’s see who was really behind this.

Inside the hospital, while one side was full of quiet emotion, the other was filled with tension—between Susie and Jose.

Susie stared coldly at her son.

“Tell me the truth. Did you have anything to do with what happened to your brother?”

Jose had already been anxious. His grandfather had begun to suspect him, and now his mother was confronting him too.

He snapped: “Mom, do you even know what you’re saying? I’m your son! How could you even think that?”

His voice was loud, but it was a smokescreen for the guilt he couldn’t hide.

Susie looked at him for a long time before saying, “At the hospital, I saw your expression. Jose, he’s your brother.”

He’d heard that same line since he was a child. He’d always tried to bear it, but this time the rage burning inside him couldn’t be contained any longer.

“My brother? My brother? You always tell me he’s my brother! We treated him like family, but has he ever treated us like family? Why should I yield to him? What do I owe him? Fine! Yeah, when I heard he woke up, I was pissed. I wish he’d died!”

Fueled by anger, Jose blurted out the darkest thoughts from the bottom of his heart. As soon as the words left his mouth, he was met with a hard slap across the face.

Susie glared at him furiously. “Do you have any idea what you’re saying? Did you have something to do with what happened today?”

In that moment, Jose nearly admitted it. He wanted to see how his mother would react. If he confessed, would she really turn on him for someone who wasn’t even her real child?

But in the end, he couldn’t say it. He didn’t dare. He didn’t have the courage to find out.

He looked away and said coldly, “I wish I had. If it were me, I wouldn’t have let him live.”

The more time passed, the more Jose wished Johnathan were dead. Why did everyone care about him so much? Why had Jose always idolized him, only to never be acknowledged in return?

“Jose!”

Susie stared at him in disbelief, heartbroken. She didn’t understand how her son had become this way.

He used to admire Johnathan deeply. When had that changed? When had he turned into someone who would rather see him dead?

“Go ahead. Tell Dad. Tell Grandpa. After all, the only person you’ve ever cared about is Johnathan.”

Jose turned away angrily.

Susie stared at him for a long moment before finally saying, “You want to know why I care so much about Johnathan? Fine, I’ll tell you. If it weren’t for his mother, I’d have died long ago. She saved my life—and ruined her own in the process.”