Chapter 2

2

"Mom, Dad, now that Jaxson is back, should I give him my bedroom?"

One afternoon, Caleb brought this up while my parents were watching TV in the living room.

My mother didn't even look up from her fruit bowl.

"No. Jaxson is fine where he is. You keep your room."

For context, I was staying in a tiny, damp room right across from the maid's quarters.

The housekeeper was the only one who bothered to set it up for me.

My parents were too busy celebrating Caleb's latest test scores to notice.

Seeing that they didn't give a damn about me, Caleb's face lit up with a wicked joy.

He suddenly walked over and grabbed my hand, pulling me toward the stairs.

"I have so many cool things in my room! Come on, brother, I'll let you pick something out!"

I knew exactly what he was doing.

In my past life, he had pulled this same stunt.

He dragged me into his room and beat the hell out of me.

Then he started screaming and crying, telling our parents that I was the one who attacked him.

"I'm so sorry, Jaxson! I'll do anything! Just let me stay in a corner of the house like a dog! Please don't kick me out!"

Back then, my father was so enraged by Caleb's performance that he kicked me in the stomach.

"You pathetic brat! What did you do to your brother? He was always so happy until you showed up!"

My mother looked at me with pure disgust.

"I wish I had given birth to Caleb instead of a heartless monster like you!"

They took Caleb away to comfort him, leaving me bleeding on the floor of his messy room.

They were a family, and I was the villain.

Fine. This time, I'd give them exactly what they wanted.

The moment we stepped into his room, Caleb's face transformed into a mask of pure hate.

He slammed me against the wall, one hand on my throat and the other balled into a fist.

"You think you can just walk in and take my life? Not a chance, you little stray."

"Look at your parents. They don't want you. They want me! If you hadn't come back, everything would be perfect!"

I looked him dead in the eye, my voice cold and calm.

"You don't belong here. These things were never yours. Greed is going to be your downfall, Caleb."

He gripped my collar tighter, his knuckles turning white.

"Oh yeah? Watch me. Let's see who they believe―their perfect son or the trash from the streets."

Then, he punched himself in the face. Twice. Hard.

I actually winced at the sound of the impact.

He turned and ran toward the door, sobbing at the top of his lungs.

As he reached the top of the stairs, I whispered a tiny warning.

"Walk slowly, Caleb. It'd be a shame if you fell down the stairs."

There was a sickening thud.

It sounded like the entire house shook as Caleb tumbled down.

My parents rushed over, screaming in horror when they saw him sprawled at the bottom, face pale and clutching his leg.

"My baby! What happened? How did you fall?!"

My mother looked at his twisted leg and looked like she was about to have a heart attack.

Caleb pointed a shaking finger up at me.

"It was Jaxson! He pushed me! He said he's going to kill me! I have to leave before he finishes the job!"

My mother panicked instantly.

"No! You aren't going anywhere! You're hurt! You'll die out there without us!"

I started walking down the stairs to explain, but my father didn't give me a chance.

He stepped forward and slapped me across the face so hard I saw stars.

"You're a monster! How could you do this to your own brother?!"

My mother stared at me like I was a piece of trash she'd accidentally stepped on.

"I can't believe I gave birth to a curse. I should have left you where we found you."