- 9 hours ago
After The Deep, My Family Begged Me Home 2026 Engsub
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Short filmTranscript
00:10I used to be a professional salvage diver, one of the best on the East Coast, then I was
00:16convicted of murder. They said I cut my partner's air hose, said I killed for money. I did eight
00:22years for a murder I didn't commit. Now I gut fish for a seafood wholesaler in a rundown
00:27warehouse by the docks. That day, my family came tearing down the pier like the world was ending.
00:33My mom and dad collapsed onto the filthy ground, right into the blood, meltwater, and fish slime
00:38underfoot. My ex-wife Vanessa rushed up next. She pulled out the wedding ring from years ago,
00:54then she forced it onto my finger. I swear to you, if you go down there and bring Jason back,
01:01I'll marry you again. I said nothing. I just reached up and touched the hearing aid on my ear.
01:06Had they really forgotten? Eight years ago, Jason, the son they chose, over and over again,
01:12instead of me. He fought with his dive partner underwater, over gold bars, hidden in a sunken
01:17ship. After it happened, Vanessa wanted to protect him, so she forced me to sign a confession. My dad
01:23went even further. He slapped me so hard. He ruptured my eardrum. That one hit left me half
01:28deaf. And now, with the condition I'm in now, if I go back underwater, the pressure could trigger a
01:34brain bleed. I could die down there. Ethan! Shut your damn mouth and do what they say!
01:40That was David, the doc manager. Just now, he was all smiles, sucking up to them. The second he
01:46turned to me, his face filled with disgust. The Lane and Cole families practically own this town.
01:51I always thought you knew your place. Didn't expect you to get so full of yourself. Just say
01:56yes already! You save a life, you get money. It's your shot at redemption. So why are you still
02:03rotting here, slinging guts on this pier? People nearby had no idea what was going on, but that
02:08didn't stop them. Yeah, what's wrong with this guy? That's his brother! How can he be this cold?
02:14Probably thinks the money's too low. He's trying to jack up the price. Looks normal enough.
02:19Turns out he's rotten inside.
02:21Every word landed hard. The one they dragged out to take the fall for Jason. Was me. The one whose
02:26life got destroyed. Was me. So why? Why was I still the one standing here, getting cursed at like I
02:32was
02:32garbage? I pulled the ring off, set it back in Vanessa's hand. Then I pointed at my hearing aid,
02:37and shook my head. It's not that I won't save him. My ear is shot. If I go underwater, I'll
02:42die.
02:43My mom, Susan, froze for a second. Then she threw herself into the filthy water on the ground.
02:48Fish scales stuck to her clothes. She slapped the puddles with both hands, crying so hard her
02:54voice cracked. Ethan! It's been eight years! How are you still this cold, this cruel, this heartless
03:00to get out of this? That you'd actually fake an injury? That's Jason. That's your brother.
03:06My dad, Victor, stared at me in pure disappointment. His whole hand was shaking.
03:10How did we end up with a monster like you? Standing there while your own brother dies?
03:15And now you're making up lies? You're a goddamn disgrace.
03:20Vanessa's eyes were bright red. She dug through her purse with trembling hands.
03:24Then she yanked out a bank card and shoved it into my palm.
03:27Ethan, I'm begging you. There's five million on this card. That's enough for you to live on forever.
03:32Just go down there now. Bring Jason back. You want money? Fine, take it! You want something else?
03:37Just save it!
03:39A hot tear fell from her face. It landed on the back of my hand. And burned. Burned so badly
03:45it felt
03:45like it went straight through me. Eight years in prison. She never visited me once. Not one time.
03:51And now this was our reunion. She was humbling herself for the same man she once protected by
03:55forcing me to confess. And even now, she was still using money to grind what was left of my dignity
04:01into
04:01the dirt. I didn't want to keep arguing with them. Not anymore. So I swallowed the pain. My hand shook
04:07as I pulled a medical report from my pocket. A diagnosis. Severe eardrum perforation. I tried to
04:12show it to her. Vanessa didn't even look. She slapped my hand away. The paper flew out.
04:17Are you done yet? You're still waving around some stupid piece of paper? Isn't money what you want?
04:21Iron doesn't have time for this!
04:23Jason doesn't have time for this. Then David charged over. He grabbed my fish table and
04:27flipped the whole thing. Fish crashed to the ground. Ice scattered everywhere.
04:31Ethan! You murderer! Get the hell out! Don't bring your bad luck onto these docks! If you won't save
04:37them today, then don't ever think about coming back here! The crowd joined in at once. People
04:43passing by. Everybody. Some even spat at me. Get out, murderer! A piece of trash like you deserves to
04:50rot in hell. I looked down. The medical report Vanessa slapped away was lying on the floor.
04:56Soaked. Stepped on. And in that moment, the whole thing felt absurd. All I wanted was to live like a
05:02normal person. Quietly. Alone. In some forgotten corner. That was it.
05:08I was even that too much to ask. Did they really have to push me all the way to death?
05:12That feeling. Like the whole world was pointing at me. It crushed the last of my defenses. I didn't
05:18want to stay there one more second. I turned and ran. I don't even know how I made it back
05:22to my
05:22rental. I just remember the voices. People on the street yelling after me. Cursing me. I barely got
05:28inside. I hadn't even caught my breath yet. Then my phone started going insane. Alert after alert.
05:34Hashtag the murderer who let his brother drown. Hashtag rich family drama. The adopted son versus
05:38the real one. Desperate heiress. Begs her prisoner. Ex to help. I tapped one of the alerts. It opened
05:44straight into Vanessa's livestream. On camera, my mom, Susan, sat there trembling. She was trying to hold
05:50back tears. I'm so sorry, everyone. We know we're taking up public attention. But as a mother,
05:55I have nowhere else to turn. She covered her mouth and sobbed. It's our fault. We failed to raise him
06:01right. Back then, he killed for gold bars. He robbed people. He took a life. He served eight
06:06years for it. I thought prison would change him. But I was wrong. He's rotten to the core. Her tears
06:12streamed down harder. Now his brother's trapped underwater. His life is hanging by a thread.
06:17Ethan could save him. He could. But he just ran away. Victor held her up like she might collapse.
06:22Then he turned to the camera. I'm begging everyone to help us. If anyone can bring Ethan back,
06:27I'll pay seven figures. The comments exploded. They flooded so fast I could barely read them.
06:33Trash like that deserves exposure. I know where he lives. Westside apartments. This kind of garbage
06:39should die. Anyone in Harbor City? Go block him in. Come on, guys. Go teach that freak a lesson.
06:45I stared at the screen. My whole body went numb. Then it happened. A violent pounding hit my door,
06:51over and over, like they were trying to break it down. I barely had time to react. My landlord stormed
06:57in first. Behind him was a crowd of people. Phones up, flashlights on, cameras shoved in my face.
07:02Oh, look at you. You hit it pretty well. A damn killer living in my building?
07:07They rushed inside like looters. One man smashed my bowls. Another kicked over my pots. Plates shattered
07:13across the floor. Everything I had got torn apart in seconds. I tried to stop them. Two huge men
07:19grabbed me instantly. One slammed my head down. The other locked my arms. Hold still. Apologize to the
07:24camera. Say it now. Tell them you're trash. You don't deserve to breathe. Humiliation drowned me.
07:30It hit like a wave. Someone yanked my hair back. A phone was jammed right in my face. The live
07:36comments kept flying by. I couldn't move. Then the crowd suddenly split apart, making a path.
07:41My parents walked in. For one stupid second, I thought they were here to stop this. I was wrong.
07:46Victor's face was dark, cold. He handed someone a thick coil of rope. It was so heavy it sagged.
07:52He pointed at me through clenched teeth. Please, help me tie him up. If he won't go,
07:56then drag him there. I snapped my head up. I stared at him like I didn't know him.
08:01Dad! Do you even hear yourself? I told you! I can't dive! I'll die!
08:06Then I looked at my mother. Mom, do I even matter to you? I'm your son!
08:11For Jason, are you really gonna force me to death?
08:15Susan's eyes were red. For one second, she looked away, like something inside her shook.
08:20But it vanished almost instantly. What came back was ice.
08:23Shut up! Jason may not be blood, but he's a thousand times better than you know. Ten thousand!
08:28You spent eight years in prison! Who took care of us during those years? Jason did! Who stayed by
08:33our side? Jason did! And now he's in trouble. You're his brother. You should be saving him.
08:39You're just gonna let him die? Can your conscience live with that?
08:42My chest felt ripped open. I was already in pieces, but that still hurt so bad I could barely
08:47breathe. So that was it. Blood never mattered to them. Not once. To them, I was a stain. Something
08:53disposable. Something they could throw away whenever they needed. I'm not going! I didn't
08:58kill anyone! The case back then wasn't what you think! Why won't any of you believe me?
09:03I fought like hell. Twisting. Kicking. Trying to break free from the rope. But nobody cared what a
09:09convicted killer had to say. Not one person. Just when I was about to break. Vanessa walked in. One
09:15of her bodyguards handed her something. A stun baton. She took it without blinking. Then she stepped
09:19into my room. Her face was cold and hard. Ethan, don't make me do this. For Jason. There is nothing
09:27I
09:27won't do. She didn't hesitate. She jammed the stun baton straight into my back. A brutal crack of
09:33electricity tore through me. My whole body convulsed. Then everything went black. When I opened my eyes
09:39again, I was sprawled across the deck. Like something the tide had spit back out. All around me was open
09:45ocean. Nothing but water. Waves slammed against the boat. The sound made my heart seize up.
09:51Ethan, stop playing dead! Get in the water! Bring Jason back!
09:55When I still didn't move. I promise you. If you bring Jason back up. Clenched her teeth and said.
10:01I'll think about marrying you again. And you'll never have to do that filthy job again.
10:06Filthy? That word hit me like a knife. Half a year ago, right after I got out, I went back
10:12to the
10:12Cole Mansion once. I was stupid enough to think maybe, maybe there was still a little love left for me
10:17there. But that night, through the mansion's floor to ceiling windows, all I saw was a house blazing with
10:23light. My mom and dad were inside. Vanessa was too. They were all gathered around Jason. The son they
10:29always chose over me. They were eating a big holiday dinner. Roast turkey on the table, steak, lobster,
10:34wine. Everything rich and perfect. Glasses raised, laughter everywhere. They looked like the perfect
10:40family. And me? I was standing outside in the freezing wind. A convict who had done eight years
10:46for someone else. Half deaf. Broken. Shaking from the cold. That was the moment I finally woke up.
10:52My hell had never been prison. My hell was them. They built it with their own hands. In that house,
10:58I was never family. I was just an outsider. My thoughts snapped back to the boat. Then my eyes
11:04locked on something in Vanessa's hand. A photograph. She was gripping it tight. It was a candid shot from a
11:10beach volleyball game. Jason was shirtless, standing out among a group of dive team members. And the
11:16thing that hit me hardest was the scar on his right shoulder. The second I saw that scar, my whole
11:21body
11:21went cold. Like I'd been struck by lightning. My mind got dragged back ten years. Back then, I was captain
11:28of the dive team. Vanessa was on the team. Jason was too. That day, the sea turned bad fast. The
11:36current
11:36got vicious. I saw the danger right away. So I pointed up. Signaling everyone to head back. But
11:43before we could surface, everything went sideways. In the chaos, I used almost every ounce of strength
11:48I had to shove Vanessa and Jason towards safer water. And I got caught instead. The current took me.
11:54I should have died. By some miracle, I didn't. I washed up on a deserted island. Passed out there for
11:59three full days. Then I was rescued. When I finally got home, Jason ran straight at me. He grabbed me
12:05hard.
12:05Held on like he'd never let go. And he started crying.
12:09Ethan, you're back. This is all my fault. I was useless. If I'd stopped you from making us go down,
12:14if I'd just been stronger, then I wouldn't have only saved Vanessa and watched you get swept away.
12:19So that was it. I finally understood. No wonder my wife had been willing to force me to take the
12:24fall,
12:25to send me to prison, and to let me die for another man. For ten whole years, she had believed
12:29Jason
12:29was the one who saved her. In the three days I disappeared, he became her hero. The man who risked
12:35everything for her. And me? I became the reckless one. The glory-hungry idiot who almost got everybody
12:41killed. What a sick joke. My throat was dry and raw, but I still forced the words out,
12:46shouting with everything I had left.
12:48I told you! I can't go underwater! My ear can't handle the pressure! If I go down there,
12:53my brain could hemorrhage! Do you people want me dead?!
12:56Vanessa's eyes flickered. Just for a second. A flash of panic. Gone almost instantly. Then Victor
13:02charged at me in a rage. He rushed over and kicked me hard. I hit the deck and rolled.
13:07Keep lying! Go ahead! Keep pretending! Ethan, you're rotten to the core! At a time like this,
13:12you're still faking a disability just to get out of it? Off to the side, my mom collapsed to the
13:17deck,
13:18wiping her tears, sobbing like her heart was ripping apart.
13:21Oh God! Jason was an angel! He's always been so sweet! He did everything for us! If we lose him,
13:29I can't go on!
13:32Then the boat captain, Adam, walked over. He tapped his watch.
13:36Ms. Lane, this is where Jason went under. Based on the time, his tank has maybe 30 minutes left.
13:42That one sentence shattered whatever reason Vanessa still had. Her pretty face twisted from panic.
13:48She spun toward me and screamed. You heard him! Move! Now! Gear him up!
13:53I stared at her, and something in me finally went cold.
13:57Fine. I'll go. But I have one condition. I want the best deep water gear you've got.
14:02If they were really going to shove me into hell, then I was grabbing whatever slim chance I had.
14:07No matter how small. If the gear was strong enough, maybe I could survive the pressure.
14:12The second I gave in, Vanessa's shoulders dropped, like she could finally breathe again.
14:15She rushed over and grabbed my hand tight.
14:18Ethan, I knew it. I knew you still cared. I knew you wouldn't just let him die.
14:24Then the next second, guilt flashed across her face. She pointed to a pile of junk in the corner.
14:29But there's no other option. This is the only diving gear on the boat.
14:34You used to be the best diver in the business. A little problem like this, you can handle it, right?
14:39She said it so casually, like it was nothing. I followed her finger, and my blood went cold.
14:46It was an old dive suit. The rubber was cracked in places. The air valve was rusted.
14:52That kind of gear should have been scrapped years ago. There was no way it was safe.
14:56A chill shot straight up my spine. I yanked my hand away, then backed up in panic.
15:01Vanessa, are you out of your mind? You know diving! If I go down in that thing, that's the same
15:05as killing me!
15:06Adam looked at the suit, too. His face tightened.
15:10Mrs. Lane, this gear really is too old. The risk on a force-deep dive is way too high.
15:16If something goes wrong…
15:17Before he could finish, Vanessa's face went cold. She cut him off without hesitation.
15:22At a time like this, who the hell cares about that? Get over here! Put it on him!
15:27A few bodyguards rushed me at once. They slammed me onto the deck, pinned me down hard.
15:32In the struggle, someone stomped down. My hearing aid flew off. It cracked apart,
15:36then got crushed under a shoe. Shattered. The one thing that had stayed with me for years.
15:41Gone. In the end, they forced the suit onto my body anyway.
15:45And Vanessa strapped a heavy industrial weight belt around my waist. 60 pounds of lead,
15:49enough to make sure I sank. Then they shoved me toward the edge of the boat.
15:53In that last, desperate moment, I turned and looked back at this family.
15:56Victor stood there with his arms crossed. Coldly. Like none of it had anything to do with him.
16:01There wasn't one shred of pity in his eyes. Not for his own son. And my mother, Susan? She had
16:07her
16:07hands clasped tight, eyes shut, praying into empty air. Her lips trembled as she whispered,
16:13Please, please let him be safe. Please, God, let Jason come back, okay?
16:19At a moment like this, with my life hanging by a thread, she was praying for him. For Jason.
16:25Not her own flesh and blood. It was grotesque. It was pathetic. It was almost funny. Then suddenly,
16:31a huge force slammed into my chest. Someone shoved me. Hard. The second the deck vanished under my
16:36feet. Ethan! If you bring Jason back, we'll get married right away. I'll be right here waiting for
16:42you. Then the ocean swallowed me whole. The freezing water wrapped around my body instantly. The weight
16:47belt dragged me down. Fast. Way too fast. Straight into the deep. The pressure hit my ears like a
16:53sledgehammer. My right eardrum was already hanging by a thread. Now it tore. A dull ripping burst
16:59exploded inside my head, like a balloon popping in my skull. Pain. Blinding pain. So much pain,
17:05my whole body seized up. I opened my mouth to scream. A mouthful of seawater rushed in instead.
17:10My lungs felt like giant hands were crushing them. My vision turned red. Then darker. Then worse.
17:15My mind started slipping away. And just when I was drowning. Just when the dark was closing over me.
17:20Just when I gave up trying to live. A pair of soft hands reached for me. Fast. Strong. And grabbed
17:25me.
17:26Susan pressed a hand to her chest. Her face was pale. She leaned against the railing. Her eyes stayed
17:31locked on the water. Victor had his hands behind his back. He kept pacing. Back and forth.
17:37Jason will be fine. He's lucky. He has to be okay. Ethan was a diving champion. He'll bring Jason back
17:45up.
17:45She kept saying it over and over. Like if she said it enough, it would come true. Like it could
17:50calm
17:50the fear inside her. But her fingers were shaking, and that gave her away. Then suddenly, a sharp alarm
17:56shattered the dead silence. A Coast Guard boat was speeding toward them. Fast. A few officers jumped
18:01onto the deck. The man in front scanned everyone with hard, sharp eyes. I'm Owen with the Harbor City
18:06Coast Guard. Who's in charge here? Victor hurried over at once. He pulled out a business card and
18:12handed it over. We're with Cole group. My son went missing while diving. We came out here to look
18:19for him ourselves. Owen took the card. Rescue? Then he looked them over coldly. We pulled him out
18:26three hours ago. The whole deck went dead silent. Then Owen pulled up footage from his body cam.
18:34He opened a video and held it up. Three hours ago, during patrol, we recovered a man from the water.
18:39It was Jason Cole. We tried contacting his family. No answer. Never thought you came all the way out
18:47here. There's no signal. The doctor on board examined him. He'd been exposed to a marine toxin.
18:52A sea barrier. A kind of sea slug. That toxin can trigger severe hallucinations. In serious cases,
18:57it can be fatal. He might have touched one while diving. He's already been taken to the hospital.
19:02He's been stabilized for now. The second they heard Jason was alive, my parents and Vanessa lit up with joy.
19:06Like they had all just been handed their lives back. And not one of them cared about the word
19:11hallucinations. Not one. Victor nearly started crying on the spot. He was so excited he could
19:16barely stand still. I knew it. I knew Jason was blessed. He's always had luck on his side.
19:23Vanessa, did you hear that? Jason's okay. We have money. As long as he's still breathing,
19:29we can save him. We'll spend whatever it takes. Vanessa finally let out a long breath. A smile of
19:35pure relief broke across her face. Like she had just survived a nightmare. Then the smile froze.
19:40Right there on her face. Because suddenly she remembered. Half an hour ago she had shoved her
19:44ex-husband into the ocean. With her own hands. Forced him down there. To save Jason. He was lying
19:48in a hospital now. Alive. So where was Ethan? I had already been underwater for over 30 minutes.
19:54And there was still no sign of me. Not even a trace. A terrible thought started rising in her mind.
19:58But before she could think it through, Owen took a file from one of his officers. His expression
20:02turned strange. Cold. Sharp. Almost mocking. Then he looked straight at them and spoke again.
20:10Well, if you're his family, that actually makes this easier. He opened the document. Then announced
20:16it on the spot. As of this moment, Jason Cole is in custody. He is suspected of stealing
20:21protected underwater artifacts. And suspected of murder. That landed like a thunderclap. The next,
20:29they were dragged straight into the dirt. The smile on my dad's face froze. Then his whole face turned
20:35dark. Pointed right at Owen. What the hell are you talking about? Stealing artifacts? Murder? Our
20:41company practically built this town. My son Jason is one of the most well-known philanthropists.
20:46He's still lying in a hospital bed. And you people dare dump this kind of filth on him?
20:51My mom rushed up too. She tried to shove Owen. That's right. Do you even know how many schools
20:57Jason has donated to? He won't even hurt a fly. How could he possibly steal anything? How could he kill
21:05anyone? Vanessa stepped up too, putting on that cold, untouchable CEO act. Officer, watch what you say.
21:11You can't just throw accusations around. I'm the chair of Lane Group. Jason is my husband. If you
21:18try to set him up with fake charges, one phone call and your career is over. They were shouting,
21:24threatening. But Owen only got colder. He didn't argue. He just tapped open another video. Jason
21:30scrambled backward from empty air, like something horrifying was standing right in front of him.
21:35His whole body was shaking violently. His face was twisted with pure terror. He had been down
21:41dozens of feet underwater when the toxin hit. The hallucinations were strong. Don't come over here.
21:47Don't come near me. Zach, I know I messed up. Don't kill me. My parents went white. Their lips
21:53trembled. Their eyes stayed glued to the screen. I got greedy. I never should have cut your arrows. I'm so
22:00sorry. I'll do whatever it takes to make it right. No, no, don't take me with you. He started
22:05smashing his forehead against the deck, over and over. Then all at once, the fear vanished. His face
22:14changed, turned vicious. A grin spread across it, twisted, like a demon laughing. He gestured into
22:20the empty air and cackled. Ethan, you idiot. You never saw this coming, did you? That idiot, Vanessa.
22:27She actually thought I was the one who saved her. All I did was show her a little scar,
22:30and she fell for me completely. She played those two old fans like a fettle. She got me into that
22:35house.
22:36My dad forced his neck straight, still trying to fight it. I just played the victim, and they treated
22:41me like a king while they threw you away. I sent your pathetic ass to rot. God, that felt damn
22:47good.
22:48You can rot in prison forever. Everything from the coals and everything from the lanes will be mine.
22:54Dead silence. Only Jason's crazed laughter kept echoing from the video. Across the deck,
22:59Vanessa stumbled back two steps, and she almost fell right there on the deck. That was their precious
23:03son, her precious husband, the man they defended like he was gold. And now he was on video, grinning like
23:10a devil, mocking them for being fools. No, that's impossible. You said he was poisoned.
23:19He was hallucinating. He was talking nonsense. Exactly. That's all this is. He was hallucinating.
23:28He didn't know what he was saying. Yes. It was the toxin. That sea salt toxin made him ramble.
23:37Owen's voice turned firm. I figured that's what you'd say, which is exactly why we move fast.
23:43This involves a major attempted murder case. So we already formed an investigation team
23:50and verified everything he said. Then Owen pulled out another stack of documents.
23:56We found that the statements Ethan gave after his arrest eight years ago did not match the physical
24:02evidence from the scene. And there's more. Ethan's defense attorney turned on him at trial.
24:09The day before the trial, a large payment hit his account. We traced the source. It came from one of
24:16your offshore accounts, Vanessa. Vanessa's face went white. And Jason's private account received multiple
24:22large wire transfers after the incident that year. The source was hidden, but we now have strong reason
24:27to believe that money came from selling stolen artifacts. We believe the case was not what it
24:31seemed. Please cooperate with the investigation. You're coming with us. The Coast Guard officers were
24:36just about to move in. Then Adam finally broke. He swallowed hard, then stammered out.
24:42The Coast Guard officer. Wait, this still isn't over. Ethan, Ethan Cole. He's still down there. He never came back
24:53up.
24:56What did you just say? Owen whipped around. His eyes widened instantly.
25:02There's still someone underwater? Adam's legs nearly gave out. He started spilling everything.
25:07About half an hour ago, Ms. Lane pushed Ethan into the water. He said his ear was injured. He said
25:14he
25:14couldn't handle the pressure. But Ms. Lane insisted. She forced him to go down. And now,
25:21he still hasn't surfaced. Three days later, Harbor City Hospital. Jason finally woke up. His body was
25:28still weak. He twitched his fingers, then realized the bed was surrounded. Mom, Dad, Vanessa, and several
25:36police officers in uniform. A flash of joy hit him. With all these people here, they had to be worried
25:40sick about him. He quickly changed his expression, forced tears into his eyes, then weakly reached for
25:45Susan's hand. Dad. Mom. Vanessa, I was so scared. I had the worst nightmare. I dreamed I was trapped
25:56underwater. I thought I'd never see you again. Before, that would have worked. Susan would have rushed over
26:03already. She would have held him, cried over him. But today, the room was terrifyingly quiet. No one
26:08spoke. Only the monitor kept beeping. Steady. Cold. Jason's hand hung there in midair. Awkward.
26:14Stiff. That was when he realized something was wrong. Victor wasn't fussing over him. The man who
26:19had always spoiled him was standing at the foot of the bed. His face was black with rage. And the
26:24way he
26:25looked at Jason now, there was no warmth left. No love. Dad? What's wrong? Dad? What's wrong? He
26:33pulled out a tablet, tapped the screen, then threw it onto Jason's chest. Jason grabbed it, looked down,
26:39and instantly went pale. On the screen was him, laughing like a maniac, spilling everything,
26:44confessing, mocking the people who raised him, calling them idiots, every ugly word, every filthy truth.
26:49All of it was there. His face went ghost white. Cold sweat poured down his forehead. Jason panicked.
26:55This isn't real. He struggled to sit up. Dad! Mom! Vanessa! Listen to me. That was the sea
27:01hair toxin. It made me hallucinate. It made me say crazy things. How could I ever hurt Ethan? That
27:07wasn't me. It was the poison talking. Vanessa, believe me. Reached for her. I love you. Everything
27:13I did, I did it so we could be together. Vanessa's expression turned complicated. Owen cut in from
27:19the side. Jason Cole, drop the act. We've already confirmed the evidence. You framed Ethan for the
27:26theft, and you murdered Zach. The jig is up, I guess. But don't act so high and mighty, Dad.
27:35You're the one who threw your son to the wolves. I just watched. Then he turned to Vanessa. His eyes
27:41dragged over her in that disgusting, sticky way. And you. Stop acting innocent. For the last eight
27:49years. Wasn't I good enough for you in bed? What? Suddenly found your conscience? A little late,
28:00don't you think? He laughed again. Ugly. Slow. Mocking. Ethan's not coming back anyway. So, why not let it go?
28:10I can still take care of you two. We can all stay one happy family. Still living the dream. Isn't
28:19that
28:19what you want? The second those words came out, the whole room turned freezing cold. The shamelessness
28:30of it. The evil of it. It was beyond human. My parents were shaking so hard they could barely stand.
28:36They stared at the boy they had raised for eight years. This was the son they had treated? Like
28:41their own flesh and blood? What? Susan finally broke. What? She remembered my face. The look
28:46in my eyes when they shoved me into the sea. That dead, hollow, hopeless look. She remembered pointing
28:52at me, cursing me, calling me heartless in filth. The pain hit her so hard she almost stopped breathing.
28:57She collapsed to the floor, both hands clawing at her hair. Then she let out a raw, broken scream.
29:03What did I do? I'm a monster. I don't deserve to breathe.
29:11The second my mom said that, Victor seemed to wake up, like he had just been struck across
29:16the face. He lowered his head, stared at his own trembling hands. Those hands. I had slapped
29:22my eardrum open eight years ago. Had handed over the rope to tie up his own son. He let out
29:30a howl
29:31like a wounded beast. Then he raised his hand and started slapping himself across the face.
29:37Hard. Again. And again. Smack. The sound of those hits echoed through the hospital room. His face
29:43swelled almost instantly. His cheeks turned red and purple. Blood ran from the corner of his mouth,
29:47but he acted like he couldn't feel any of it. He just kept hitting himself. Over and over. Like a
29:52madman. This is karma. This is all karma. I thought I could see through anyone. But I killed my own
30:01blood. And Vanessa. By now, the mental wall she had spent three days holding up finally collapsed.
30:07Completely. She didn't want to think about that dive. The underwater current. The day I disappeared.
30:13Those three days after I went missing, Jason had stayed by her side. Again and again he described
30:18what happened underwater. Every detail. Every danger. Every second. He painted the whole thing
30:22for her. She still remembered it. Jason standing in front of her. Taking off his shirt. Pointing at
30:27the scar on his shoulder. Telling her he got it saving her. And she believed him. She actually
30:32believed him. Later, after the underwater murder case, she had bribed my lawyer. Paid him off to switch
30:36sides at the last second. Helped send me to prison for eight years. Then she married the man who had
30:40really killed someone. And three days ago, she used money to humiliate me. And then she pushed me into
30:46the abyss. The same man who nearly died saving her. No! It wasn't supposed to be like this!
30:55Vanessa dropped to her knees. Her hands shook as she pulled something from her pocket. The broken
31:00pieces of my hearing aid. She had picked them up from the deck of the boat. The cracked plastic shell
31:04still carried the salt and stink of the sea. Her vision blurred with tears. Still, she tried to fit the
31:09pieces back together, one by one, even though it was already smashed beyond repair.
31:16Ethan! I'm sorry. I'm so sorry. She kept trying to piece it together, crying harder and harder. The sharp
31:26plastic cut into her fingers. Her nails split. Blood smeared across the broken hearing aid pieces.
31:43The ice queen who looked down on us all, the cold, untouchable CEO, was now on the floor like a
31:49stray dog,
31:50crying, begging. In a hospital overseas, I opened my eyes slowly and met Claire's gentle eyes.
31:58Ethan. Ethan. You finally made it back. She sat by my bed, with a bowl of chicken soup,
32:08feeding me one spoonful at a time. The warmth slid down my throat and settled in my chest. I hadn't
32:16felt that in eight years. The feeling of being cared for, like I actually mattered, like someone was
32:21protecting me. Claire was Zach's younger sister. Zach had been on my dive team. The three of us grew
32:26up together. Best friends, like family. Back then, me, Zach, and Jason went diving together. That was
32:32when we found the gold, hidden in a sunken wreck. Jason got greedy. He cut Zach's air hose, then
32:38pinned it on me. Vanessa didn't believe me. My parents didn't either, not for one second. They even
32:44destroyed my eardrum, forced me to take the fall. Only Claire believed I was innocent, but she had no
32:48proof. She couldn't clear my name, and she couldn't avenge her brother. For eight years, she came to see me
32:53every month in prison. Never missed. After I got out, I stood outside the coal mansion, and saw them
32:58all inside, laughing, eating, living like a perfect family. That was the night I made my choice. I was
33:04going to get revenge. So I went to Claire, and asked for her help. Jason killed for gold, and sold
33:09me
33:09out for greed, all for the money. Fine. Then I decided to give him exactly what he wanted. Two months
33:15earlier, I started feeding Jason exactly the kind of story a greedy man couldn't ignore. Rumors,
33:19planted articles, fake salvage chatter, over and over. All of it pointing to one patch of ocean.
33:25A newly discovered wreck. And the chance it was loaded with gold? At first, he didn't buy it.
33:29Why would he? He had the coals and the lanes backing him. Money was everywhere around him. Every time he
33:33saw the alerts, he just swiped them away. But greed is greed. And it always comes back. After seeing it
33:39enough times, he started wondering if it was real. Then he started searching. That was the step I was
33:43waiting for. I had already planted spyware on his phone. The second he started digging, it triggered
33:47everything. All the planted information. All the fake confirmations. Everything we had prepared
33:52started feeding right into him. So he believed it. He took the bait. But private salvage without
33:56approval is illegal. Especially if it involves protected wrecks. Artifacts. Historic sites. He
34:02couldn't let too many people know. So he used diving as cover. Went down there several times to check it
34:06out. And that part was real. There really was a wreck in that area. The moment I found out he
34:11had
34:11secretly contacted a salvage boat, I knew my chance had come. After that, the rest fell into place.
34:16Before one of his dives, his breathing gear was contaminated. Just a trace amount. Sea hair
34:21toxin. Once he was underwater, it hit. And everything unfolded exactly how we wanted.
34:25But there was one thing I didn't expect. My parents. And my ex-wife. Instead of calling the official
34:30rescue team, they came looking for me. Me. Back at the trial, they publicly disowned me. And after I got
34:36out, they never looked for me once. So I had to change plans. I decided to fake my death. Disappear
34:41completely. Thank God Claire got there in time. She came in a mini-sub. Pulled me up before I
34:46died. Now, in the hospital room, the TV on the wall was playing live coverage from back home.
34:51A major sentencing update. Broadcast everywhere. Jason had been convicted on multiple charges.
34:56Intentional homicide. Theft of protected artifacts. Framing an innocent man. And more. He was sentenced
35:02to death with immediate execution. I watched the screen. Then shook my head. Claire caught it right
35:08away. She knew exactly what I meant. So she explained. My guess? Jason got pushed up by an underwater current.
35:16Then patrol officers just happened to spot him. But that part doesn't matter. The ending still landed
35:24where we needed it. I nodded. Then looked back at the TV. Victor and Susan were sentenced to. One year
35:30each.
35:30For shielding the real killer. And obstructing justice. Taken into custody right there in court.
35:36Vanessa got three years. For bribery. Perjury. And covering up a crime. At the same time,
35:41Lane Group and Cole Group were collapsing. The scandal sent both stocks into freefall.
35:45Then both families went bankrupt. The Coles. The Lanes. The families who once thought they ruled
35:50everything. Their names were ruined for good. On the screen, those people from my past stood in prison
35:55uniforms. Crying. Begging. Confessing to the cameras. But no one pitied them. And strangely,
36:00I felt nothing. No hate. No thrill. No satisfaction. Just relief. A clean, empty kind of relief. Like all
36:07the pain had finally been peeled off me. Like every last chain had fallen away. And for the first time
36:12in years, I let out one long breath. Four years later, thanks to Claire and the best specialist's
36:18money could buy, my hearing had long since returned. Now, we were on Australia's Gold Coast.
36:23Launching a cutting-edge deep-sea ecology project. That day, we were on the beach testing a new sonar
36:29system. Then a woman came stumbling toward us. Her hair was almost all white. She looked gaunt,
36:34hollowed out. If I hadn't looked carefully, I never would have recognized her. It was Vanessa.
36:39The same Vanessa who once thought she ruled the world. A foul smell rolled off her. She dug into a
36:45torn pocket. Then pulled out a ring. The wedding ring. The same one she once forced onto my finger.
36:50The same one I threw back at the fish stall. Ethan. Ethan, I finally found you.
36:58Look. I kept this ring with me the whole time. Please. Please give me one chance to make it right.
37:06One chance to make up for everything. For years now, I've thought about you every day. I know I messed
37:11up.
37:11Jason lied to me. He destroyed me. My family is gone. My money is gone. Someone even beat me until
37:18I lost hearing in one ear. That's my punishment. That's my karma.
37:29Ethan.
37:29Ethan. You loved me, didn't you? Back then, you almost died trying to save me.
37:38She kept pouring it out. How she got tricked out of everything. How debt collectors hunted her. How
37:43helpless she had been. Then one day, she saw me on TV. She sold one of her kidneys just to
37:48pay someone
37:48to get her into Australia. But I only took two small steps back. Avoided the hand reaching toward
37:52that ring. Then I spoke. Please stay away from me. We're divorced. The second you forced me to take
38:00the fall for a murderer, the woman I once called my wife died. So stop acting like this is love.
38:10It just makes me sick. Right then, Claire walked over holding two cold drinks. She handed one to me
38:16like it was the most natural thing in the world. Then she slipped an arm around my neck and kissed
38:21my
38:21cheek. Babe, why is this woman anywhere near you? I don't know. Where's security? Vanessa stared at
38:29us. At how good we looked together. At how happy we were. And something inside her snapped. Jealousy.
38:34Regret. Both of them tore through her like poison. Then she coughed. Hard. Once. Then again. A mouthful
38:42of blood burst from her lips. She dropped straight onto the sand. Back in Harbor City, two elderly people
38:48shuffled down the street. Each of them carried a ripped plastic sack. They limped badly, step by
38:53step. Then they stopped in front of a giant LED screen in the city square. Their bodies shook.
38:57Their eyes lifted. On the screen, a global live broadcast was playing. I was there. Wearing a
39:03custom suit. Standing tall. Calm. Confident. Receiving a major UN environmental award. The camera
39:09panned wider. Claire stood beside me. One hand looped through my arm. Her baby bump was showing.
39:14And she was smiling, like sunlight. Susan burst into tears. The tears ran down her filthy face.
39:19She slowly raised one grimy hand, reached toward the screen, like she could touch me from where
39:23she stood. Ethan. That's my boy. A security guard from the mall rushed out at once. What the hell are
39:32you doing, you filthy beggars? Get away from there! He shoved her hard. She fell straight to the ground.
39:39Victor was crying, too. But he didn't dare fight back. He just kept slapping himself across the face,
39:44again and again, muttering through tears.
39:46This is karma.
39:50We were blind.
39:52Then the two of them held each other up and disappeared into the alleys of the city. As for
39:56Vanessa, she was detained and deported. After that, she completely lost her mind. The shock broke her for
40:01good. She had no money left for proper treatment, so she got dumped into the cheapest mental institution
40:06they could find. Out on the shimmering blue water, I lay stretched out on the deck of a yacht.
40:11Warm sea breeze across my face. Claire walked over with a plate of cut fruit, then curled up in my
40:17arms. Honey, what are you thinking about? I looked out at the deep blue sea. The same sea that had
40:25almost
40:25buried me. The same sea that gave me a second life. Then I smiled and shook my head.
40:32I was just wondering, do you think our baby's a boy or a girl? Then I started the yacht and
40:39left every
40:40betrayal, every wound, every bit of that old life behind us in the rolling wake.
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