Chapter 4

At last, when my parents saw me lying there with smoke rising from my body and my entire face burned beyond recognition, they let out strangled sobs.

Mom covered her mouth. Huge droplets of tears rolled down her face. "Cal… why aren't you fighting back at all?"

She staggered to the bedside, trembling as she stared at the charred wound on my throat.

"Did… did you suffer so much in prison that it scared the courage out of you? Tell me what happened. I'll stand up for you…"

She was going to stand up for me, huh? Why didn't she offer to do that when they sent me to prison three years ago?

Regina came over as well. As she looked at my face—now corroded beyond recognition by the sulfuric acid—a pained look came into her eyes, one that I hadn't seen in forever.

"I'm sorry, Cal…" Her voice choked with emotion. "Why did you behave so foolishly? From now on, I'll protect you. I won't let anyone hurt you again…"

I slowly turned my eyes toward her.

Then, I weakly shook my head and started to speak. My voice slurred and barely coherent.

"You… won't. Y-You guys… were the ones who sent me to prison… Why would you… protect me?"

For Regina and my parents, those words felt like a slap to the face.

Calista was standing to the side, her face pale, but she stubbornly declared, "Mom, Dad, Regina, don't let him fool you! He's just having a pity party! He deliberately let those people do this to him so that you'll feel guilty and take pity on him!"

Regina whipped around, her eyes red as she shouted, "Shut up, Calista! Can't you see the state he's in? They poured sulfuric acid down his throat! They used an electroshock baton on him! He almost died!"

"He should've just died then!" Calista screamed right back as she wagged her finger at me. "Look at him! He's completely insane! He'll only cause trouble for the family if we keep him around. I don't think he has learned a thing—he's just acting!"

But the moment her gaze met Tyler's frightened expression, her eyes softened immediately.

"Don't be scared, Ty. As your sister, I will never let you suffer any injustice."

Tyler looked at me and abruptly spoke up in a timid voice. "Mom, Dad, Callie… I think… there's really something wrong with Cal."

After a pause, he added with a terrified expression, "Do you think… he has some kind of mental disorder? What if his show of obedience now is just an act? Once we let our guard down, he might suddenly…"

"A mental disorder?" Calista's eyes lit up, seemingly having thought of something. "That's right. I bet he's mentally ill right now. He probably has some kind of personality disorder!

"People like him, who are good at pretending, are the most dangerous. If he can be this ruthless to himself, who knows how he'll hurt Ty once he gets the chance!"

Calista's words made everyone hesitate.

"Cal, your behavior does seem rather abnormal. It's best if we let a doctor check on you," Dad said.

A short while later, two psychiatrists hurried into the room.

Calista was the first to step forward, pointing at me as she declared, "Doctors, he's an extremely dangerous patient with some kind of mental disorder. He also has a violent streak and self-harm tendencies!"

Meanwhile, standing from afar, Tyler shot the two psychiatrists a look, his eyes blazing venomously.

An hour later, the results came out. I was diagnosed with severe schizophrenia.

The doctor handed the report to my parents and suggested that I be isolated for everyone's safety.

After looking at the report, Calista screamed sharply, "Quick! Have him taken away right this minute! Put him in a psychiatric hospital—or better yet, send him back to prison! I'll apply for mandatory confinement!"

She stared at me coldly, as if I weren't her younger brother but her mortal enemy. "A troublemaker like you will only bring disaster to the family. You should just die!"

The word "die" was all my mind grabbed onto. Instinctively, I obeyed the command.

I'd noticed earlier that one of the windows didn't have any safety bars. While Regina and Calista were busy arguing, I climbed onto the windowsill and jumped.

My body fell through the air. The wind roared in my ears.

The ground kept getting closer with every passing second. Above, I saw their horrified faces pressed against the windows.

With a deafening crash, I hit the ground like a watermelon smashed against concrete.

My skull split open. Blood gushed out, forming a pool all around me.