Chapter 1

“When you go in, throw yourself on the floor and scream as loud as you can, got it?“If no one leaves, spit in their food. Shove their heads down into their soup. That’ll make them so uncomfortable they will have no choice but to leave.“If that still doesn’t work, flip the table. Send the food flying everywhere. With everything on the floor, they’ll have no choice but to go.”My father and mother, Jack Bennet and Susan Bennet, were calmly teaching me how to be the worst kid in the restaurant so I could drive the other customers out.That way, we would not have to wait for a table. We could just walk right in and eat.However, each time I did as I had been told, I was the one who got beaten and yelled at. I was the one who received the looks of disgust from everyone around me.I did not want to be treated like that again.I gathered my courage to speak up. “But the teacher said that shouting in public is bad behavior. It’s wrong to do that.”For a brief moment, Mom and Dad’s

Chapter 2

After the chaos, the customers lost all appetite. One by one, they left with dark expressions on their faces.“You’re such a brat! Get out!” the restaurant owner roared. He grabbed me by the collar and dragged me out the door.At the same time, my mother and father led Maggie into the restaurant.I tried to follow them inside, but Maggie shot me a vicious glare.She leaned close to my ear and warned me.“If you don’t want us getting yelled at, stay the hell away from us.”I remained outside the restaurant and endured the terrible burning pain on my face and in my eye. I watched them feast through the window. I felt hungry and indignant.“Little one, are your parents bad to you? How about I find you a new mom and dad who will actually love you?”A scar-faced man had crouched down in front of me with a stiff smile. He spoke in a high, sweet voice, as if he were talking to a baby.Really? New parents who would not make me do those terrible things? Parents who would treat me the w

Chapter 3

“What?” Mom was a little shocked. She tried to say something else, but the caller had hung up.“Charlie!” Mom’s face turned crimson with rage. She screamed through the house. “Get out here right now!”“What happened?” Dad asked with confusion. “He’s still playing outside. He isn’t around.”“That boy put razor blades in Maggie’s competitor’s skates! The organizers just called. They want us to cooperate with the investigation!”“That stupid boy! Does he have any idea how important this competition was for Maggie? He could have ruined everything!”“But that doesn’t make sense,” Dad said in puzzlement. “We told him to stay home this morning and do Maggie’s homework for her. He never left the house.”Then, as realization dawned on them, Mom and Dad exchanged a look before turning toward Maggie, who was shivering.“Maggie, it was you…”Before Mom could finish speaking, Maggie burst into tears, but it was not because of guilt.“What am I supposed to do now? This is the first champion

Chapter 4

That had never happened before.They had forced me to play the role of the “problem child” for so long that, somewhere along the way, they had started believing I really was one.Watching their faces turn pale, the officer continued calmly, “The cause of death was suffocation. The body is mostly intact, so you should be able to identify him yourselves.”He pulled out a photograph.Mom leaned closer for a look. The moment she saw it, her eyes widened in horror.Dad immediately snatched the photo from the officer’s hand. His lips trembled violently. “N-No… That is impossible. He was with us this morning. We even went out to eat together. How is this possible?”Mom was the first to gather herself. With shaking hands, she grabbed onto the officer’s sleeve.“Officer, please take us to him.”As soon as she said that, Maggie cut in impatiently. “What is there to look at? It can’t be that loser. He must be mad that you didn’t take him out to eat, so now he’s hiding somewhere to make

Chapter 5

After returning home in a daze, Mom and Dad found the house completely empty.A bad feeling crept into their chests.Sure enough, they found a letter Maggie had left on the coffee table.The handwriting was childish, but every sentence was filled with confusion and resentment.[Mom and Dad, I don’t get it. You were the ones who said Charlie was born to be my scapegoat. You taught me how to use Charlie to take the blame for me. But after Charlie was punished because of it, you turned around and blamed me. But weren’t you the ones who caused all of this yourselves? [You’re selfish, cowardly, and whenever something happens, all you do is avoid responsibility. I don’t want parents like you! I’m never coming home again!]After reading the letter, Mom collapsed onto the floor. Tears of regret were streaming from her eyes.“Maggie’s right! We’ve been selfish and cowardly. We only ever thought about forcing Charlie to protect his sister, but we never corrected Maggie’s way of thinking.

Chapter 6

“Freeze! Put your hands in the air!”Several armed officers rushed out from the shadows and surrounded the man from every direction.The man’s eyes turned even more vicious. He turned to my parents and snarled through clenched teeth.“You already called the police? Was that whole act just now just to stall me?”Dad covered his injured eye as he shakily climbed to his feet and spat on the ground. “If we hadn’t called them, you’d have gotten away by now, you disgusting trafficker. Enjoy rotting in prison!”As he spoke, the officers quickly moved in and pinned the man to the ground. They took him back to the police station.Maggie was pulled out of the van and immediately threw herself into Mom and Dad’s arms, crying uncontrollably.Watching them hold each other tightly, I finally felt some of the weight in my heart lift.Even though my parents’ irresponsibility had indirectly led to my death, I did not want them to lose another child. I did not want them to spend the rest of th