Chapter 19 A Thief
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For over ten minutes, silence filled the room. Finally, the doctor finished reviewing the reports, removed his glasses, and placed them on the desk. His gaze swept across Kenneth’s family before settling on Kenneth himself.
“Based on your results, there are signs of heavy medication use,” he said. “Did you experience some kind of episode recently?”
Kenneth felt his heart sink. Even though he had expected this secret wouldn’t stay hidden forever, facing the reality of the moment left him unprepared.
Before he could respond, Wesley, Helena, and Jocelyn all turned to stare at him, their faces draining of color as they drew in sharp
breaths.
Helena grabbed Kenneth’s wrist, her fingers trembling. “Kenneth, what’s going on? Why didn’t you tell us anything when you came home? Did you have an attack while you were in the States? Did
Harriet-”
“Harriet was the one who took me to the hospital. I asked her not to tell you all because I didn’t want you to worry,” Kenneth explained, his voice tinged with guilt as he gave them a rough outline of what had happened.
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He deliberately kept the details vague. If he’d revealed the full
truth, Jocelyn would likely have collapsed right there in the office.
The doctor could tell Kenneth was holding back, but didn’t call
him out on it, just shook his head with a quiet sigh.
“Kenneth, you’re still young, and your underlying health is actually quite good,” the doctor said.
“I strongly recommend scheduling the surgery as soon as possible. We shouldn’t delay any further. With heart conditions,
no one can predict when something dangerous might happen. You’ve got your whole life ahead of you.”
Kenneth pressed his lips together in silent agreement.
He’d come back specifically to get the heart surgery done successfully and recover his health.
The sooner the surgery happened, the sooner he could put his
mind at ease.
Wesley, Helena, and Jocelyn naturally had no objections. The
family made the decision together, putting the matter to rest.
After leaving the hospital, they headed to the mall to pick up some
household items and furniture.
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Though Kenneth’s health situation weighed heavily on their minds, they didn’t want it to completely overshadow their lives.
That wouldn’t be worth it.
After dinner, Kenneth left the villa complex for a leisurely stroll
alone.
Their house was situated in the suburbs–convenient for getting
around but away from the city noise.
They’d initially chosen the location to help with Jocelyn’s recovery, but it had worked out perfectly for the whole family’s
relocation.
Though tempted to wander further, Kenneth kept to the nearby park since night was falling and he didn’t want his parents to worry. The area was still unfamiliar to him, but at least this way he could get a feel for his new surroundings.
As he walked, the sound of gentle laughter caught his attention.
Looking up, he spotted two young women about his age on the swings, chatting and clearly enjoying themselves.
They were too far away to make out their features, but something
about them reminded him of Eleanor and Victoria.
The moment Kenneth realized where his thoughts had drifted, he
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shoved his hands Into his pockets, his fingers curling into fists. A self–mocking smile crossed his face.
He was allowing himself this brief period to still think about what
he’d left behind, to remember the friends he’d cherished for so
many years.
But he wouldn’t dwell on the past.
Wesley and Helena had moved here to be with him, and he was determined to become someone new. No longer would he beg for
attention or companionship from others.
Just then, a slight figure approached from the opposite direction,
a thin man wearing a baseball cap and face mask.
The dim lighting made it impossible to see the man’s face clearly.
Kenneth instinctively shifted to avoid a collision, but as their
shoulders brushed, the thin man suddenly grabbed Kenneth’s
sleeve and slipped his other hand into Kenneth’s pocket.
It happened in a flash. Kenneth’s heart raced as he tried to
stop the thief, but another forceful shove sent him stumbling backward. He lost his balance and fell onto the nearby grass.
Kenneth couldn’t believe there’d be such brazen pickpockets in this park. He cursed under his breath as he watched the scrawny
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man swipe his wallet and take off. Clutching his chest, he sprinted after him. “Stop! Thief! Somebody stop him!”
Kenneth struggled to keep up the chase for several hundred yards before his lungs started burning like bellows, desperately pulling in air as his legs grew unsteady beneath him.
He shouted for help, but the area was nearly deserted. The few people within earshot clearly wanted nothing to do with someone
else’s problems.
Just as the thief was about to disappear from view, Kenneth gritted his teeth, his eyes reddening at the corners. He hated letting the thief escape, but what else could he do?
Right at that moment, a shadow appeared and tripped the thief, followed immediately by a pained cry.
Kenneth narrowed his eyes, trying to see what had happened. When the scene came into focus, he couldn’t help but feel
impressed.
The shadow turned out to be a young woman, probably a bit younger than him, wearing athletic clothes with her hair pulled back in a long ponytail. She looked like she’d been out for an
after–dinner jog.
Did she just help me?
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While Kenneth was still processing this, Marianne Howard had already pulled out her phone and planted her foot firmly on the
thief’s stomach.
“Hand over the wallet you stole,” she said in fluent foreign
language, a carefree smile on her face that belied her threatening.
words. “Either I call the police, or you spend the rest of your life as
a cripple.”
She waved her phone at the thief and pressed her foot down
harder. The thief grunted, finally tossing the wallet away before rolling across the ground and vanishing into the darkness.
“Are you okay?” Marianne asked, her lips pursed as she picked up the wallet from the ground. After giving it a quick check, she
walked over to Kenneth and looked him up and down before
holding it out to him.
“You’re American?” she asked in perfect English, catching
Kenneth so off guard that he forgot to take the wallet.
In the shade of the trees, the light wasn’t great. Kenneth couldn’t
make out all her features, but her eyes were remarkably clear and
bright.
“Yes, thank you for helping me,” Kenneth said, finally recovering
with a small cough. He took the wallet and quickly opened it,
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pulling out a few bills.
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“I know this might seem disrespectful, but I’m really grateful,” he said. “There are some photos in this wallet that mean a lot to me.”
Hearing this, Marianne shifted her gaze from Kenneth’s face to the money and burst out laughing.
“You’re right. If you hadn’t added that last part, I probably would have punched you in the face.”
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