The Heart System

Chapter 599

I slowed the car and parked in the same spot as last time. Thankfully, there was no crazy old woman trying to rob me tonight. I killed the engine and stepped out.

The sun was setting, painting the sky in deep oranges and reds. A cold wind had picked up, and a light rain had started falling, gently pattering on the leaves and pavement.

I moved quickly toward the gates. After making sure no one was watching, I climbed over them and dropped silently onto the other side. I stayed low and approached the house carefully, ready to activate Time Stop at any moment.

"Hmm... why is it so quiet?" I muttered.

As I got closer, I noticed a car parked awkwardly right in front of the house, crushing some of the garden flowers. Not exactly a subtle parking job.

I crouched low and moved toward the front door. It was already slightly ajar. Cautiously, I pushed it open and peeked inside. The house was a mess. The TV screen was cracked, couches were pushed out of place, and a lamp lay shattered on the floor. What... happened here?

Someone was upstairs, talking.

I slipped inside and slowly climbed the stairs, careful not to make any noise. The voice grew louder and clearer with every step. By the time I was halfway up, I was sure it was Jack.

"No, no, no... shit!"

He sounded panicked.

I reached the top of the stairs and turned left. That’s when I saw it, a large pool of blood on the wooden floor, with a trail of bloody drag marks leading toward a closed door at the end of the hallway.

*Holy fuck...*

I crept closer, knelt down, and peeked through the keyhole.

Inside the bedroom, Jack was pacing frantically, sweating profusely. On the floor lay a man, Robert, probably. Blood was soaking through his shirt from his upper body. He wasn’t moving.

Jack dropped to one knee beside the body, touching Robert’s face with shaking hands.

"Please, please, please..." Jack whispered desperately. "Oh god..."

"Don’t touch the body!" a sharp voice barked from Jack’s phone. "Wait for us. We’ll clean it up and handle everything."

"Dad, hurry up, please!" Jack cried. "I think he’s still alive!"

"You ungrateful bastard..." the man on the phone growled. "A man?! YOU... YOU..."

"JUST SEND SOMEONE HERE, DAD!"

"Already on the—"

The call ended. Jack rubbed his bloody hands on his t-shirt and walked over to the window, murmuring frantically to himself.

Just then, I heard the sound of multiple cars pulling up outside the house.

Shit. Company.

I looked around, trying to find a place to hide. The corridor was mostly empty, so I quickly slipped into the room where we had hidden the camera earlier. Thank fuck, the door was unlocked. I stepped inside and left it slightly ajar, just enough to peek through the opening.

A second later, Jack’s bedroom door opened.

He stepped out first, his face pale and tense. His hair looked messy, like he’d been dragging his hands through it nonstop. He kept glancing back into the room behind him, breathing heavily.

Then footsteps echoed from downstairs.

Not one person. Several.

Four men climbed the stairs, all dressed in dark suits. Broad shoulders, cold faces, earpieces. The type of guys that didn’t smile unless someone told them to. They moved with purpose, scanning the hallway as they approached Jack.

And behind them came another man.

Older. Tall. Silver hair combed neatly back. Expensive coat. Sharp jawline despite his age. He looked like one of those wealthy businessmen that appeared on magazine covers talking about morality and family values while secretly ruining lives behind closed doors.

The moment Jack looked at him, his expression cracked.

"Father," Jack said weakly. "I’m—"

The slap echoed through the hallway.

The old man struck him so hard that Jack stumbled sideways and hit the wall with his shoulder.

"YOU’RE GAY?!" the man shouted, voice trembling with fury. "God above, Jack. God above! What kind of filth have you dragged into this family?"

Jack lowered his head, one hand against his burning cheek.

The father turned away for a second, rubbing his forehead like he was trying not to explode. The four suited men stayed silent, pretending not to hear any of this.

"You disgrace yourself," the old man continued. "You disgrace your mother’s memory. You disgrace our name. After everything I gave you, this is what you become?"

Jack swallowed hard. "Father, please. Robert is still alive."

"Alive?" the man snapped, turning back toward him. "Are you stupid? Do you understand what happens if people find out about this? About him? About you?"

"We have to save him," Jack said desperately. "Please."

The old man looked at the suited men. "Leave him."

None of them moved.

"We’ll collect the body after he bleeds out," he continued coldly. "Once he’s dead, we clean this entire mess quietly."

My stomach twisted.

Holy fuck.

They were seriously going to let a guy die just to protect their reputation.

Jack grabbed his father’s sleeve with shaking hands. "No, no, please. Father, please listen to me. He’s still breathing."

The old man ripped his arm away immediately like Jack had contaminated him.

"You should’ve thought about this before crawling into bed with another man."

"Please..." Jack’s voice cracked. "I love him."

His father stepped forward and grabbed him by the ear, pulling him down painfully.

"We. Are going. To leave him there," he hissed slowly. "Do you understand me now?"

Jack winced in pain. Tears were already rolling down his cheeks.

"Father..."

"You think God made man for this?" the old man continued angrily. "You think He gave you wealth and status so you could throw yourself at another male like some degenerate animal?"

Jack said nothing.

"I warned you," the father spat. "I warned you when you were younger. All those weak habits. Those strange little behaviors. Your mother always defended you, said you were sensitive. Sensitive? Look what sensitivity turned you into."

Jack covered his face, shoulders trembling.

Meanwhile, I stayed perfectly still inside the room, barely breathing. What the fuck even happened here?

Robert was injured badly enough that they thought he was dying, but how? Did Jack’s father find out and attack him? Did one of the guards do it? And if Robert was still alive...

Fuck. I couldn’t just stand here while some guy bled to death.

The old man pointed toward the bedroom. "Get your things. You’re leaving this place tonight."

"I’m not leaving him!"

"You don’t get a choice anymore."

Jack suddenly dropped to both knees.

Actually dropped.

"PLEASE!" he shouted, voice breaking apart. "Please, father. Please save him. I’ll do anything."

The silver-haired man looked disgusted.

"Look at yourself," he muttered. "Begging for another man."

"I love him..." Jack whispered again.

"And that is your sickness speaking."

Jack grabbed onto his father’s coat desperately. "Please. He didn’t do anything wrong."

"He corrupted you."

"No! He didn’t!"

The old man’s expression hardened even more.

"You will marry eventually. You will have children. You will forget this phase and move on with your life like a normal man."

Jack stared at him like he’d just been stabbed. "This isn’t a phase."

His father scoffed. "Every sinner says that before reality crushes them."

I grabbed the hidden camera. If nothing else, I needed evidence.

I carefully angled it toward the hallway and started recording.