Chapter 2

2.

Chief Walsh marched toward me, his towering frame casting a dark shadow that swallowed me whole.

The air around us seemed to freeze.

He didn't ask a single question.

He raised his arm and brought his palm down against my face with everything he had.

The brutal slap sent me stumbling back. My lip split instantly, filling my mouth with the metallic taste of blood.

“If anything happens to my daughter, I will bury your entire family!”

He pointed a finger in my face, his voice chilling to the bone.

Before I could steady myself, my mother’s frantic shrieks echoed from behind the crowd.

“Lucas!”

My parents shoved their way through the onlookers. The sight of Chief Walsh made their knees buckle.

My mother rushed up to me and caught sight of the blood on my lip.

Her eyes flickered for a split second.

Yet she didn't ask if I was hurt.

Instead, she raised her hand and slapped me across the face as well.

“You little bastard! Why did you just stand there? Have you lost your mind!”

The sting on my cheek burned, but it couldn't compare to the agony tearing through my chest.

Flashes of the past flooded my mind.

I remembered scraping my knee as a kid, and Mom almost crying from worry.

She had held me close, dabbing ointment on the scratch with a cotton swab while whispering, “Does it hurt, my sweet boy? Be more careful next time.”

Dad was a man of few words, but he always showed his pride in his own way.

Whenever I came home with top marks, he would pour a drink at dinner, clap me on the shoulder, and brag to our relatives.

“Look at my son, Lucas! He’s going places!”

And Landon―the little brother who used to trail behind me, calling me his hero.

He used to share his snacks with me and throw punches at anyone who dared speak ill of me.

He used to tell everyone, “My big brother is the best guy in the world!”

Those warm memories of being loved felt like shards of glass cutting into my heart.

I truly couldn't fathom how they had turned into these monsters.

Was it poverty? Or was family loyalty completely worthless when faced with real power?

My daze didn't last long because my father delivered an even harsher blow.

He kicked me hard in the back of my knee.

My leg gave out, and I slammed hard onto the pavement.

The impact sent a sharp pain shooting through my kneecaps, tearing a muffled groan from my throat.

Dad towered over me, trembling with fury.

“Get on your knees and apologize to Mr. Walsh right now!”

Kneeling in the dirt, I slowly raised my head and looked at my so-called family.

Looking at their terror-twisted faces, I asked in a deadpan voice.

“Do you even know what actually happened?”

“Of course we do! You just ruined our entire family!”

Dad practically screamed the words.

“If you had jumped in and saved her, our family would be set for life! Now you destroyed everything! You worthless jinx!”

So that was it. To them, Valerie wasn't a human life.

She was a golden ticket to high society.

And I was just the screw-up who shattered their dream.

They didn't even bother looking at me again.

Dad grabbed Mom’s hand, and with a loud thud, both of them dropped to their knees before Chief Walsh.

They began slamming their foreheads against the asphalt, bowing in frantic desperation.

“Mr. Walsh, we are so sorry! We are so deeply sorry!”

Dad wailed through tears and snot.

“It’s our fault for raising such a monster! We disown him! Starting today, this delinquent has nothing to do with our family!”

“Please, Mr. Walsh, show mercy and spare the rest of us!”

Disown him.

Those words plunged into my heart like a serrated blade.

I watched my parents grovel in the dust, begging an outsider like dogs.

Despite myself, a tear slipped down my cheek.