Chapter 92: Chapter 82: Car Accident

After leaving Isla Prescott, Shane Sterling headed straight for the hospital.

Chloe Kerr had been in an accident.

This evening, Chloe Kerr had been driving the car Ezra Sterling gave her to the supermarket to buy food for their pet dog. She got into a car crash on the way. Chloe’s car spun out of control, slammed into the bridge railing, and burst into flames.

A kind driver passing by smashed her door open and pulled her out, but her injuries were too severe. She was rushed to the hospital, but resuscitation efforts failed, and she passed away.

When Shane Sterling arrived at the hospital, Ezra Sterling was slumped beside Chloe Kerr’s body. His mouth was open, making a choked, sobbing sound, “HEH… HEH…” but his eyes were too dry to shed a single tear. He was like a fish long stranded on the shore, his stress response completely haywire.

“You know sign language. Please, go talk to him.” Audrey Hughes walked up to Shane Sterling, her words carrying a tone of humble pleading.

Shane Sterling rarely dared to look Audrey Hughes directly in the eye. She must have been hastily called to the hospital; she wasn’t wearing her wig or any makeup, revealing a head half-full of white hair—a stark contrast to her usual elegant and dignified appearance.

’When had she gotten so old?’

Shane Sterling’s mind went blank, stung by the shocking passage of time.

Of course, even if Audrey Hughes hadn’t asked, Shane Sterling would not have ignored his brother, Ezra Sterling.

He walked over to Ezra Sterling.

Ezra Sterling’s head was bowed. He glimpsed Shane Sterling’s thin-soled leather shoes and knew without looking that his brother had arrived. The grief he had already vented once before surged back, overwhelming him. Ezra lunged forward, grabbed his brother’s legs, and began to sob silently.

The world of the deaf and mute is a silent one.

Ezra Sterling wanted to scream, to roar, to rip the agony from his body like any other person breaking down. But it was as if he were trapped in a transparent cage. Though his heart was shattering, he couldn’t even let out a proper cry.

Shane Sterling felt his brother’s chest heaving. The pain radiated towards him, heavy and violent like molten lead. He placed a hand on Ezra Sterling’s head and slowly crouched down to his level.

“I know you’re heartbroken…”

He was only halfway through signing when Ezra Sterling cut him off.

“Her life was so hard! Her whole life was so hard!” Ezra Sterling signed frantically. “Tell me this isn’t real! It’s not real! I don’t want her to be dead! I don’t want her to be dead!”

“Ezra, calm down! Don’t get so agitated!”

Seeing Ezra Sterling losing control, Shane Sterling tried to pull his brother into a comforting embrace. But in the next instant, Ezra suddenly found it hard to breathe. The air seemed to gain weight, crushing him to the floor. His fingers clutched at his collar as he curled up, trembled, and lost consciousness.

“Ezra! Ezra! Don’t scare Mama!”

Although Audrey Hughes had been in the hallway, she had been keeping a close watch on Ezra Sterling. The moment she saw him collapse, she sprinted over, fell to her knees, and clutched her unconscious son tightly.

“Ezra, don’t scare me! Don’t scare Mama!”

Audrey Hughes seemed to lose control too, her body wracked with sobs.

Shane Sterling quickly called for medical staff.

The medical staff rushed Ezra Sterling away for emergency treatment. Audrey Hughes was left collapsed on the floor. Shane Sterling walked over and helped her up.

Her hands were ice-cold, as if she were suffering from hypothermia.

Shane Sterling took off his overcoat and draped it over Audrey Hughes’s shoulders. But he couldn’t find the right words to comfort her, so he remained silent.

The doctor’s diagnosis was that Ezra Sterling was suffering from excessive grief.

“I’m not sure if you’ve heard of broken heart syndrome, but the patient is showing signs of it. If it isn’t managed, it can be very dangerous. The family must counsel him carefully. The dead cannot be brought back to life; you have to help him accept his loss.”

’How could he accept it?’

Ezra Sterling was born deaf and mute, making him sensitive and fragile to begin with. Now that the love of his life was gone, this pain would likely corrode his very flesh and blood, a wound that might never heal.

Audrey Hughes stared at her son on the hospital bed. Her initial confusion and helplessness slowly gave way to a fire igniting in her eyes.

She took the overcoat from her shoulders and handed it back to Shane Sterling.

“I’m stepping out. Watch your brother,” she said.

Her tone was as firm as if she were entrusting him with her last wishes.

Watching Audrey Hughes walk out of the hospital room, Shane Sterling had a bad feeling and quickly called Ivan Fulton, who was on duty.

“My brother’s in the inpatient wing, room 803. Can you come keep an eye on him for me?”

Ivan Fulton: “What am I, your servant…”

“Ezra’s girlfriend passed away.”

“What!!!”

“Please.”

For Shane Sterling to actually say “please” to him, Ivan Fulton immediately sobered up. “Don’t worry!”

“Thanks!”

Shane Sterling hung up and hurried after her.

—

Audrey Hughes got into the car and said to the driver, “To The Elysian.”

The driver’s expression froze. Then he heard Audrey Hughes add, “Don’t even think about tipping anyone off. Just drive. Otherwise, you’ll regret it!”

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