Chapter 3

On the other hand, Finn looked relieved. "I just hope none of you will regret it when the truth is revealed, but I guess you won't be, with the way you remain so prejudiced against me. At this point, the truth doesn't even matter."

Zoe simply laughed as if she had just heard a joke. "Prejudiced? We were never prejudiced—you, on the other hand, have the audacity to hint at the disgusting crap you pulled. Or should I refresh your memory?"

Vera frowned too. "Oh, don't even start, Zoe. The bottom line is that we hate Finn because he's him, and he has no one else to blame."

Finn smiled, shaking his head.

Him, disgusting crap?

They had no idea that he was just a miserable scapegoat!

When it mattered, it definitely wasn't Joe who came in to save the day—not when he was busy with his video games and playing dead.

No, it was always him, Finn, whom they resented so much!

And what was that if not prejudice?

While Zoe's successful career made her look strong and independent, it was always difficult for a woman to establish herself alone.

And during one particular harsh boozing session, a group of thugs had their eyes on her.

Finn was worried that Zoe was returning home late and went out looking for her, and he happened to find the thugs trying to shove Zoe into their car.

He didn't hesitate to lunge at the thugs, but being outnumbered, he naturally ended up being clobbered.

Even so, he refused to let them take Zoe as heaven knew what horrors awaited if he caved!

The thugs called him crazy and hit him even harder, and he really thought he was going to die when a patrol car siren blared nearby at the very last moment.

Sensing danger, the thugs fled, and Finn survived by sheer luck.

Bruised and battered, he helped Zoe, who was still passed out from alcohol, back to her bed.

Seeing that she was throwing up everywhere, he brought tissues to clean her up.

He was almost pleased that Zoe would change her prejudice toward him, only for Zoe to suddenly open her eyes and snap at him.

She didn't remember what had happened earlier, only that he was fighting someone and trying to get frisky with her.

That naturally worsened her prejudice against Finn.

As for Vera, she was an actress with a bold and radiant personality in front of the camera, but her acting skills were lacking, and she was poor with empathy, which prevented her from getting into character.

However, the Lawsons were influential and had crazy connections, so Vera could stay as a B-list actress without issues.

But it was showbiz, and connections simply weren't everything!

Opinion on her was always average, and critics often called her a wallflower while most really didn't care for her poor acting.

Naturally, her detractors grew, with many of them resorting to drastic measures.

Voyeurs and online flaming were the least of it, as there was one time when Finn found a dead cat outside the front gates with Vera's photo glued to it.

While everyone was asleep, Finn tried to clean up the mess, only for the servants to catch him.

With such solid evidence, there was no defending himself at all.

Furious, Vera called Finn vile and insisted that he was not her brother.

As for Yvie, she was a mild-mannered student majoring in media studies, and she had always dreamed of becoming a pianist since she was a child.

However, she had poor health, and her path to achieve her dreams was far from smooth.

And during one vital competition, she was on her period, which had always been unpredictable because of her persistent endocrine disorder.

She was panicked and feeling helpless as her white designer dress had a bright red stain, and she hid in the restroom.

While she wondered what she could do, Finn bought her fresh clothes and pads and asked for help to have everything delivered to her.

He was supposed to feel relieved, only for Yvie's friends to intercept him, loudly snapping at him and calling him indecent!

Yvie, who was inside, naturally heard everything and immediately decided that he was a pervert who barged into the female restroom.

Now, just remembering those misunderstandings with his sisters left Finn feeling less bitter than self-deprecating.

"You can all leave now," Finn told his sisters right then. "Since we've cut ties, there's no need for us to stay in each other's company."

With his sisters saying that much, they really had no reason to remain in the same room.

For his sisters' part, they presumed that his stubbornness was all because they were right about him, and they glared at him with disdain.

"Finally getting desperate, are we?" Vera laughed coolly. "Here's the truth—we like Joe because you could never hope to match his virtues, not even if you had nine lives! Hell, no one would ever really like you because you're repulsive!"

Finn's expression looked pained, but he snapped, "You talk too much! Get out!"

Vera's eyes widened in surprise and embarrassment.

It was the first time Finn had ever snapped at her!

"You will regret this!" she bellowed. "You'll be crawling home like a dog, and I'll be there, watching as you do!"

And with that, she stormed out furiously.

Zoe, however, lingered and warned him, "There are two copies of the agreement, so you don't get to renege on it… And don't let Joe know, or he'll take it hard on himself."

Finn simply closed his eyes and played dead until they all left.

He then placed a palm on his chest, which was hurting a lot from a throbbing pain.

Even if he was completely disenchanted with the Lawsons, it still hurt.

"You deserve that," he murmured to himself. "Still letting yourself get hurt when you've got a second chance? Are you getting addicted to despair?"

-

Meanwhile, the three Lawson sisters were not talking in their fancy car either and were clearly in a bad mood.

Remembering how Finn refused to listen to reason, Yvie couldn't help but sigh. "Why does it have to be him? Why does he have to be our biological brother? Why couldn't it be Joe?"

Vera snickered. "That's why nurture matters more than nature. Growing up at some orphanage, heaven knows what shady characters he keeps company with.

"I mean, just think about it—if he was well-behaved, why did no family adopt him for nineteen years? He must have been that annoying since he was a kid!"

Yvie nodded in agreement, as it certainly made sense.

Naturally, they disregarded the online claims that he had refused adoption to find his biological family, dismissing it as a joke.

Zoe rubbed her brow as she sighed. "Joe ran away even though he's sick… I wonder how he's doing. We've been spoiling him the whole time, so I'm really worried something bad would happen. So don't bother with Finn—the priority now is to find Joe."

The sisters hence grew worried.

Finn had merely passed out, while Joe was in deep trouble since he had never run away before.