My Brother's Scapegoat

The first thing I saw when I opened my eyes was a surprisingly lively scene at home.A large number of guests gathered in the living room, chatting and laughing, celebrating my brother, Ian Green's miraculous escape from danger. Everyone tacitly chose to forget about me, the one who went to jail in his place.My mother was all smiles. "Good things come to those who deserve them. Ian has done so many good deeds; it's only right that he survived this disaster."This sentence made me, who had become a spiritual being, somewhat lost in thought.Was he kind? He hit and ran, robbed a pregnant woman, and was even crazy enough to poison the food of a lonely elderly person. He was a devil who did all these things for fun, yet my mother called him kind.When I thought about how his current success and glory had been built on my sacrifice, I got so angry that I trembled all over and wished I could rush over and strangle him.Ian refused everyone's flattery, but he was grinning from ear to e

Why did they treat me like this? I tried my best to please this family. I was never picky with food. As soon as I got home, I stayed silent and even avoided speaking loudly. I earned all my living expenses since childhood through my own hard work and frugality.What about Ian?As soon as he started school, my mother quickly bought him a new phone and computer. She even glorified it. "Your younger brother will become a big shot, unlike you. People like you will only end up in the gutter for the rest of your life, and there’s no way you can ever compare to your younger brother."However, it was precisely a loser like me who saved Ian's life at the critical moment.After learning he had escaped, I was so angry that I drove home overnight to make him turn himself in and explain.The victim was an elderly man in his 80s with no children. He was extremely pitiful as he relied on collecting recyclables to make a living.However, my mother slapped my face. "He's an old geezer who doesn't

The cold corridor of the morgue was filled with chilling gusts of wind. My mother shivered uncontrollably, but she did not back away. She urgently needed an answer to prove that I was still alive.Throughout the journey, she shook her head like a rattle. "Impossible! The fortune teller said he was tough and would kill the family. There's no way it's him. What new prank is this? Has he had enough?"Unfortunately, no one answered her. The journey that lasted just a few minutes was terrifyingly quiet. It felt like a century had passed when my mother's hand trembled as she placed it on the doorknob, but she could not make up her mind to open the door. "Mason, I'll give you one last chance! Come out and admit your mistake immediately. If... If I find out you're lying to me. I'll make you regret it."Silence.The endless silence was the most torturous.My mother longed for the police officer beside her to suddenly tell her that this was just a joke, but his face was too serious.She gu

Life went on. My mother was mentally unstable for a while, and the family lost its source of income. Plus, Ian was used to spending money extravagantly. They soon found themselves struggling to make ends meet.My mother was forced to get over the grief of losing me and return to her workplace.As soon as she sat down, nosy colleagues surrounded her and asked all kinds of questions. "I heard Mason is gone. He was such a nice kid. My condolences."When she heard my name, my mother instantly waved her hand like a child who had done something wrong. "It was his fault for going astray; otherwise, he wouldn't have died so young. It's also my fault as his mother for not raising him well. Oh."Her eyes were vacant for about a dozen seconds. 'Were you thinking of me, who died unjustly, or Ian, who committed numerous crimes?'After learning about my death, the two of them had a fierce argument.My mother questioned Ian why I was executed when I was only imprisoned to take the fall for his

Ian was no longer arrogant. He lowered his head and remained silent.No matter what the police said, he just shook his head.Seeing that there was nothing they could do to him, the victim got out of bed, walked unsteadily to him, and raised his hand to slap him. "Why can't you do something better when you're perfectly healthy? Why do such a despicable thing?"My mother was anxious seeing her precious son beaten. "Why can't you just talk? Why hit him?"She seemed to have forgotten that her good son not only hit others but also almost cost someone their life.However, the police officer suddenly placed a document in front of my mother. "Don't you want to know what your good son did behind your back?"She was completely confused, not understanding how this was related to her. However, curiosity still drove her to open the document. What it contained was Ian's criminal history, ranging from petty theft to arson and robbery.However, what shocked my mother the most was that Ian had k