?<strong>Chapter 381:</strong>


    When he next awoke, he found himself on a soft mattress.


    His eyelids were heavy, and hecked the strength even to open his eyes.


    “Mr. Potter, we’re facing a severe shortage at the blood bank. Your brother’s health is deteriorating, and he urgently requires a consistent source of blood. His Rh-negative blood typeplicates the situation further…” The doctor paused as he noticed a slight movement from the person in the bed.


    “You can leave now.”


    Hearing his brother’s voice, Chris struggled to open his eyes, murmuring, “V… Jade…”


    “I’m here.”


    Aware that his time was running out, Chris decided to share a long-held secret.


    “There’s something I never told you. I had a child once…”


    Wade Potter frowned, his face filled with shock, and his eyes brimming with emotion.


    “I was young and reckless. Please don’t hold it against me…”


    How could Wade harbor resentment? After all, Chris was his only brother.


    Wiping his face, Wade asked, “What happened next?”


    Burdened by the fear of Wade’s reaction, Chris admitted reluctantly, “I urged her to end the pregnancy, but she refused. Wade, the mother is a Miller. Find the child and bring him home. I won’t be here to keep youpany.”


    Tears welled up in his eyes as he gazed at Wade.


    “Let him fill my void. When I’m gone, at least you’ll have family.”


    With those words, Chris slowly closed his eyes.


    He was merely twenty years old.


    It was an age for enjoying life freely, yet he wasid low by astic anemia, confined to his bed.


    Wade was wracked with guilt, feeling he had let his brother down.


    His fists clenched tightly, he pounded the bed, his efforts feeling as futile as if he were striking cotton.


    “Chris.”


    There was no response from the bed, only the faint sound of breathing.


    Wade bowed his head, his face set with a resolve as fierce as his silent tears, which fell to the floor. The veins on his arms stood out, trembling from the strain.


    “Rnd!”


    Joelle woke up suddenly at dawn, gasping from a nightmare, and sat up sharply.


    Next to her, Adrian stirred awake.


    “Joelle? Was it a nightmare?”


    Joelle was visibly shaken.


    “I dreamt Rnd was missing.”


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