Chapter 2

Cole's POV

Seeing my face covered in tears, Savannah ultimately felt bad for me and decided to compromise.

"If you promise to tone down your attitude—stop being so overbearing and stop bullying Joey—I can bring you home tomorrow."

She paused.

"Not tonight. It's New Year's Eve and his birthday. Mom, Dad, and I promised we'd spend it just with him."

I opened my dry mouth, unsure whether to laugh or to cry. In the end, I settled for a self-deprecating smirk.

"I'm sick. I have bone cancer and need to be hospitalized for treatment. You just have to pay the bill. I won't go home, and I won't bully your precious Joey."

But the words had barely left my mouth when Savannah's suppressed anger erupted beside me.

"Cole Shepherd!" she roared. "What is with this passive-aggressive attitude? Now that you know you're the real son, you think you can do whatever you want? You'd make up a story about bone cancer just to get me to bring you home?"

Staring at her in absolute shock, I pointed at Dr. Freedman.

"I'm not lying! If you don't believe me, ask the doctor!"

Dr. Freedman stepped forward, wanting to explain on my behalf. But Savannah just scowled and kicked the hospital bed hard, her patience finally gone.

"Enough! After all these years, you still haven't changed one bit! And you even have the nerve to conspire with the doctor to lie to me!

"I shouldn't have felt sorry for you and come see you today!"

The door slammed shut with a loud bang, plunging the room into instant silence.

My heart sank as I stared blankly at the door.

Dr. Freedman was equally dumbfounded and asked tentatively, "Ms. Shepherd is famous for being an overprotective big sister… Is she… really your sister?"

I nodded, then shook my head blankly.

Yes, she was famously overprotective of her little brother, but that little brother was no longer me. It was Joey.

Joey was our housekeeper's son, and we grew up together. Whatever I had, I always gave him a share, and I treated him like my own younger brother.

But as time went on, Joey grew more insatiable.

He began making up stories about me in front of Mom and Dad. He claimed that I had led the bullying against him at school, calling him a hillbilly. He claimed I had stripped him naked in public, shouting that poor people didn't deserve to wear clothes.

My parents couldn't believe that their sweet son could be so vicious, and the disappointment in their eyes grew heavier with each passing day. Savannah was just as furious and disappointed, so much so that she often struck me across the face.

My entire family grew to resent the very sight of me.

Then one day, our housekeeper died in a car accident while protecting Mom and Dad. That was when Savannah found an audio recording. That very night, she shipped nine-year-old me off to an orphanage.

"You and Joey were switched at birth! He's Mom and Dad's biological son and my real brother! You stole his life!"

In that split second, my entire world shattered, yet I had no choice but to accept the truth.

So, even when I was bullied at the orphanage until I wished I was dead, I never hated any of the people who had kicked me out of the Shepherd family. After all, my parents and my sister had once cherished me above all else, and they were now merely getting justice for their real son.

But now that I knew the truth, it all seemed utterly absurd.

As I told the story, tears streamed down my face again without me even realizing it.

Seeing Dr. Freedman frown in sympathy yet at a loss for how to comfort me, I forced a smile onto my face.

I was just about to say, "It's okay," when a group of security guards suddenly burst through the door.

Two of them grabbed me, tied me up, and started dragging me out of the hospital.

"Ms. Shepherd says you're hogging a bed and wasting medical resources on your fake illness. Any doctor who dares to collude with you can kiss their career goodbye!"