Chapter 2

Judith kicked the door open, glaring at me. "Stanley Durham, so this is your real intention? You purposely let us lower our guard, only to pull this stunt and ruin Zac's career?"

Mom slapped me across the face. "I never thought you could be so ruthless. Zac is your brother! Go to the hospital and apologize to him right now!"

On the way, I finally figured out what had happened.

Zachary had been marketing himself online as a high-profile jewelry designer. This afternoon, he posted my design draft, which quickly got praise from his fans.

But some sharp-eyed netizens noticed it was a design I had previously shared on Instagram while it was still half-finished.

Soon, accusations of plagiarism began to flood in, and the situation escalated. Netizens swarmed Zachary's account, flooding his comments with attacks and criticism.

Judith and Mom couldn't stand seeing him suffer, so they rushed over to find me.

With my cheek still red and swollen, I was dragged to the hospital. There, Zachary looked at me with a tear-streaked face and said, "Stanley, we're family. Why are you doing this to me?"

Dad kicked me in the back of my knees, forcing me to kneel and apologize to Zachary.

I knelt there, looking up at them with no desire to argue.

Whatever. I'd give them whatever they wanted.

As they wished, I apologized to Zachary. "I'm sorry. I shouldn't have lent you my design. I also shouldn't have shared it on Instagram while I was still working on it. I'll delete my post and clarify to everyone that I'm the plagiarist."

When I said that, there was a brief moment of shock in their eyes. They probably hadn't expected me to be so compliant.

Mom was the first to recover. She looked at me and said, "Well, at least you're finally being sensible. As long as you clarify online that you're the one who plagiarized, we can consider this issue resolved."

Dad nodded in approval. "Stanley, I'm glad you've finally learned to care for Zac. Seeing you two so close, your mom and I can rest easy when we're gone."

Judith smiled in satisfaction. "You're my husband. Even if you can't be a designer anymore, I'll always have your back. You don't have to worry about anything."

I forced a weak smile. It was because of them that I was pushed into this corner.

Soon, Zachary went live on his account, tearfully claiming he was the victim of plagiarism. "I never imagined that the person who stole my designs would be my own brother. I worked on this design at home. I never thought he would secretly take it and post it online, claiming it as his own."

Then, he pointed the camera at me. At the same time, Dad, Mom, and Judith all gave me warning glares, making sure I wouldn't say anything that could hurt him.

I curved my lips into a faint smile and said softly, "That's right. I'm the one who plagiarized. The design draft I posted was Zachary's."

They visibly relaxed at my words.

Immediately, the internet exploded with insults and curses directed at me.

Seeing the reaction, Zachary quickly begged, "Please, everyone, don't say such things. No matter what, he's still my brother. He's my family."

He threw his arm around my shoulder and hugged me tightly, showing off our brotherly bond to everyone.

But as he leaned close, he whispered mockingly in my ear, "Stanley, now our parents, your wife, and your career are all mine. What do you have left to fight me with?"