Claire was tucked safely in his embrace, her shoulders trembling delicately.
And my son...
My son was buried under a pile of rubble. His fate unknown.
I lay on the freezing ground. The high-pitched ringing in my ears drowned out the world. I didn't know if, in that final second, my son had called out for me.
"David... David..."
I stumbled into the ruins. My fingertips shredded against jagged concrete, turning bloody, yet the physical pain was nothing compared to the evisceration of my heart.
Under a twisted steel beam, I found him.
His small body was coated in gray dust. His chest was a mess of blood, his breathing ragged and shallow. But when his eyes found mine, he let out a faint, weak whimper.
Air rushed back into my lungs. I gathered him into my arms, tears blurring my vision.
Leon stood nearby. He didn't even bend down. A cursory glance, and then—
"He's fine. He can still be saved."
His tone was indifferent. Clinical.
A tremor of pure rage rolled through me. "Leon Weiss, how can you be so cold-blooded?"
"He is your biological son! Does he mean less to you than one of Claire's dogs?"
Leon frowned, impatience dripping from every syllable. "I told you, I chose by proximity. That was a professional judgment to maximize the success rate."
A pause. Then, quieter:
"Besides, if he hadn't been running around, how would the criminal have strapped a bomb to him in the first place?"
My heart seized.
Our son had been blown up. He was bleeding in my arms.
And his father showed zero concern—only blame.
I didn't have the energy to argue. I just needed to get my son to the hospital.
Clutching David's broken body, I rushed toward the exit.
Just as we cleared the warehouse doors, Claire let out a startled gasp. "Oh!"
Her foot shot out, subtly kicking the dog. The golden retriever yelped and bolted into the distance. Claire immediately loosened the leash in her hand.
She bit her lip, tears welling perfectly in her eyes. "What do I do? A-Jin must be terrified."
"Leon, I can't live without A-Jin!"
Leon stopped dead. The indifference vanished, replaced by urgency. "It's too dangerous here. The perimeter hasn't been cleared of secondary devices. We can't let A-Jin roam free."
His voice softened instantly as he turned to Claire. "Don't worry. I'll find him."
My heart stopped.
Seeing Leon turn to leave with her, despair buckled my knees. I collapsed, grabbing his pant leg with my free hand.