Chapter 7: The Collapse of the Goodman Family

The trial began three months after Sean's death.

The courthouse was surrounded by reporters.

Everyone wanted to know what had really happened inside the Goodman family.

Felix entered the courtroom wearing a plain suit.

He looked thinner than before.

The confident smile he once wore was gone.

Across the courtroom sat his parents.

Neither looked at him.

My mother kept her eyes lowered.

My father stared straight ahead.

The prosecutor presented the evidence one piece at a time.

The recovered messages.

The traffic footage.

The financial records.

The black-box recording.

And finally...

Sean's video.

When my face appeared on the courtroom screen, my mother broke down again.

"Hi, Mom."

My recorded voice echoed through the courtroom.

"If you're watching this... something probably happened to me."

Felix looked away.

He couldn't bear to watch.

The prosecutor paused the recording.

"The victim had documented suspicious financial activity connected to the defendant weeks before the accident."

"The evidence indicates that the defendant had both motive and opportunity."

Felix suddenly spoke.

"I didn't plan to kill him."

The courtroom became silent.

"I only wanted to scare him."

"I wanted him to stop interfering with my life."

"I never thought he'd die."

The prosecutor looked at him coldly.

"You changed the route."

"You tampered with the vehicle."

"You knew your brother was in the passenger seat."

"And after the crash, you allowed him to be blamed."

Felix lowered his head.

"Yes."

My father closed his eyes.

The truth was finally undeniable.

His favorite son had destroyed the family.

The judge eventually delivered the verdict.

Felix was found guilty of criminal conspiracy, evidence tampering, and causing the accident that led to Sean's death.

He received a lengthy prison sentence.

There was no dramatic outburst.

No final speech.

Only silence.

As officers led Felix away, he suddenly turned toward my parents.

"Mom."

She didn't move.

"Dad."

My father finally looked at him.

Felix's eyes filled with tears.

"I'm sorry."

My father slowly shook his head.

"You should have told the truth before your brother died."

"Now your apology cannot change anything."

Felix was taken away.

The courthouse emptied.

But the Goodman family's punishment had only begun.

My mother was now facing an investigation of her own.

The medical board found that she had deliberately overridden emergency triage procedures.

She had ignored multiple warnings from medical staff.

She had directed resources toward Felix despite knowing Sean was in critical condition.

Her hospital license was suspended permanently.

Criminal charges followed.

The woman who had once controlled an entire hospital suddenly had nothing left.

No authority.

No reputation.

No career.

And no son.

My father also faced consequences.

The family's business collapsed after years of financial mismanagement were uncovered.

Shareholders demanded answers.

Business partners withdrew.

Accounts were frozen during the investigation.

The Goodman name, once respected, became associated with scandal.

One evening, my father sat alone in the empty family house.

The rooms felt enormous without Felix's voice.

He looked toward the staircase.

Then toward my bedroom.

He whispered,

"Sean should be here."

My mother entered slowly.

She looked exhausted.

She no longer dressed like the powerful hospital director she had once been.

Her clothes were simple.

Her hair had become disordered.

"I went to the hospital today," she said.

My father looked at her.

"Why?"

"I wanted to see the emergency department."

"The place where Sean died."

She sat down beside him.

"I stood where he was lying."

"The nurse showed me the exact spot."

"I could almost hear him."

My father's eyes reddened.

"I hear him too."

My mother looked at him.

"What did you hear?"

"His voice."

"He kept asking for us."

"And we weren't there."

Neither spoke for several minutes.

Then my father opened a small envelope.

"What's that?" my mother asked.

"Sean's university scholarship letter."

"The overseas one."

"He received it before the accident."

"He never told us because he wanted to tell us in person."

My mother covered her mouth.

"He was going to leave the country," she whispered.

"He was going to build his own life."

"He was finally going to be free."

My father nodded.

"And instead..."

He couldn't finish the sentence.

My soul stood silently between them.

I remembered that letter.

I remembered how excited I had been.

I had wanted to show them.

I had wanted them to be proud.

I never got the chance.

The next morning, the Goodman family home was sold.

My father's company was liquidated.

Everything they had built was disappearing.

But none of that mattered to my parents anymore.

Money meant nothing.

Status meant nothing.

They had finally discovered the value of the thing they had lost.

Their son.

That evening, my mother returned to my empty bedroom.

She sat beside my old desk.

"I chose wrong," she whispered.

"I thought Felix needed me more."

"I thought you were strong enough to survive without me."

"I was wrong."

She opened my notebook again.

The page she had marked read:

"Sometimes I wonder whether they would notice if I disappeared."

She pressed the notebook against her chest.

"I noticed too late."

My soul stood beside her.

For the first time...

I didn't feel angry.

I felt tired.

The truth had finally come out.

Felix could no longer lie.

My mother could no longer pretend.

My father could no longer look away.

Everyone finally understood what had happened.

But justice could not give them back what they had lost.

And the family that had always chosen Felix over Sean...

Was finally forced to live without either son's presence at the dinner table.