Cold rain mixed with the smell of iron rust hit Leon's face. He collapsed on the concrete floor of the abandoned warehouse, and his broken ribs sent a piercing pain—every breath felt like swallowing shards of glass.
The faint sound of police sirens could be heard outside the warehouse, but Leon knew it was all too late.
In the blurry light before his eyes stood a man he had once regarded as his brother—Mike. At that moment, Mike was clutching the IPO plan that should have belonged to Leon, a cruel, triumphant smile curling at the corner of his mouth. "Leon, don't blame me. If you have to blame someone, blame yourself for being too naive, always talking about 'trust'."
Leon wanted to roar and question, but only blood-streaked gasps could escape his throat. He thought of his parents, who had been rushed to the hospital from anxiety and exhaustion just to help him fill the company's financial gaps; he thought of his girlfriend of many years, who had turned and left with a check from Mike when he was at his lowest; he thought of "Stellar Tech"—the company he had built from a small studio into a rising star in the industry, only to watch it end up as someone else's trophy.
If only... if only he could go back.
He would never have believed Mike's sweet words again, never have ignored the worry in his parents' eyes, and never have sacrificed the girl who truly cared about him for the sake of his so-called "career".
His consciousness faded away gradually. The rain washed the blood from his face, and with it, the last trace of warmth in his body. In his final moments, Leon seemed to see his 17-year-old self—standing in the sunlight with a schoolbag on his back, his eyes filled with hope for the future.
"I... regret it so much..."
His last breath dissipated into the rain. All that remained in the warehouse were the sound of Mike's receding footsteps and Leon's unfulfilled desire to turn his life around.