CHAPTER 2 – THE DOCTOR SAID FIVE MORE MINUTES
The emergency room exploded into motion the second Noah arrived.
Doctors surrounded him.
Machines beeped.
Nurses cut away his shirt.
One doctor pressed carefully against his ribs.
Noah screamed.
The room froze.
"Portable CT."
"Immediately."
I stood against the wall shaking so hard I thought I might collapse.
Twenty endless minutes later...
A trauma surgeon walked toward me.
His expression told me everything before he spoke.
"Mrs. Carter..."
"Your son has three fractured ribs."
I closed my eyes.
He wasn't finished.
"One rib punctured his lung."
The hallway disappeared beneath my feet.
"What?"
"He has a collapsed lung."
"If the ambulance had been delayed..."
He paused.
"...another five to ten minutes could have been fatal."
Fatal.
The word echoed inside my head.
While my mother had hidden my phone...
My son had been slowly suffocating.
A detective entered the waiting room.
"I'm Detective Ryan Brooks."
"I need to ask some questions."
I told him everything.
Every shove.
Every insult.
Every excuse my family had made for Chase over the years.
He listened without interrupting.
Then he asked one question.
"Was anyone else downstairs?"
I frowned.
"I don't think so."
A nurse walked over carrying a clear evidence bag.
"Actually..."
"The paramedics found this."
Inside was a cracked GoPro camera.
Detective Brooks looked surprised.
"It was recording."
Apparently Chase had been filming himself playing video games before everything happened.
When he attacked Noah...
The camera never stopped recording.
Brooks immediately requested a forensic download.
Meanwhile my phone exploded with messages.
Mom:
"Don't destroy this family."
Dad:
"You owe Chase an apology."
Lauren:
"If my son gets arrested, I swear you'll regret it."
Then one final message appeared.
From Chase.
Just four words.
"I didn't stop."
Nothing else.
No explanation.
Just those words.
The detective quietly read the message.
His face hardened.
"I need to move faster."
That evening, the forensic technician called.
"The footage recovered successfully."
Detective Brooks watched it before I did.
He phoned me immediately.
"Mrs. Carter..."
"I've investigated child abuse for fourteen years."
"I've rarely seen something this disturbing."
According to the video...
Noah never fought back.
He never touched Chase.
He simply refused to hand over the game controller.
Chase smiled.
Then punched him once.
Noah fell.
Then Chase kicked him.
Once.
Twice.
Three times.
Directly into his ribs.
Even after Noah cried...
"I can't breathe..."
Chase stood over him.
He laughed.
Then walked upstairs.
Leaving my son alone on the basement floor.
The detective ended the call with one sentence.
"Tomorrow morning..."
"We're getting an arrest warrant."
May you like
I thought justice was finally coming.
I had no idea my own parents were already planning something even worse.
Related Stories
