Jane stubbornly shook her head. “I can do it myself.”


    “No, you can’t. Listen to me this time,” Patrick said firmly. He picked her up and ced her in the back seat, immediately locking the doors. He drove off, his speed exceeding the limits, running multiple red lights along the way. The two-hour journey waspressed into a mere 40 minutes as he skillfully returned home.


    Jane hurriedly ran into the house as soon as she got out of the car. Upon entering, she heard wailinging from upstairs. Her nerves couldn’t hold up any longer, and she rushed towards the second floor.


    Pushing open her parents’ door, she saw her father lying motionless on the bed, while her mother sat beside him, sobbing with her head lowered. Several caregivers stood in a row, their cries already drowning out the cries of the four children.


    Jane couldn’t believe what she was witnessing. She felt a heavy weight beneath her feet, as if there were countless doors blocking her path with each step she took.


    “Your father has passed away… His condition worsenedst night, but he didn’t want me to tell you, fearing it would affect you. This day was destined toe sooner orter. He was holding on…” The more her mother spoke, the more choked up she became, until her voice grew faint.


    Jane’s heart felt as if it had been crushed by millions of stones. She approached the bed, lifting the white cloth to see her father’s pale face, peacefully lying there as if asleep.


    Jane knelt heavily on the ground, and Patrick followed suit behind her.


    “Father…”


    That single call shattered the hearts of everyone present. Janey by the bedside, crying loudly. She had thought her father would be able to hold on for a long time, but she never expected him to deteriorate barely a month after returning to the country.


    Regret filled her now. Should she have sought treatment for them abroad instead of blindly bringing them back to the country?


    These past few days had been so busy for her. She had been focused on investigating Melissa’s actions and protecting her own interests, forgetting about her parents’ existence.


    She even argued with them. The more Jane thought about it, the more she felt wronged, her heart overwhelmed with emotions.


    Her mother couldn’t bear to watch anymore and quietly left the room, followed by Patrick. Outside, her mother spoke.


    “He was a pitiful man, bearing the burden of our family alone. Jane is also a pitiful person, raised by her grandfather since childhood, living alone after her grandfather fell ill. As parents, we might owe her something!”


    “So, we didn’t want to trouble her. We knew she was under a lot of pressure recently. Do you know? She keeps all that pressure to herself.”


    Sometimes, parents are like that. No matter how much suffering they endure or how difficult their lives are, they never reveal an ounce of pain to their children.


    They don’t want their children to bear their pain.


    Patrick understood this feeling all too well. “I will hold her in my hands, cherish and protect her, and never leave her alone.”


    Her mother nodded approvingly. “During this time, I’vee to understand you. I know you’re a caring person. From now on, I entrust Jane to you.”


    Patrick thought it was a simple request.


    Inside the room, Jane chased everyone out, leaving herself alone with her father. She stayed there, carefully recalling everything that had happened during this long period of time. She wished time would slow down, giving her more time to spend with him.


    The more Jane thought, the more guilty she felt, and tears continued to flow uncontrobly. She couldn’t help it.


    After some time had passed, Jane remained alone in the room, unwilling toe out. Patrick approached and knocked on the door.


    “Open the door! I want toe in and be with you.”


    The room remained silent.


    Only the sound of faint sobbing could be heard, without any response.


    Jane’s mother had already been instructed to rest, and Patrick stood outside with a bag of prepared soup for half an hour, but there was still no movement in the room.


    A caregiver came forward with a key and opened the door. Upon seeing Jane still kneeling there, she quickly went over and helped her up. “You’ve done enough, don’t me yourself too much!”


    Jane sat there quietly, like a puppet being controlled, motionless, staring at her father.


    “If only I had found them earlier.”


    Those were Jane’s most uttered words of the day and her greatest regret.


    “We still have four children, and your mother needs care! Pull yourself together and go see your mother!”


    Patrickforted her softly, and these words floated into her ears.


    “Mother… Mother…” Jane repeated in her mouth and ran outside directly.


    Arriving at another room, she found her mother’s door locked. She hurriedly obtained the key from the caregiver but found that something seemed to be blocking it from the inside, making it impossible to open.


    “What’s going on? Why won’t it open?” Jane panickedpletely, immediately banging on the door and shouting, “Open the door, let me see you.”


    No matter how much Jane shouted or knocked on the door from the outside, there was no response from inside!


    Patrick jumped from their room to the balcony and climbed to the window on the second floor. He knew he could reach her mother’s room from the outside, but it would require some effort!From N?velDrama.Org.


    Jane followed him to the yard, and she saw Patrick bring adder. “Is it okay? Be careful.”


    Jane held thedder from below, being cautious, while the caregiver also stood beside her.


    Patrick climbed thedder lightly, then jumped from the direction of the balcony to the outside of her mother’s room. The room was covered by curtains, making it impossible to see inside.


    At this moment, Patrick yelled loudly to those below, “Bring a wrench!”


    Someone immediately fetched it, and Jane also climbed up thedder and handed it to him.


    Patrick swung his big hand and smashed the ss, but the room was still illuminated. He called out softly, “Are you still there?”


    Still no response. Despite all themotion he had caused, there was not a single sound from inside.


    Jane jumped in, pulled aside the curtains, and saw her mother lying quietly on the bed. On the bedside table, there was a bottle of medication just finished. She waspletely dumbfounded.


    Having just lost her father, her mother was now slipping away from her.


    Jane didn’t dare touch her mother, she just nced at the bottle of medication.


    “Call an ambnce quickly!”


    Patrick shouted outside.


    In no time, the ambnce arrived and quickly carried the people out, taking the father with them.


    Jane couldn’t focus on the other children now. The two of them followed the ambnce to the hospital, overwhelmed by the sessive tragedies that had urred at home.


    The ambnce brought her mother to the emergency room, while her father was taken to the morgue.


    The two of them waited outside the emergency room, not sharing this news with anyone.