Chapter 2

My mom, Evelyn Reed, walked out onto the patio with a heavy frown. Her eyes instantly landed on Carter, who was still wearing his act of brave restraint. Her brow furrowed even deeper.

"Tyler, what are you throwing a fit about now? Can't you go one single day without causing drama?"

"Mom!" Carter darted away from Matthew's side and rushed over to Evelyn, clinging to her arm. "Tyler tossed my watch right into the lake! The luxury one you guys bought me!"

At those words, Evelyn’s face hardened, her eyes burning with anger as she glared at me.

"Why on earth did you throw Carter’s watch? That was a thirty-thousand-dollar piece! You just threw it away like it was trash?"

This was my biological mother, CEO of Reed Corporation, always carrying herself around with the polished air of a self-made titan.

She didn't hesitate to spend a fortune buying an insanely expensive watch for a fake son who didn't share a drop of her blood. Yet she had never once remembered her biological son's birthday, never even bothered to wish a simple “Happy Birthday.”

"Why don't you ask him why he shoved that watch in my face in the first place?" I asked coldly.

Evelyn blinked, caught off guard for a fraction of a second, before waving her hand in sheer impatience. "He was just asking for a little help! You're his big brother, is it really that hard to give in to him for once?"

"Help?" I repeated the word, tasting the bitter irony on my tongue. "Forcing me to jump into filthy lake water with zero safety gear to hunt for a lost watch, that's just 'asking for help' in your book?

"Why don't you jump in and get it then? If his beloved mother retrieves it for him, I'm sure he'll be even happier."

"Watch your tongue!" Evelyn barked, her voice booming, "Tyler, I’m your mother! You do what I tell you to do! Now get in that water and pull that watch out right this second!"

Staring at her face full of unearned authority, a wave of dark amusement washed over me.

It was the exact same script in my past life. Matthew played the bad cop, Carter played the innocent victim, and Evelyn stepped in to lay down the hammer. The three of them worked in flawless harmony to crush the "rebellious" biological son under their heels.

Except this time, I wasn't falling for it.

"No," I said, my voice dead calm.

"What did you just say?" Evelyn narrowed her eyes as if her ears were playing tricks on her.

"I said: No. I'm. Not," I enunciated each word, heavy and deliberate.

"He gets a thirty-thousand-dollar watch for his birthday, but what about me? Did any of you even remember my birthday?

"I was robbed of my life for sixteen years, and now that I'm finally back, all you do is treat me like trash! Why should I take this?!"

Matthew screamed, his face twisting in rage, "Tyler! Do you have any idea who you're talking to?!"

"I'm talking to the irresponsible hypocrites who lost me for sixteen years, then brought me back just to use me as an unpaid maid!"

I glared at both of them, tears streaming down my face uncontrollably.

The entire backyard fell into a suffocating deadlock.

After a long silence, Evelyn let out a cold, venomous sneer.

"Fine. Look at you, all brave now. You really think throwing this little tantrum is going to make us care about you more?

"Let me tell you something, you ungrateful little piece of trash. If you didn't have my blood running through your veins, I would've shipped you right back to that dirt-poor foster family long ago.

"Letting you stay in this house is already more than you deserve. Don't throw it back in my face."

At that moment, I felt utterly powerless. Deep down, they had never accepted me as part of this family.

Honestly, that was for the best. The cruel behavior from them now meant I wouldn't feel an ounce of remorse when I tore their world apart later.

I reached into my backpack, pulled out a folded piece of paper, and slammed it down onto the table.

It was a handwritten family severance declaration, with only a few razor-sharp lines scrawled across the page:

[I, Tyler Reed, hereby sever all family relations with Matthew Reed and Evelyn Reed, effective immediately. From this day forward, whether through sickness or death, we’re complete strangers.]