Chapter 1

"Host failure detected. The elimination program will begin in 24 hours."

I calmly accepted the result.

My wife, Judith Sanford, stormed in, slamming a divorce agreement down on the table. "If you don't agree to donate a kidney to Zac, I'll divorce you and leave you with nothing. You won't get a dime."

A month ago, my younger brother, Zachary Durham, was diagnosed with acute kidney failure. As his twin brother, I was the most suitable donor.

So the whole family pressured me to donate. What they didn't know was that I only had one kidney left.

When I refused, they called me heartless, accusing me of neglecting family bonds. Mom and Dad threatened to kick me out, and Judith said she'd divorce me.

Now, I was about to die. Maybe I should just give them what they wanted before I was gone.

I said flatly, "I'll donate."

Judith froze, then a huge smile spread across her face. She immediately rushed me to the hospital to deliver the news to Mom and Dad.

My mother, Paula Ingram, was nearly in tears as she hugged Zachary. "Zac, you're saved…"

My father, Luca Durham, was afraid I might change my mind. He quickly had a nurse bring in the donation form for me to sign.

Mom carefully put the form away and looked at me. "At least you came to your senses. Otherwise, we'd definitely sever ties with you. Don't worry. We won't just take your kidney for nothing. We'll make sure you get your share of our family's wealth."

A bitter smile tugged at my lips. "Give everything to Zachary. I don't need it."

Mom smiled approvingly at my words. "Right. You're married to the CEO of Sanford Group now. You probably don't care about money. The family fortune should go to Zac. After all, this is something you owe him."

A sense of irony welled up inside me. In their eyes, I owed Zachary everything.

Zachary and I were twins. He had health problems, and they blamed me for taking all the nutrients in the womb, so I owed him for that.

Back then, when he fled the country to escape the marriage, I stepped in and married Judith. Somehow, that turned into me stealing his happiness. I owed him for that, too.

If this had been before, I'd have argued with them. But now, I was exhausted.

Watching them all together, I felt like I was the only outsider.

My eyes stung, and I turned to leave.

Judith grabbed my wrist. "Zac's been busy with treatment and hasn't had time to work on his designs. Lend him your 'Radiant Galaxy' bracelet design."

I looked at her with a smirk of pure irony. "Are you sure he's just borrowing it?"

Ever since Zachary returned from abroad, he had built his reputation as a semi-famous designer by doing nothing but plagiarizing my work.

Now, it seemed he had given up on the effort of copying altogether. He was straight-up asking to "borrow" my original drafts.

Mom glared at me. "You should feel honored that Zac is using your designs. If he weren't sick, his talent would produce designs ten times better than yours!"

Fine. I'd let him borrow it. Once I was gone, his true ability would eventually be exposed.

I nodded. "Okay, I'll go get it."

"You don't need to. I already brought it." Judith pulled the design draft from her bag and handed it to Zachary.

He looked at me with a smug expression.

I let out a chuckle. So, whether I agreed to lend it or not, the outcome would've been the same.

When I returned home, I looked at the house filled with our memories and made a decision.

I was going to purge every single trace of myself, leaving them without even the smallest shred of a memory to cling to.

I grabbed the wedding photo from the wall and the family portrait I once cherished and tossed them all in the trash.

I didn't stop cleaning until late at night. But just as I finally climbed into bed, ready to sleep, a loud crash woke me up.