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Clap! Clap! Clap!
In the hallway of a New York's Hospital, the sound of polished leather shoes echoed through the corridor.
A young man, whose face bore a striking resemblance to Howard Stark, though with a touch of youthful innocence, was running frantically down the hall.
The surrounding medical staff, as if they had already expected his arrival, watched the panicked young man with concern, yet none of them stepped forward to calm him down or tell him to slow down.
The young man's identity was now clear.
Anthony Edward Stark—better known as Tony Stark.
"How could this happen?! How could this be happening?!"
Just one day ago, Tony had been on a beach in Hawaii, enjoying the warm weather.
Having never had a close relationship with his father, he had planned to return only on Christmas to wish his mother a happy holiday.
But while dancing on the beach in Hawaii, news from New York reached him. His parents had been in a car accident. His father, Howard, was critically injured, and his mother, Maria... was dead on the spot.
Tony naturally refused to believe the news. He immediately left Hawaii and rushed to New York, heading straight for the Hospital to reach Howard Stark's room.
He believed that by the time he arrived, he would be greeted by the old man's sarcastic smile and his mother's gentle face.
Swish!
Tony threw open the door to the hospital room, calling out loudly.
"Old man, don't joke around too much... you..."
Tony had already prepared himself for an angry confrontation with Howard, for making him fall for this trick and having to return from Hawaii.
But inside the room, all he saw was the elderly man, wrapped in bandages, looking at him with exhausted eyes.
His voice grew quieter, and he found himself unable to speak.
The thing he had been unwilling to accept seemed to have turned into reality.
Tony staggered toward Howard's bedside, each step more unsteady than the last.
"So... is the news true?"
"Tony... I..."
Tony couldn't accept the reality of Maria's death, and how could Howard face his son at this moment?
He knew himself. He had poured all his heart and soul into Tony, yet had driven a wedge between them. He understood how important Maria was to his son.
While he had hurt Tony time and again, it was Maria who had soothed Tony's young heart and helped him grow up healthy.
Now, as a husband and father, he couldn't protect his wife, couldn't protect the mother of his child.
How could he not feel guilty?
"Why wasn't it you who died?!"
Tony lifted his head again, his cheeks streaked with tears.
He raised both fists and slammed them into Howard's wounded body.
But at the last moment, his fists veered off course and struck the iron frame of the bed instead, causing blood to pour out immediately.
"Tony... I'm sorry..."
Howard wept uncontrollably, repeatedly apologizing to Tony. But Tony, in the midst of the sorrowful atmosphere, slowly stood up.
"Who... tried to assassinate you?"
Tony regained his composure, but that composure was now driven by rage.
He had been told that his parents had been in a car accident, but he knew who his father was. Although he despised him, he was well aware that Howard would never let Maria be in a car accident like this.
"....."