Within the luxury of his hotel suite, Erick sat in absolute silence. His gaze was vacant, locked onto a small bottle of antidepressants resting on the nightstand. That object had become his secondary life support over the last five years.
Erick leaned his head back against the sofa and squeezed his eyes shut, but the darkness only dragged him back to the most hellish period of his existence.
Flashback: New York, Five Years Ago
"Bastard!"
The ear-splitting crash of shattering glass echoed as Erick hurled a bottle of whiskey against the wall. This small apartment, the place where he and Elly had spent three years together, the place they called home, where they laughed and shared simple dreams, now felt like a suffocating prison. The lingering scent of Elly's perfume remained in the air, choking every nerve in Erick's brain.
His happiness had been ground into dust overnight. The image of Elly on that hotel bed with another man played on a loop in his head like a tortured, broken tape.
"Why? Why did you betray me, Elly?!" Erick roared. His voice was hoarse, cracking under the weight of unbearable pain.
With brutal, uncontrolled motions, he snatched their framed photos from the walls. He tore the paper into tiny fragments, as if by destroying their portraits he could erase the love that still pulsed in his chest. His body swayed. He stumbled over empty bottles scattered across the floor.
Erick had been adrift for an entire month. Whiskey was his only escape, but alcohol was no longer enough to numb the agony. Depression sucked him into a bottomless black hole.
Finally, on that night, in a peak of utter desperation, Erick reached for a bottle of sleeping pills. He didn't care about the dosage. He swallowed the white tablets one by one, hoping this sleep would free him from Elly's shadow forever. A heavy lethargy began to take hold. His world slowly dimmed as he collapsed onto the cold floor.
Erick lay helpless, his breathing growing shallow and weak. Hours later, the apartment door was forced open. Elena Vanderbilt entered and shrieked hysterically as she found her pride and joy sprawled there, foaming at the mouth amidst the wreckage of empty liquor bottles.
***
The sharp, piercing ring of a cellphone suddenly tore through the silence of the hotel room, pulling Erick out of the dark memory of the night that nearly took his life. The sound wasn't a call; it was an alarm, a reminder for the sedative schedule he couldn't afford to miss if he wanted to keep his sanity from crumbling.
Erick stood up, his body feeling heavy. He stepped toward the nightstand, his trembling fingers reaching for the small plastic bottle. He tapped out a single pill, placed it on his tongue, and washed it down greedily with a glass of water until it was gone.
Yet, instead of feeling calm, the tightness in his chest only intensified.
"Because of you... I have to depend on this damn thing, Elly!" Erick roared.
In a sudden explosion of rage, he slammed the medicine bottle onto the floor. A loud crack sounded as the bottle bounced, sending dozens of white pills scattering like the broken pieces of his life. Erick panted, his breath coming in short gasps as his chest heaved against the overflowing tide of emotion.
"If only you hadn't betrayed me... if that boy were our son, I would be the happiest man in the world, Elly!" Erick shouted into the emptiness of the room, his voice raw with grief. "I cannot accept that you bore a child for another man! I refuse to see you smile for that bastard's flesh and blood!"
In the midst of his fury, however, Erick suddenly froze. Silence reclaimed the room, leaving only the sound of his slowing breath. A wild thought flashed through his mind, striking his logic with a heavy blow.
That boy... his face... is it possible?
Erick's pupils dilated. He recalled the sparkle in the eyes of the boy named Felix. With an impulsive motion, he snatched his phone from the nightstand and immediately dialed the only person he trusted.
"Matthew," Erick said the moment the call connected. His voice was urgent, nearly demanding. "Find out everything about Elly's child. Exactly when he was born, where, and who is listed as the biological father. I want the most accurate data possible. Move!"
"Very well, Sir," Matthew answered on the other end, his voice remaining calm and respectful despite the ungodly hour of the command.
"Make sure that by the time I wake up tomorrow morning, that information is on my desk. Do not miss a single detail," Erick stated, delivering a final order that allowed no argument before cutting the connection.
Erick threw his phone back onto the mattress. He stood tall in the middle of the room littered with his medication, staring blankly ahead as his heart raced.