Familial Bondの短編小説 & 小説

I had just finished my night shift and was eating tacos at a roadside stand when my phone suddenly buzzed. "Are you Kevin Weston's father?" "Please come to the Southvale police station. Kevin smashed the windshield of a luxury car parked by the road. The owner is demanding 50,000 dollars in compensation!" The officer's stern voice came through the phone. I froze. The taco I had just picked up with my fork slipped right back onto my plate. "Officer, you must have the wrong person. My son drowned and died three years ago. We even have his death certificate." But the officer clearly didn't believe me. He flipped through some records and continued, "You're Justin Weston, a security guard at the Empire Textile Factory. You live in Apartment 402 at Harmony Heights. This is the phone number you left with us." "Does the boy really say his name is Kevin?" But three years ago, I had personally buried my son's ashes in the cemetery.

After being away from home for three months, my wife, Victoria Sterling, and our daughter, Sophie Sterling, came looking for me, crying as they begged me to come home. Once I was back, they treated me better than ever. They brought breakfast to my bedside, gave me free rein with their black cards, and when I casually mentioned wanting a new car, three brand-new sports cars showed up the very next day. But when Ethan White, Victoria’s childhood sweetheart and first love, accused me of stealing his design drafts, Victoria didn’t bother asking for an explanation. She smashed her phone against my face and snapped, “What do you have to say for yourself?” Sophie yelled at me too. “Get on your knees and apologize to Ethan! Otherwise, get out of the Sterling family!” I looked up at their furious faces. Then I suddenly laughed. Why should I apologize? I’m not even Victoria’s real husband.

After having been missing for many years, my biological parents found me at the age of sixteen. By that time, there was already someone else living in the family home who had taken my place as the Johnston family’s daughter. My parents, my older brother, and my fiance said warningly, “Don’t you dare act spoiled or entitled just because you’re a Johnston by blood. Also, don’t cause Hannah one ounce of trouble.” The entire family prioritized Hannah in every matter, which made me seem more like a maid whenever I was with them. For two years, I let them walk all over me, until they decided to use my near-perfect SAT score of 1550 to get Hannah, who had scraped together an 850, into an Ivy League school, Pranceton University. That was when I decided I was done playing nice. I called my adoptive parents.

In my family, I'm the only son in my household who is raised on an installment plan. Because in this family, my parents refuse to raise a useless child. When my sister wants concert tickets, he just has to help Mom sweep the floor once, and he gets them. When my brother wants to install a gaming setup in her room, she just has to give Dad a quick shoulder massage. But me? Every time I need money, I have to sign an IOU. Over 18 years, I've accumulated a drawerful of IOUs, piled together like a thick ledger. And because asking for money feels like the ultimate humiliation, I gradually learn to live frugally. This summer, I work three jobs and scrape together enough to cover my college tuition. But when I reach the bus stop, I realize I've left my dorm key at home. There's nothing I can do but call Mom. "Mom, I left my key at home. Could you please bring it to me?" She pauses. "I'm busy. I'm making cookies for your brother right now. I'll mail them to you in a couple of days." The problem is… the "couple of days" soon turns into a whole week. On the seventh day, the package finally arrives. When I tear it open, I find a note alongside my key. "Miles Martinez owes Vanessa Leech ten dollars for postage, to be repaid by the end of the month." At the bottom, she even thoughtfully leaves a blank space for the date. I clutch the note as tears well up in my eyes, blurring the words on it. After a long while, I pull out my phone and send a message to my professor. "Professor, I've decided to accept the offer to study abroad. Please submit my name for the scholarship application." Once I settle every last debt, I'll walk away with a clean slate to chase a life that's mine and mine alone.

When my billionaire birth parents tried yet again to bring me home, I shook my head without hesitation. As someone practically born with dollar signs in her eyes, I loved money more than just about anything. But even I knew better than to walk straight into the drama of a filthy-rich family. “I may love money more than life itself, but there’s no way I’m stepping into that mess. Knowing my luck, I’d walk away without a dime and get screwed over by the fake heiress instead.” My parents immediately protested. “Xena has always been such a sweet, sensible girl. She’d be too busy spoiling you to ever hurt you.” Since they clearly didn’t believe me, I pulled a document from my pocket titled “Fake Heiress Payback Price List.” “Then sign this first. “If she plants something on me and accuses me of stealing, you owe me a car. “If she hurts herself and frames me for it, you owe me a house. “If she poisons or kidnaps me, I get the entire family fortune. That’s fair, right?” Dad laughed, clearly thinking I was being ridiculous, and signed it on the spot. “Fine. If any of that actually happens, I’ll pay up.” Sure enough, on my very first day home, the fake heiress burst into tears and accused me of stealing the diamond bracelet Mom had given her. My older brother jabbed a finger in my face and called me a classless brat, while my younger sister immediately started patting me down like she wanted to strip-search me. I smiled. Looks like I was about to make some easy money. Mom and Dad were just about to lecture me too when they suddenly remembered the price list I had made them sign. They froze. “Hold on. Nobody accuse her of anything yet. Check the bracelet for fingerprints first.”

When I was five, my elder sister, Mabel, lost the use of both legs saving me in a car accident. From that day on, there was one thing my parents said to me more than anything else. “You ruined Mabel’s life.” When I got into a top university, Mabel locked herself in her room and cried all night. My mother, eyes red from crying, tore my acceptance letter to pieces. “Wait until Mabel can walk again. Then you can go to college.” So I spent sixteen hours a day delivering food, saving every penny for Mabel’s rehabilitation. When my stomach pain became so bad I could barely stand, my parents accused me of being jealous of Mabel’s nutritional supplements and faking it for attention. I secretly went to the hospital. The diagnosis came back and showed that I had severe anemia, pelvic inflammatory disease and a stomach ulcer. The medication cost more than two hundred dollars. I did not have it. So I told myself I would get the medicine after I saved enough to buy Mabel a pair of knee braces. Then came the day of the torrential rain. Terrified of being late with a delivery, I ran a red light. A dump truck hit me and sent me flying. I lay there in the rain, still clutching the knee braces I had just bought. I never got the chance to hand them to Mabel myself.

The day I got the callback for my second interview, my mother, Sara Bingley, came home with two bags. "You're about to start your job for real, and that means dressing professionally. I bought you girls a suit each, one for each of you, fair and square." Molly Pitcher happily took her bag. Inside was a fitted, deep navy suit, sharp and clearly not cheap. What landed in my hands was an ill-fitting black suit pulled from the clearance rack, so oversized the sleeves swallowed the backs of my hands. Mom smiled and touched my cheek. "Cathy, you'll still grow. I bought it big on purpose. Give it two years, and it'll fit just right. I went to I don't know how many malls just to track down that black suit." She did love me, in her way. She knew my job required a black suit, and she really had gone to several malls to find one. But she'd forgotten I was already twenty-three. No amount of growing was going to fill out a suit that oversized and that cheaply made. Both daughters were her own flesh and blood, but Molly was plainly the one she doted on. The love she gave me came measured out in careful portions. The love she gave Molly overflowed. If that was how it was going to be, then from today on, I was done being the extra one in this family.

I had always been obedient. Whatever people told me to do, I did without question. When my wealthy biological parents finally brought me home, my adopted sister leaned close and whispered arrogantly, "I'm the one and only Saunders daughter. If you know what's good for you, leave on your own!" I obediently nodded. Then I turned around and ran straight into the traffic on the highway. My parents nearly lost their minds. They scrambled out of the car and dragged me back, their faces already pale with terror. My brother glared at me and warned in a low voice, "If you keep acting like this, I'll send you back to that hellhole." That night, I obediently locked myself inside a dog crate. When he found me, he was completely stunned. He gritted his teeth, dragged me out, and stared at me in disbelief. Later, my adopted sister pretended to be sick, and my brother forced me to donate blood to her. So, I obediently took the knife. Then, without hesitation, I cut into the artery in my wrist. My parents rushed in just in time to see it happen. They screamed and rushed over, pressing down on my wound. "Get a doctor! Hurry!" My brother's face turned pale too. But after a moment, he froze and tried to explain, "Dad, Mom, I only told her to donate blood to Hannah. I never told her to cut her wrist..." I blinked. He wasn't lying. He really hadn't taught me to do that. The people my parents had sent me to had. For five years, they had sent me away to those human traffickers to "teach me discipline." And during those five years, those people had taught me exactly how to obey.

At three in the morning, my phone rang. It was my mother. The problem was, Mom had been dead for three years. “Honey, listen to me.” Her voice came through the phone so clearly that for one terrifying second, it felt like she was standing right beside my bed. “Don’t go to work next Wednesday. There’s going to be a fire at your office. “Take a day off. Tell your supervisor you have a family emergency out of town. Whatever you do, make sure you’re not in that building on Wednesday.” I shot upright in bed, my heart hammering against my ribs. “Mom?” My voice trembled. “Remember. Do not go to work on Wednesday.” Her voice began breaking up, as though the signal were failing. “And one more thing. Your dad’s study. The third shelf. That copy of ‘One Hundred Years of Solitude’. There’s something tucked inside.” The call suddenly disconnected. I sat frozen in the darkness. My entire body had gone cold. This wasn’t the first time I had received a call like this. The first one came three months ago. Mom had warned me not to take the subway that morning because there would be an accident on the Red Line. I hadn’t believed her. That day, a major signal failure brought a train to a halt inside a tunnel for two hours. No one was hurt, but I showed up so late that I lost an important client. The second call came a month ago. She told me not to eat seafood because I would get food poisoning. I was skeptical, but something about the first call still bothered me, so I skipped the dinner my coworkers had planned. That night, all seven people who went ended up in the hospital. The doctors confirmed they had all gotten food poisoning from the seafood. And now, for the third time, my dead mother had called me.

After my sister, Elina Spencer, died, I became her replacement. I copied everything she did and bent over backward to please them, all because I wanted to matter to them just a little more. But there was only ever room for Elina in their hearts. They never stopped reminding me that I was nothing more than her substitute, that I should never dream of taking her place. Then one day, Elina—the one everyone thought was dead—came back. At last, I was free. I left this world in peace. Only then did they regret everything. They cried as they chased after me, pleading for me to return, begging for my forgiveness. But I was already dead.

I put my six-year-old daughter in my mother-in-law’s hands as I was busy with an overseas project. Every month, I would send her 20,000 dollars in allowance, not including holiday cash gifts. My mother-in-law would always talk about how well my daughter ate and slept during every video call. In the video, a feast was always laid before my daughter. So when her teacher claimed that she had fainted out of hunger during class, my first thought was that she must have called the wrong number. I rushed back home and headed straight to the hospital. The doctor said that my daughter was suffering from long-term malnutrition and her weight was far below the average. She also had severe post-traumatic stress disorder with suspected autism. The homeroom teacher looked begrudgingly at me with furrowed brows. “Ms. Mason, this isn’t the first time Natalie fainted out of hunger during class. “She only brings one cold plain bun to school for lunch every day. Sometimes, she doesn’t even have that bun. “Each time I ask her about things at home, she refuses to speak.” I was utterly confused by the teacher’s questions. How could my child go hungry when I was sending over 20,000 dollars in allowance every month?

On the third day after I reunite with my pack, my family corners me in the mansion's living room. My adopted sister, Mia Ashford, holds several notes in her hand while sobbing her eyes out. "Layla, I know you hate me, but you're driving me insane with your death threats!" Every single note is covered in curses written in red. "Go to hell, you thief! You stole Mom and Dad away from me." Noah Ashford leaps to his feet and hurls the notes at my face. "Apologize!" he roars. "You think you can bully Mia just because you're my sister?" Mom embraces Mia, trying to comfort her. Dad, as the Alpha of the pack, finally speaks. "If you don't write a 1,000-word apology letter to Mia today and beg for her forgiveness, I'll kick you out of the pack," he says coldly. Safe in Mom's arms, Mia secretly flashes me a taunting smile. I stare at the scattered notes on the floor, utterly stunned. Could I really have written these when I can't even read?

The day of my mating ceremony with Alpha Kian, I arrived at the lake house villa—the venue we had chosen for our sacred ritual. My heart was pounding with anticipation. But when I pushed the doors open, the place was completely empty. I quickly mind-linked my parents. "Where is everyone? I'm at the villa, but it's empty. And my gown is gone." There was a heavy silence before my mother finally answered. "Freya... we temporarily changed the location." "Without telling me? Why?" "Isolde's wolf is fading," my father chimed in. "She is dying. Her last wish is to wear the Luna crown for just one day. So, we are holding the ceremony for her instead." "Freya, you're her only sister. Be the bigger person. Just let her have this." Even Kian, my Alpha, tried to soothe me over the link. "Don't worry, Freya. It's just a ceremony for her. A trick for the Moon Goddess. It'll just block our mate bond for a little while. We can have our real ceremony anytime after she's stable." I refused. It was insane. "You're being unreasonable, Freya," Kian sighed impatiently. "Just stay at the lake house and calm down." Then, they cut the mind-link completely. I was left all alone in the abandoned villa. Then the Rogues attacked. Wolfsbane burned the air. It choked my wolf. I couldn't scream. I couldn't fight. In desperation, I used our mate bond. I reached out to Kian with everything I had left. He just sighed through the bond. He thought I was throwing a tantrum over the ceremony. Then he severed the bond completely. When their fake ceremony was over, they finally remembered me. But all they found on the villa floor… was my body. Torn to shreds by Rogues.

Every year on Dante Moretti's birthday, they played a game. Whoever drew the ace of spades could order anyone to do one thing. The first year, Sofia Cavarro poured red wine over my head. She was the Cavarro family's precious princess, and no one had ever dared to cross her. So that night, she smiled and told me to kneel and lick the wine off the tips of Dante's shoes. The second year, she hung a price tag reading "three million dollars" around my neck and let everyone guess whether Dante's purchase of me had been worth it. Dante sat on the sofa with his glass of wine, watching them jeer with a smile. Because everyone knew I was the woman he'd bought at an auction seven years ago. And I loved him, so I endured it, time after time. This year, Sofia drew the ace of spades again. She didn't make me kneel. She didn't give me a new punishment. She simply handed me a ring and told me to put it on her finger myself. That was how I found out. In one month, Dante was going to marry her. For the first time in seven years, I asked to leave. Dante laughed. "Elena, have you forgotten? I paid for you. "No matter who I marry, it doesn't change the fact that you belong to me." He was certain I had no family, nowhere to go. He was certain that as long as he didn't let me go, I would never be able to leave his side. But three days later, twenty black sedans surrounded the Moretti estate. The man who made the entire Sicilian Mafia tremble stormed in and knocked Dante to the floor with a single punch. He held up the price tag, his eyes red. "My precious daughter, the one I've spent twelve years searching for... "How could she have ended up here, a slave for seven years?"

In our pack, every child received a barrel of moonwine at birth, to be opened on one of the most important day of their life. When my adopted sister Rosalie and I received our college decisions, Mother gave her both her moonwine and mine. “Rosalie got into the Royal Wolf Academy,” Mother announced. “We should all celebrate her achievement.” My brother Callum brought out his own barrel, declaring, “Rosalie has made us all proud, so I’m opening mine as well.” Father poured Rosalie the first glass and raised a toast in her honor. Even my boyfriend, Julian, arrived with a bouquet of moon lilies for Rosalie. No one acknowledged me. “What about me?” I asked. Mother’s smile stiffened. “You’re the Alpha’s daughter, Aria. You already have everything. Besides, our family owes Rosalie.” Seven years ago, Rosalie’s father lost his wolf saving Father from a silver blade. My parents took Rosalie in afterward. Since then, my room, my place beside Father, and even my family slowly become hers. Now, even the moonwine Grandmother had brewed for me belonged to her. I opened the Moonridge Isolation Study offer I had kept hidden from them and signed my name. This time, I wouldn’t be coming back. I was done paying a debt that had never been mine.

My best friend and I. A witch and a Fae from Whisperwood. I have the blood of a Seer. My three rune bones can see a kingdom's rise and fall. She's a gold-touched Fae. Born to attract wealth. One roll of the dice in a goblin casino, and she'd empty their vault. When we were eighteen, we found a disgraced Grand Duke in the capital's slums. His stepmother had thrown him out. We saved him. She amassed his gold. I spun his fate. We helped him claw his way back to the capital. He took back his land. His scepter. The first thing he did? He asked my best friend to marry him. They had a son. A gifted heir. I grew tired of the noble squabbles. I went back to my hidden cottage in the woods. Ten years later, a little princess. Blessed by the Moon Goddess. Finally born in the Duke's castle. He was ecstatic. Flew his griffin over the mountains that night. Begged me to come bless his daughter. Of course, I agreed. I stood over the cradle. Drew a sacred blessing rune on the baby's forehead. Before I left, I had a sudden urge. I tossed my three rune bones. A quick look into my friend's future. But they hit the floor and turned to dust. Black magic choked the air. An omen of death. Her soul was gone. Ice flooded my veins. If my best friend was already dead...then who was the Duchess, smiling at me from her velvet chaise?

My sister, Cindy Gardner, and I are fraternal twins. She gets to be the elder sister because she comes out one minute before me, making me the younger brother. Luckily, there's little difference between us when it comes to intelligence. Throughout our school years, one of us always ranks first, and the other comes in second. But after three years of competing in high school, with me coming in second every time, I calmly agree to keep her secret about dating a delinquent named Rodney Sloan. Then the guaranteed-admission spots to Belton University, the country's top university, become available. Our homeroom teacher calls Cindy and me into her office. "There are two guaranteed-admission spots. They're awarded based on grades, and the two of you are next in line. "Fill out this form." I nod and quickly fill out the entire form. Just as I'm about to hand it over to her, Cindy, who is standing quietly beside us, suddenly moves. She snatches my form, tears it to pieces, and tosses the scraps into the air. "If you want me to take the guaranteed spot, there's one condition—Rodney has to get in with me." I laugh in disbelief. What a complete idiot. Mom and Dad are going to tear her apart for this.

Two years ago, my older sister Jaslyn and I were trapped in a housefire. The firefighters told Mom she had to make a choice. They could only save one of us. Mom chose me because I was closer to the door. Later, when she learned that the fire had been caused by us breaking into the neighbor's house to steal stuff, she grabbed me by the hair and yelled at me. "Your sister Jaslyn was a model student. There's no way she would steal anything. "You're the thief! If it weren't for you, she wouldn't have died!" From then on, I wasn't allowed to eat good food or wear nice clothes. Every day, I had to kneel before Jaslyn's portrait and atone for my sins. One day, the class fund went missing at school. Mom was convinced I had stolen it and dragged me away to confess. Terrified, I ran off, only to be hit by a car. As I lay dying, I called Mom and begged her to come save me. She snorted. "Such a liar! You stole Jaslyn's life from her back then. It's your turn to die now!" Later, Jaslyn, who had supposedly been dead for two years, returned and revealed the truth about what had happened back then. Mom broke down. She took Jaslyn from house to house, explaining the truth to every one of my classmates. "Nina is not a thief."

I have just disembarked from the plane when I receive a call from my sister, Sienna Miller's, manager. "Bad news! Sienna's role was stolen from her." I immediately rush to the set only to see Sienna surrounded by a group of people. Her cheeks are red and swollen from being slapped repeatedly. A mixture of fury and panic rages within me. I'm just about to step forward when a young woman, who looks no older than 16 years old and is wearing a dress that is covered in ruffles and frills, slaps me across my face. I'm stunned by the slap. A murderous glint flickers in my eyes. "Do you have any idea who I am?" I hiss. The young woman scoffs and sneers. "Who do you think you are? How dare you try to intimidate me? You'll be offending the only daughter of Deslano's Miller family, Quinn Miller. You'll also be facing a fate worse than death if you dare to fight me for this role." The director's arrogance from before has disappeared. He rubs his hands together as he tries to smooth the situation over. "She invested a significant amount of funds when she joined the crew. You're no match for her. If you know what's good for you, you'll accept whatever role that is assigned to you." The only daughter of the Miller family? What does that make me and Sienna then? I immediately call Dad and coldly demand answers from him. "It hasn't even been a week since Mom passed away. Are you in that much of a rush to bring your mistress and other children into the family?"

My older brother, Oliver Stewart, and I are twins, but he was born frail and sickly. My parents tell me, "Your mother lavished you with love while you were in the womb and fed you all the nutrients, so we'll now focus on giving Oliver love." And so, Oliver receives all their love since childhood. When we were young, my parents got Oliver the best education. When we become adults, my parents prepare a generous budget for his wedding and later help him raise his children too. One day, my parents—now old and frail—suddenly come looking for me. "We've gone above and beyond for Oliver, so we'll live with you from now on and make things up to you," they say to me. However, I now have a wife who loves me, as well as a cute daughter and a handsome son. I haven't needed my parents for a long time.