?<strong>Chapter 901:</strong>


    Rnd turned over in bed, not yet asleep, and noticed Wade standing there.


    “Dad, is something wrong?”


    “Go back to sleep. I just came to check on you.”


    Rnd closed his eyes, and Wade sat beside him. After a moment of silence, he began to speak.


    “Before I knew it, you grew up so fast. Do you see this scar on my neck? It’s from saving you when you were little. To be honest, I thought I wouldn’t make it that day. But when I thought about you, all alone in this world, I couldn’t let go. I held on with everything I had.”


    He gently patted Rnd’s head. “Life here is getting harder. I checked the mountains today—there’s barely anynd left for farming. If you’d like, I can arrange for you to stay with your mom.”


    “Dad.” Rnd cut him off, burying his face in Wade’sp as tears streamed down his cheeks. “Don’t say that, I’ll never leave you. I won’t ept them as my family, and I’ll hate them forever. If I get the chance, I want them to pay for what happened to Uncle Chris.”


    “Okay, okay,” Wade said softly, forcing a smile. “Adult stuff isn’t your burden. Just be happy, and that’s enough for me.”


    “Okay,” Rnd murmured, his voice breaking before he cried himself to sleep.


    Wade’s expression grew somber as his rough fingers continued to stroke Rnd’s hair.


    Rnd was his brother’s only son.


    How could he possibly send him away?


    Rnd would live with him forever.


    Even if death came for them both, at least Wade would know he hadn’t failed Chris.


    At eighteen, Rnd found no peace in the mountains the Potter family called home.


    Thend was rife with territorial disputes and ceaseless violence. One day, he carried Wade out of the deep mountains, both of them drenched in blood.


    Rnd’s entire body was soaked, his face a chaotic mask of crimson, no longer distinguishable from the blood of others.


    Pushed to the brink of survival, Rnd crouched behind a jagged rock, his breath ragged. Aiming at the path they had just escaped, he pulled the trigger without hesitation.


    “Rnd…” Wade coughed.


    Rnd kept his aim steady, his voice resolute. “Dad, don’t worry. I’ll get us out of this. I promise.”


    “Rnd.” Wade’s voice was weaker this time as he grabbed Rnd’s arm. “Run…”


    In that moment, as death loomed close, Rnd realized how desperately he didn’t want him to die here.


    “Dad, don’t worry about me.” Bang.


    The shot went wide, but it was enough to alert their ambushers.


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