Chapter 2

I was locked in a storeroom with no windows.

It was freezing, and I only had a wet shirt on.

Outside, just beyond the wall, the living room was brightly lit. The comforting voice of the family doctor and Mom's scared sobs pierced my ears like poisoned needles.

Late at night, the locked storeroom door clicked open.

Jackie, dressed in a thick down jacket and holding a flashlight, looked down at me, who was stiff from the cold.

"Geez, Henry, why are you lying on the floor like a stray dog?"

He had completely shed his weak and pitiful facade from earlier, his eyes gleaming with triumph.

"Do you want to know who put the peanut powder in the drink?"

He squatted down, shining the flashlight directly into my eyes.

"It was me. I just wanted to see who's more important to Dad, Mom, and Violet: you, their biological son and brother, or me, who is adopted. Guess what? Even though you're related by blood, in their eyes, you're not even fit to carry my shoes!"

My lips were purple from the cold. I glared at him, not saying a word.

The last shred of hope I had for the Shaw family crumbled into dust.

Seeing I wasn't speaking, Jackie lost interest in taunting me.

He chuckled coldly and pulled out a sharp fruit knife from his pocket.

"Since you won't talk, let's do something more interesting. If Mom and Dad think you stabbed me in anger, would they throw you in jail or… kill you on the spot?"

He raised the knife and cut a deep gash on his arm without hesitation.

The moment the blood gushed out, he threw the bloody knife next to me and let out a horrifying scream, "AAH! Henry, what are you doing?! I only came to check on you! Why are you trying to kill me?!"

As soon as he screamed, the storeroom door was kicked open with a bang. Violet rushed in, followed by my parents.

They were met with a gruesome sight. There was blood everywhere, and Jackie was trembling on the floor.

"Jackie!" Violet cried out. She frantically rushed over to cover his wound with her coat, tears welling up in her eyes.

Mom saw the knife at my feet and screamed. She ran to me and kicked me hard on the chest.

"You animal! You really are an animal! Jackie secretly came to check on you even though he's injured, but you stabbed him!"

The kick knocked me against the wall, and my vision turned dark. I struggled to breathe.

Jackie leaned against Violet, gasping in pain, but still desperately held onto Mom's hand. "Mom, don't hit Henry… it's my fault for coming here even though I knew he hated me…"

Those words added more fuel to the fire. Dad's face turned livid with rage, and his hand trembled violently as he pointed at me. "Cruel and unrepentant! You're completely hopeless! Why did we bring back a cold-blooded monster like you?!"

Violet helped Jackie up, and before leaving, she looked at me with disgust as if I were trash. "Jackie kindly came to check on you, but you repaid his kindness with evil! You're beyond saving!"

They hurried away surrounding Jackie, their faces filled with grief. The storeroom door was slammed shut and locked again.