He was powerless, unable to protect his family, and had to have Jane Sampson turn around to protect him.
James Carter felt like a worthless failure.
This sense of defeat even made James Carter feel suffocated.
This was why he hadnāt dared to seek out Mandy Forest since returning home.
He had lost the strength to protect others; the thing he feared the most had already happened.
He feared he was a cripple who couldnāt protect the people he wanted to protect, so he didnāt dare to find Mandy Forest, feeling inferior and unworthy of her.
And now, what he feared most ultimately was proven true, impacting Jane Sampson.
The cane he swung with all his strength did not provide Jane Sampson with enough time and opportunity to escape.
His incompetence easily allowed the kidnappers to use him to successfully threaten Jane Sampson, stalling her escape efforts.
"Iād rather be beaten to death by the kidnappers." James Carterās eyes were red with anger.
He would rather be beaten to death by the kidnappers than for his life to be saved at the cost of Jane Sampsonās safety.
The people from the Carter Family arrived relatively quickly, with Father and Mother Carter arriving twenty minutes after James Carter regained consciousness.
Simultaneously, they brought another piece of news.
"The hotel there cooperated with the police to go to employee No.576ās house to look for the employee, originally hoping that the kidnapper may have obtained No.576ās uniform and ID badge, or perhaps the two knew each other. But upon arriving at the house, they found out it had been burglarized, and the owner only found out after the police notified them by phone just now. The hotel staff had returned to their hometown for a funeral, and hadnāt been back for two days."
Father Carter spoke with a worried expression while looking at James Carter.
His concern wasnāt for the son on the sickbed with a poor complexion, but for the missing Jane Sampson, the daughter they had struggled to find.
"The police are still investigating this employee, looking into the possibility of them being an accomplice." Father Carter finished speaking and sighed deeply.
Mother Carter had red eyes throughout, holding back tears, "Why would anyone kidnap Jane Sampson?"
"Dad, Mom, Iām sorry, I didnāt protect Jane." James Carterās hands clenched tightly into fists, "When she was kidnapped, she was begging the kidnapper not to harm me, Iām her brother, yet I..."
At this moment, an unspeakable and terrifying thought suddenly arose in James Carterās mind.
If his leg wasnāt crippled, if back in the past Jillian Carter hadnāt pushed him, if he were still a normal person, then perhaps he could have stalled the kidnappers, giving Jane Sampson some extra time to escape.
Instead of being so weak as to lose the ability to fight back when the kidnapper kicked his crippled leg, knocking him to the ground.
"Mr. Carter, donāt think that way." Rock Bell feared that a proud man like James Carter might spiral into despair, so he spoke to comfort James Carter for Jane Sampson, "Kidnappers have guns; even Grid couldnāt fend them off, let alone ordinary people like us."
After speaking, Rock Bell had no desire to stay in the ward. She greeted Father and Mother Carter, then left the ward.
From the Black Family, it was Harper and Brooke Black who came. Just like Jane Sampson and James Black, they were loved by Old Master Black like his own eyes; both of them dared not tell him about Jane Sampsonās kidnapping.
Despite Old Master Blackās robust appearance, age had caught up with him, and no one dared to rashly provoke Old Master Black, so they decided to keep it from him as long as possible.