Chapter 1

“Yes!”

I bit the inside of my cheek until it bled. The taste of copper filled my mouth.

[Okay. Twenty-four-hour countdown starting now.]

My wife, Laurel, noticed that I had not spoken for a while. She raised her hand to wipe away the tears at the corner of my eye.

“Do you understand what you did wrong? Had you refrained from constantly fighting with Cameron for favor and had you not hurt him repeatedly, our family of three could have lived a good life together.”

I slapped her hand away and said loudly, “You don’t get to talk about family! Cameron cut those brake lines. Noah died because of him!”

She said nonchalantly, “Noah never died. The moment he was born, I handed him to Cameron, so stop blaming him for something he didn’t do.”

My throat closed up. It took me several seconds to find my voice.

“What did you just say?”

She continued, “He’s my son. Why would I let him follow you around and haul corpses? Cameron is kind. Noah is better off growing up with him.”

I stood frozen in place as my blood ran cold.

Six years ago, I woke up from a car accident and found myself with multiple comminuted fractures all over my body.

Through her tears, Laurel had accused me of killing my parents by driving recklessly and causing an accident. She had also said that I was at fault for her delivering a stillborn baby.

Following that incident, my sister, Maeve, became an alcoholic and ended up developing liver cancer.

Back then, the system had asked me if I wanted to cut my losses and leave this world. The mission targets had gone missing, after all. There was no way to finish the conquer task. However, I could not bring myself to leave, not with Maeve wasting away from liver cancer and with Laurel grieving over the child she lost. So I dragged my broken body through six more years of hell.

Alas, it all turned out to be one hell of a joke.

My chest ached as tears welled in my eyes.

“Why not just lie to me until the day I die?”

“Because Cameron wants another daughter,” Maeve said in an indulgent tone. “Extracting the sperm is too painful. Cameron couldn’t take it. So it has to be you.”

I stared at them with wide eyes, looking at them as if they were a group of madmen.

“Cameron has already suffered enough. We just want to make his wish come true. Come on, we can always have more children later.”

Laurel ruffled my hair gently, like she was coaxing a confused child.

“Besides, this is your chance to prove to your parents that you really accept Cameron and that you won’t bully him anymore.”

Who were they saying had suffered enough?

I could never forget that small, dark room from my childhood. The pain from the burning cigarette pressed onto my body made me scream and convulse.

Every time I cried out for Mom, that wicked foster mother would yell at me, “You brat! Who are you calling Mom? My son is the one enjoying your rich mother’s love in your place!”

I pulled up my sleeve and revealed those shocking scars on my arm.

“Who is really the one who suffered here? You clearly said before that you would make both Cameron and his mother pay for kidnapping me. You said you wouldn’t let me suffer anymore—”

“Jude! Can you stop lying already?” Maeve shoved my arm away.

I was already malnourished and unsteady on my feet. Her shove sent me stumbling into the corner of the table.

“Before she died, Cameron’s mother said that nobody ever abused you. Those bruises are from you dating too young and getting into fights with delinquents.”

My parents pursed their lips, then said, “A kid who wasn’t raised by their own parents always has tricks up their sleeve. Looks like we made the right call six years ago. A pathological liar like you could never raise a child right.”

I stared at them intently as rage surged within me.

“I can’t raise a child right, but that kidnapper’s son can?”

“Shut up!” Maeve shouted sharply. Her gaze turned extremely dark. “How dare you say something like that? Cameron would be so devastated if he heard you!” She roughly grabbed my arm. “It looks like you still haven’t learned your lesson these past few years.”