Chapter 4

The fruit platter slipped from Sapphire's hands, smashing onto the floor and sending shards flying in every direction.

Adam sat on the ground, raising his head as tears welled up in his eyes. "Dexter, why did you push me? I thought you didn't hate me anymore. Why would you push me again?"

I didn't say anything. He was faking it.

I knew he was faking it. His tears were just a simulation programmed into him, and his trembling was nothing more than an algorithm running its course.

Mom rushed over. Her expression shifted from shock to fury in a matter of seconds. "What are you doing? Why on earth did you push Adam?"

"He told me to push him," I replied flatly.

"That's a lie!" Adam sobbed. "Why would I ever ask you to do that? I just wanted to wish you a happy birthday…"

Sapphire knelt and helped Adam up. Her movements were incredibly gentle, as if she were handling a piece of fragile porcelain.

Her head snapped up. She looked at me with disappointment. "You haven't changed at all. You spent three years at the academy and came back acting so compliant, only to show your true colors the second our backs were turned."

She sneered. "I knew it. A leopard never changes its spots. He's been like this since he was a kid. He just can't stand to see Adam happy."

Mom's eyes welled with tears, but not out of sympathy for me—it was pure fury.

"And here we were, talking about how we needed to treat you better. I was actually feeling guilty about sending you to that academy. We were just discussing how to make it up to you."

She took a step closer, jabbed her finger into my chest, and snapped, "And for what? You haven't changed a bit! You're still the same spiteful child who can't tolerate Adam's existence. You pretended to be a good boy for three years just to fool all of us."

I opened my mouth, wanting to tell her that I wasn't pretending. The academy had broken me and remade me this way, and they were the ones who sent me there.

However, the words wouldn't come out because I hadn't received a command to speak.

Mom barked, "Say something!"

"I have not received a command to speak," I replied flatly.

Mom's face turned bright red with rage.

Adam buried his face in her embrace, weeping softly.

"Just go die," Sapphire suddenly blurted out.

The living room fell dead silent for a second.

Dad frowned. "What did you say?"

Sapphire's voice was so loud that the windows practically rattled. "I said I want him to die! Doesn't he follow every single order now? Isn't he so obedient? Then, let him go die! At least we'll finally have some peace if he's gone!"

The moment Sapphire finished her sentence, Adam suddenly collapsed onto the floor. His body convulsed violently, his eyes rolled back, and white foam oozed from the corners of his mouth.

"Adam! Adam, what's happening to you?" Mom shrieked from behind me.

Mom cradled his head, Dad pressed desperately on the philtrum below his nose to revive him, and Sapphire frantically dialed for an ambulance.

Everyone crowded around him. No one looked at me.

I turned away and looked down at the garden below.

I stood in the middle of the living room, watching Adam convulse on the floor, watching Mom, Dad, and Sapphire gather around him.

I whispered, "Command received. Proceeding to die."

Nobody heard me. They were completely consumed by Adam. They crowded around him with heartache and panic etched onto their faces.

I slowly turned around and walked onto the balcony.

A chilly night breeze swept over me.

"Dexter!"

Sapphire was the first to notice me.

Her voice was shrill and piercing as her phone slipped from her hand, clattering to the floor.

Mom whipped her head around too. The color drained from her face in an instant.

"Dex! What are you doing?"

I offered her a faint smile and executed the command without a moment's hesitation.