Chapter 1

The nail in my chest had missed my heart by just less than an inch. It wasn't enough to kill me, but the agony was unbearable.

Just before the basement door slammed shut, I used every last bit of strength to crawl forward and grab my sister's pant leg.

"Please, Sophia, I was wrong. I shouldn't have gotten such a high score. Don't leave me here, please?"

I begged Sophia in the most pitiful voice I could manage, but she acted as if she hadn't heard a word.

Instead, she turned to Zachary, gently pinched his cheek, and spoke softly.

"Look at you, crying so much. Alright, I promise I'll send you overseas. You'll get into a college that's a thousand times better than Steven's. After that, you can bully him all you want. Alright?"

Just as Sophia linked arms with Zachary and started to leave, her phone rang.

It was Dad. He sounded ecstatic.

"Sophia! Steven scored a perfect 1600! I'm so proud of him! Your mother and I can't get back to the country right now. Why don't you reward him a little for us?"

Sophia gave a perfunctory response before hanging up.

I closed my eyes and forced out the words.

"Take me to the hospital. If I die, Mom and Dad will hate you for the rest of their lives!"

I was the child my parents had after years of hoping against hope. Everyone knew how dearly they cherished me. If I so much as got a tiny cut on my hand, they'd worry themselves to tears.

Sophia knew better than anyone that nothing could happen to me.

She hesitated, clearly weighing whether she should let me go.

Then Zachary crouched beside me. He shot me a malicious glare before dumping the contents of his cup over my body.

Instantly, it felt like countless blades were carving flesh from my bones. I screamed in agony.

Some of the liquid ran into my mouth.

It was salt water.

At that very moment, Zachary suddenly dropped to his knees and repeatedly slapped himself.

"I'm sorry! I'm so sorry, Steven! I was only trying to help! I didn't mean to spill water on you! Please don't hit me!"

His reaction made it seem as if I abused him on a daily basis.

Sophia frowned deeply before pulling Zachary into her arms.

He sobbed uncontrollably. "Steven, please leave me alone. If you keep bullying me, I really won't be able to go on living."

Sophia's anger flared all over again. She kicked me away with all her strength.

"So the rumors were true! You really have been bullying Zachary at school! He accidentally spilled a little water on you, and you're throwing this kind of tantrum? You're making a mountain out of a molehill! Today, I'll make sure you learn your lesson so you'll never dare bully Zachary again!"

I stared at her in disbelief. When had I ever bullied him?

She didn't even bother asking for my side of the story. One accusation from someone else was enough for her to convict me.

The impact drove the nail a little deeper into my chest. It still hadn't pierced my heart, but the pain in my heart far surpassed the pain in my body.

When we were kids, Sophia loved me enough that she would even give up her life for mine.

Everyone envied me for having a sister who doted on her little brother so fiercely. I had always believed I was the luckiest boy in the world.

But after our uncle and aunt died, and Zachary was entrusted to our family, it was as if the sister who loved me with all her heart had died overnight.