All Chapters of Dead By Day Three: Chapter 1 - Chapter 10

When I brought the bowl of pasta over to him, Zack suddenly claimed he wasn't hungry anymore. Just then, Mom and Dad came home. Hearing Zack sneeze, Mom’s immediate reaction was to shove me hard to the side. She rushed forward, deeply distressed, feeling Zack’s forehead before gasping out loud, declaring he had a fever.Zack looked at me, and I caught the sly look in his eyes."It's okay," Zack whimpered weakly, tugging on Mom's sleeve. "It's my fault for having such a weak body. Cody probably opened the window because it was too hot. I just thought if I put on extra clothes, I wouldn't be a burden to Cody."Mom stroked Zack’s head with aching fondness. Then, without missing a beat, she turned around and slapped me across the face. Her bloodshot eyes stared at me as if I were her mortal enemy, not her son.The crisp sound echoed through the room. Before I could even process what happened, my cheek burned, stinging from the impact.Mom’s voice turned sharp and venomous."Cody, a

I drifted helplessly into Mom's room. She had just stepped out of the shower and was standing in front of the mirror, applying various creams and lotions to her face. But the moment her fingers touched a high-end bottle of toner, her movements froze.I remembered that bottle. I had bought it as a birthday present for her earlier this year, using the money I had earned from my part-time job.Truth be told, Mom was usually very frugal. Except when it came to Zack, Mom was stingy with everyone, especially herself. The skincare products she used were cheap, generic ones for a few bucks.When I visited my classmates' homes and saw the luxury brands their mothers used, I silently noted the names. During winter break, I worked non-stop for a whole month just to save up enough money to buy her that single bottle.Mom was momentarily stunned when I handed the gift. But before she could process it, Zack shoved his way forward, snatched the bottle right out of her hands, and put on an exagger

"How could Cody be so reckless? Mom, you were only doing what was best for him. How could he be so weak-minded as to commit suicide, making you carry this guilt for the rest of your life!"Zack squeezed Mom's hand, feigning heartbreaking concern.Only this time, Mom didn't squeeze Zack's hand back like she usually did. Instead, she yanked her hand away, staring at him as if he were a stranger."Who said your brother committed suicide?""Besides suicide, how else could he have died? He must've felt like you favored me too much. Sigh, Cody was just way too foolish."Once again, he was throwing dirt on my name using the same playbook.Except Mom didn't fall for his twisted narrative. Her eyebrows knitted together in a tight scowl."He froze to death... Zack, how could you slander your brother like that?"A crack appeared on Zack's otherwise calm face. He immediately scrambled to change the subject to salvage his delicate persona before it completely crumbled."Mom, we need to hur

"I... I..."Mom's lips trembled, but she couldn't squeeze out a single complete sentence.She stared down at my frozen, purplish-blue body tightly curled up on the floor, the first child she had carried for nine months.Maybe she suddenly remembered how wrinkly and red I looked the day I was born or recalled the soft tone of my voice the first time I ever babbled the word "Mom". Perhaps she remembered an even earlier time, before Zack was born, when she used to hold me in her arms, humming lullabies to put me to sleep.Those fleeting moments of gentleness she had intentionally buried and forgotten were now coming back to her. Guilt, remorse, shock, self-doubt—endless torrents of emotion suffocated her."Who are you putting on this act for now?"Dad's voice was cold, dripping with thick, heavy sarcasm."All these years, you've only ever had eyes for Zack. What was Cody to you? Honestly, it's better he's dead. At least he doesn't have to suffer through your abuse anymore!""Matth

I was zipped into a body bag and lifted into the back of the van.Mom tried to follow, but the police officers gently held her back. She ran after the van for a few frantic steps, crying out my name, before collapsing onto her knees in the freezing snow.My soul didn't follow my body to the coroner's office, nor did I stay in that house that had suffocated me for sixteen years. Instead, I drifted higher and higher, watching the city lights blur into a soft halo beneath me.Fragments of my past flashed before my eyes: Mom's fleeting, tender smiles; Dad's hand resting briefly on my shoulder; Zack, when he was younger, tugging at the edge of my shirt for attention. Those faint, fragile moments of warmth, almost buried by years of cold neglect, flickered like tiny sparks in the pitch-black night—weak, but real.Maybe they weren't born monsters but had simply lost their fairness and conscience as parents, slowly eroded day after day by favoritism and indulgence.And I became the tragic