Chapter 1

When I stayed silent, Cameron Mitchell only grew bolder.

"I don't know how your parents raised you. The way you treat your elders is downright disrespectful and unfilial!"

His words were laughable.

Back when he looked down on my family, he wouldn't even offer my parents a cup of hot tea when he came to visit. All he did was order them around and make them do things for him.

Later, when my cousin Parker Mitchell started dating a woman from the city, he treated us like poor relatives and stopped associating with us altogether.

Now that he needed my help, he still had the same arrogant attitude.

Did he really think my family was made of mud, that he could trample us however he pleased?

"So you think I'm disrespecting my elders, Uncle Cam?" I asked evenly. "Then have you shown any respect to my parents?

"Since you walked through the door, all you've done is order my parents around. You couldn't even treat them with basic respect.

"You started by accusing my parents of failing to raise me properly. But you haven't exactly lived up to your own definition of filial piety, have you?"

Cameron's expression darkened. He stubbed out his cigarette in the ashtray, glanced at my father, Blake Mitchell, as he came out of the kitchen, and scoffed. "What is there to respect about him? He's stupid and spineless. How many times has he embarrassed himself over the years?

"Take when we were kids, for example. I tied a thick hemp rope across the roadside. The moment your dad walked past, I yanked it and sent him sprawling face-first into the dirt! The rope was so thick that everyone else managed to avoid it, but he walked right into it!"

He gestured animatedly as he spoke, laughing so hard his eyes narrowed. "Your dad was lying on the ground, yelping in pain.

"Then a stray dog barked a couple of times nearby, and he got so scared that he scrambled away on all fours and fell straight into a roadside ditch, sitting there like a drowned rat!

"Hahahaha! You should've seen him! What a pathetic coward!"

My dad's face flushed bright red. He forced a smile and waved his hand dismissively. "Cam, not in front of the kids. There's no need to keep bringing up the past."

"Why not?" Cameron said, growing even more animated. "You were such a coward back then! You were afraid of even a dog. I was the one who chased it away for you! Honestly, I've never seen anyone as spineless as you!"

I clenched my fists until my fingernails dug deep into my palms.

I'd heard this story countless times growing up.

At every family gathering, Cameron would bring it up again, then burst out laughing at the embarrassed look on my dad's face.

My grandmother had always favored Cameron, spoiling him rotten and letting him get away with anything. He'd never once treated my dad, his older brother, with any respect.

When I was little, I hadn't known any better. I'd laughed along with everyone else.

It was only as I grew older that I gradually realized this wasn't a funny story at all. It was humiliation.

"That happened decades ago. Why do you have to bring it up every single time?" I said coldly.

"What? I'm not allowed to talk about it?" Cameron glared at me. "Your dad himself hasn't said a word. What business does a brat like you have butting in?"

"Exactly!" Parker chimed in. "So what if my dad makes a few comments about yours? Your dad doesn't have a problem with it. Who are you to interfere?"

My dad tugged at my sleeve and whispered, "Adrian, forget it. Don't argue with your uncle."

"Dad!" I said urgently. "He's treating you like this, and you're still going to put up with it?"

"Just let it go. It'll pass. We're family, after all." My dad gave me a bitter smile.

Seeing him act like the peacemaker again left me both furious and heartbroken.

But I also knew that it wasn't easy to make someone who had spent a lifetime sacrificing his own feelings suddenly stand up for himself.

"Blake, just look at the son you've raised!" Cameron sneered. "He doesn't have a shred of respect for anyone! He won't even help his own family build a house without making a fuss. I doubt he got his position through his own ability, either."

Parker immediately picked up where his father left off, eyeing me with a suggestive smirk. "There are plenty of pretty boys in the city who live off other people's money. And my cousin here is quite the handsome guy. Wouldn't surprise me if..."

"If he got where he is by using his skills in bed!" Parker burst out laughing.

I clenched my fists even tighter, seething in rage at the insult.

Before I could say a word, my dad suddenly raised his voice. "I know exactly what kind of person my son is!"

His chest heaved violently. He was clearly livid. "You're my younger brother, and I've always tried to be patient with you because of that.

"Even when you bullied me and made fun of me, I never got angry with you. But this is different when it comes to my son!

"I won't let you humiliate him! Apologize to him right now!"