Chapter 144: Chapter 99: Bro, Merry Christmas

Dead silence.

Only the sound of the wind and snow.

Kevin gasped for breath, each inhale feeling like a red-hot knife twisting in his gut.

He crawled over with difficulty and snatched the money-filled bag from beside Scarface’s cooling corpse. He then retrieved the share of money that was originally his from Scarface’s body, even rifling through and taking the man’s own wallet.

So much money.

A thick stack, stuffing all his pockets.

"Home..."

Leaning against the wall, Kevin staggered to his feet. The blood loss made his vision blur, the world spinning around him. The surrounding snowflakes seemed to transform into a black vortex.

But he had only one thought.

’Go home. Show this money to Michael. Tell that foolish brother of his, who only knew how to study and sell his blood, that he—Kevin—was the family’s savior. He’d won. He’d taken everyone out. He was returning with the treasure.’

One step, then another...

A shocking trail of blood stained the snow behind him.

Finally, the familiar apartment building came into view.

And right there, under a dim yellow streetlight, an anxious figure was looking around frantically, as if about to charge into the blizzard to find someone.

"Kevin?!"

Michael saw the blood-soaked figure staggering out of the darkness, and his heart felt like it stopped beating.

"Oh God!!!"

Michael let out a gut-wrenching roar and scrambled toward him. He caught Kevin just as his knees gave out, preventing him from collapsing into the snow.

"Kevin! Kevin! What happened to you? Don’t scare me! Who did this?!"

Michael’s hand touched something warm and viscous. It was blood. An endless flow of it, pouring from Kevin’s stomach and dyeing the white snow red.

"An ambulance! I have to call an ambulance! Hold on! Please, just hold on!" Michael fumbled for his phone, his fingers trembling so badly he couldn’t even unlock the screen.

"Bro..."

Kevin collapsed into Michael’s arms. His face, pale from blood loss, twisted into a strange, satisfied smile.

With his last ounce of strength, he lifted the blood-soaked bag in his arms. The American bills inside rustled and spilled out, covering them both.

Red blood, white snow, green money.

"Look..." Kevin’s voice was as faint as a flickering candle flame. "Money... It’s all money... We’re rich now..."

"I don’t want the money! I don’t want it!" Michael desperately pressed his hands against the wound on Kevin’s stomach, but blood still seeped through his fingers. "I want you to live! Kevin! Don’t fall asleep! Please, don’t fall asleep!"

"Bro..." Kevin’s gaze began to lose focus as he stared at the falling snow. "You told Mom before... that being a doctor costs a lot of money... that you’d have to take out a lot of loans..."

"Don’t talk, please, just don’t talk!" Michael’s voice trembled. He took off his coat and frantically stuffed it against Kevin’s wound. "Don’t say anything, don’t say anything, save your strength... I’ll call an ambulance right now..."

"It’s... it’s too late," Kevin’s voice grew weaker. "Bro... I never studied hard. I don’t know how much college costs, but... but—"

He struggled to grab Michael’s collar, his eyes flashing with a final burst of life. "This money... it’s enough for your school, right?"

"It’s enough..." Michael choked back a sob, burying his face in the crook of Kevin’s neck. Hot tears fell onto his brother’s cold skin. "It’s enough, Kevin... It’s more than enough... It’s enough for me to finish medical school, enough for us to buy a big house... It’s enough... It really is..."

Hearing this, Kevin seemed to finally let go of an immense burden.

The smile on his lips widened, a look of triumph as if he had finally beaten his brother, beaten this fucked-up world.

"I knew it..." he muttered. "I’m better at making money than you... Michael... you’re too dumb..."

Kevin’s voice grew softer and softer, until it faded into a barely audible sigh.

"Bro... Merry... Christmas..."

The hand that had been clutching Michael’s collar went limp, dropping heavily into the snow.

His eyes—filled with ambition, greed, and bitterness, yet holding a final trace of affection for his brother—froze forever on this cold Christmas Eve.

The wind and snow continued to howl, as if trying to bury all the sin and sorrow.

Snowflakes fell relentlessly on Kevin’s body, attempting to cover up all the black and red.

The snow was so heavy.