Chapter 2 The Only Son

It was my dad! He had found me and was coming to save me.

The connection went through, but the voice on the other end wasn't my father's. The kidnapper clearly noticed too and flew into a rage, threatening to slice off one of my ears as punishment for the imposter.

"Wait—don't do it!" The imposter intervened. "I'm Shaun's superior. This is the only way we can track you down! You've kidnapped the wrong child. Everyone in the unit knows Shaun has only one son, Ezel Lewis, and the whole family is on vacation abroad. Whatever you want, state your terms—don't drag an innocent child into this!"

The kidnapper yanked me forward and forced me to kneel in front of the screen. My knees slammed against the floor as he dragged me, pain shooting through every nerve in my body—but it was nothing compared to the ache in my heart.

He sneered. "Take a good look at this face. This is Shaun Lewis' real son! Call him right now, or I'll kill him!"

With no choice left, the superior dialed my father's number. But the first voice on the line belonged to Ezel. "Dad, buying me two game consoles is really expensive. Maybe we should save the money for—Dad, you should answer this call first."

Then, my father's voice came through. "Sir, what's the matter?"

The superior immediately asked how many sons he had. My father didn't hesitate. "We only have one son—Ezel. Why… is something wrong?"

The superior explained my situation. My father's voice held a note of regret. "These criminals are truly foolish—kidnapping the wrong person without even realizing it. I do feel sympathy and guilt for the innocent child caught in this mess, but we're overseas right now.

"Even if we returned, it would be too late. Still, that child's parents… It's unbelievable they haven't shown up yet. So irresponsible!"

The superior pressed again. "Just in case, could you come back? Maybe the kidnapper would release this boy."

There was a pause. Then, on the other end, Ezel spoke in a choked voice. "It's okay, Dad. My birthday doesn't matter. That boy is so pitiful. Every time I celebrate my birthday, something bad happens to someone else. I'll never celebrate again."

"No, son. I'm not going…" My father soothed Ezel, then flatly refused the superior. "I'm sorry, sir. After all these years of blood and sweat, my wife and I just wanted to give our only son a proper birthday…"

Their only son, huh?

But I was their only biological child. Because I'd been abducted as a baby and grown up in the countryside—awkward, slow, nothing like them—my parents had never acknowledged me in public. They'd never even registered me as their child.

My chest heaved violently, a searing pain ripping through me. My organs clenched and spasmed until I doubled over, retching.

The superior's voice still echoed through the call, trying to reason with the kidnapper, but the man didn't care. He pulled off my shoes and picked up a pair of pliers. "Remember this. Everything you're suffering now—it's your parents' fault!" Then, he crushed one of my little toes.

The stabbing pain made me thrash wildly. In my struggle, I kicked over the phone streaming the broadcast. As it hit the floor, I caught sight of a bold, highlighted comment flashing across the screen.

'I'm Ezel Lewis' classmate, and I swear I just saw him celebrating his birthday here in the country. What's going on?!'

Ezel hadn't left the country? Then, where were my parents? Where was the rest of the family? If they were here, how could they not see the livestream? How could they not save me?

I ignored the kidnapper at my side and clawed across the floor, frantically searching for my phone. With my severed finger, I tapped open the Havai photos Ezel had sent me.