Chapter 1

Dad's temper flared when I pulled away from his hand.

"Mike, have you completely lost your mind in prison?" he bellowed. "You don't even recognize your own parents anymore?

"It's been five years, and you're still just as stubborn as ever. You'll never be half as likeable as Hugo!"

His voice was loud enough to draw the attention of several correctional officers nearby, making the situation even more awkward.

"Keep your voice down," Mom said, patting his arm and signaling him to calm down. "Don't make things difficult for Hugo."

Then, she turned to me and forced a smile.

"Mikey, that's just how your father is," she added, her voice suddenly cautious and placating. "Don't take it personally. You haven't contacted us all these years because you really think we wanted to send you to prison, don't you?

"You silly boy. You're our son too. If you hadn't rejected our calls and insisted on serving the sentence yourself, we would have found a lawyer and gotten you out."

Her eyes reddened, and she looked every bit like a helpless, heartbroken mother.

But she'd apparently forgotten one thing. I hadn't done anything wrong in the first place, and they had forced the charges onto me only because they wanted to protect Hugo Strasser.

"Don't worry about me," I said calmly, taking a step back. "The day you asked me to take the blame for Hugo, we stopped being a family."

Dad's face immediately darkened. "Look at him! Just look at that attitude! How did we end up with such an ungrateful son?"

He raised his hand as if he were about to strike me, but the sudden ringing of his phone stopped him. He hurriedly answered it.

Hugo's lazy drawl came through the speaker, "Dad, I'm done with my paperwork. Drive around to the west gate and pick me up. The main entrance is too far, and I don't feel like walking.

"Okay! We're coming right now."

Mom quickly picked up the conversation, trying to smooth things over. "You heard that, Mikey? Even after all these years, Hugo's still as lazy as ever…

"Why don't you come home with us? It's his first day on the job, and he's in a great mood. We're family. We shouldn't hold grudges forever, right? Come home with us."

"Enough!"

I didn't want to listen to them put on another performance about being a happy family, so I turned to leave.

But Mom grabbed my arm. Her force sent me, who barely weighed 100 pounds after five years in prison, tumbling to the ground.

She stared at me for a long moment, her lips moving as if she wanted to say something, but no words came out.

Even Dad froze when he saw the state I was in.

"Are you picky about food in prison too? How did you lose this much weight?"

I couldn't believe how ridiculous his question was.

Because of Hugo's bipolar disorder, they believed he was so fragile that he had to be protected from anything that might hurt him. But because I was healthy, they thought I could take anything.

So, whenever Hugo did something wrong, I was the one who took the blame and punishment.

When Hugo put a bug in the principal's water bottle, my parents were afraid that punishing him would trigger an episode, so I was the one publicly disciplined by the school.

When Hugo bullied someone at school and nearly got that person killed, I took the blame and was labeled the mastermind. After that, I ended up not having any friends at school.

It wasn't until the last time, when Hugo did something far worse…

That was the first time I refused to take the blame for him.

Dad had slapped me hard across the face. The blow ruptured my eardrum, and to this day, I couldn't hear anything in that ear.

Five years had passed, and Hugo had successfully graduated from the police academy. He had a bright future ahead of him, which was good for him.

"Come home with you? Then what?" I shot back, my voice cold. "Are you actually going to acknowledge me as your son again?

"If people find out that Hugo has a convicted felon for a brother, his future could be ruined."

Both of my parents' faces immediately went pale.

Hugo called again, his increasingly impatient voice urging them to hurry.

Mom and Dad looked conflicted, but in the end, they still turned around and got into the car.