Chapter 4Refused to Save My Brother

A few days later, a military vehicle pulled up in front of the villa.

I gathered my prepared documents and stood for a moment before my grandmother's portrait.

"Wait for me, Grandma," I whispered. "I'll be back soon."

Then I walked out and calmly surrendered myself to the military police.

At the tribunal, every face was a mask of contempt. My parents glared at me with a hatred so pure it could have melted steel.

The judge banged his gavel. "Elias Thorne, you stand accused by this council of dereliction of duty and gross violation of the Military Medical Code. How do you plead?"

I slowly lifted my head, meeting his gaze. "Not guilty."

The courtroom exploded. Accusations flew from every corner. If not for the bailiffs holding them back, my parents would have torn me apart with their bare hands.

"Not guilty?" Lena scoffed from the witness stand. "You abandoned your brother and blackmailed your family! We all saw it! How dare you deny it?"

"Elias, if you had a shred of decency, you'd confess," she continued, her voice dripping with disgust. "If I hadn't stepped in, your brother would be dead!"

I looked at them, my expression as still and dead as a frozen lake.

"But he's not dead, is he?"

A collective gasp swept through the room. Camera flashes strobed around me, the media desperate to capture the face of this unrepentant villain.

No matter what the judge asked, my answer was the same. "Not guilty."

Just as the proceedings reached a stalemate, the grand doors of the courtroom swung open.

Clark was wheeled in, looking frail and pale. Even with the surgery's success, his body was shattered. He'd never regain the strength to be a commander. The life he had stolen was now, finally, broken.

"Your Honor, Mom, Dad," he said, his voice weak but clear. "If my brother won't admit to abandoning me... then perhaps he'll admit to treason!"