The Sister Who Traded My Future For A Lie

The holidays were upon us. I was in the kitchen, making Christmas cookies with my wife and daughter, when the phone rang. “Kai.” Just one word, and I knew who it was. Victoria. But we hadn’t spoken in seven years. The sound of her voice, after all this time, was a cold shock. What could she possibly want now? “What is it?” I asked, keeping my tone flat, emotionless. On the other end, her breathing hitched, turning ragged and desperate. “I’m downstairs. Can you come down?” “I have something really important I need to tell you—in person.” Downstairs? I walked to the living room window, pulling back the curtain. Sure enough, a sleek, black Mercedes S-Class was parked on the curb. She was leaning against the passenger door, head tilted back, looking up. My knuckles tightened white against the windowsill. The sight of that face, the one that mirrored my own so unsettlingly, didn’t stir kinship—only a sharp, residual ache. Important? What on earth could be important between us anymore? I didn’t answer. I just ended the call.

1. “Daddy, who was calling you?” My five-year-old daughter, Sunny, tottered over on her small legs, a smudge of flour on her cheek. I took her hand and led her back to the kitchen counter. “No one important, sweetie.” I gave her a smile. My wife, Olivia, stood by the table, her expression cautious. After a moment of hesitation, she asked the question she clearly couldn’t keep in. “Was that Victoria? Is your sister back in town?” The smile slid off my face. “Whether she’s back or not, it has nothing to do with me.” “I cut her out of my life seven years ago.” Olivia started to speak again, but she saw the look in my eyes and wisely pressed her lips into a thin line. A moment later, my phone buzzed with a text message. It was from my Uncle Jerry, Victoria’s unofficial envoy. Victoria had contacted him, he wrote, wanting to get the family together for dinner. He hoped I could attend. When I didn’t immediately reply, he followed up: “Kai, son, you both had your struggles back then, but it’s all in the past now…” He was pleading her case. He wasn’t the only one. Even Olivia, in her quiet way, had tried to gently push me toward reconciliation over the years. I didn’t understand. I was the one who was wronged—the one who had to pick up the pieces—and yet, I was the one people kept urging to forgive. Was it really just because of that flimsy excuse of kinship? She was no longer the sister who shielded me from bullies, who snuck me her favorite treats, or who listened to my teenage worries late into the night. She forfeited that right a long time ago. “Daddy, are we still going out today?” Sunny asked, pulling my thoughts back to the present. I nodded. “Yes, we are.” Olivia got up to warm the car. We deliberately circled the block to avoid the black Mercedes still waiting on the curb, and drove straight to Lakeview Memorial Park. Once out of the car, I held Sunny’s hand and walked ahead while Olivia followed, carrying a thermos and a small bouquet. Sunny, at five, was a whirlwind of curiosity. “Daddy, why do we come here every year for the holidays?” “Who lives here, Daddy?” “Look, Daddy, that rock is huge!” I squeezed her hand and gave her a gentle, wordless smile. We stopped at a simple, well-maintained stone marker. I knelt down with Sunny. I placed the small offering I’d brought—a freshly baked apple pie, his favorite—and started to speak, the words coming out as a familiar, mournful whisper. “I’m here again, Dad. Hope I’m not bothering you too much…” I lifted Sunny into my lap. “This is your granddaughter, Sunny. She’s five now. A handful, just like you always said I was when I was her age.” My eyes blurred. I wiped the dust from the simple, gray headstone, revealing the crisp, deep engraving: GEORGE PETERSON Erected by his son, Kai Peterson Victoria’s name was absent. It had been seven years, and I still refused to acknowledge her role here. 2. On the drive home, I leaned against the window, letting the cold air dry the moisture from my eyes. Olivia reached over and gently wrapped her hand around mine. I shook my head, signaling that I was fine. Suddenly, the car screeched to a halt. BANG! I lunged forward against the seatbelt, the sudden stop rattling my teeth. Sunny, startled, burst into terrified sobs. I fumbled with my seatbelt, turning immediately to pull her into my arms. “It’s okay, baby. Daddy’s here. It’s okay.” I looked up. The black Mercedes S-Class, the one that should have been downstairs at our condo, was blocking the road. Victoria threw open her door and rushed toward us, her face a mask of frantic urgency. But when she saw Sunny shaking and crying in my arms, her expression froze. “Kai, I just needed to stop you. I didn’t mean to—” I cut her off, my eyes locked on Olivia. “Drive. Now.” Olivia’s jaw was set. She sharply turned the wheel, the tires spitting gravel as we scraped past the front bumper of the Mercedes. In the rearview mirror, Victoria chased us for a few desperate steps. Her voice, thin and torn by the wind, barely reached me. “Kai! At least tell me… is Dad… is he okay?” I closed my eyes, a wave of cold fury washing over me. How did she have the audacity to ask that question? We pulled into the condo parking garage. I carried Sunny toward the elevator. Olivia parked the car but stayed rooted by the driver’s side door. “What’s wrong?” I asked, turning back. She looked troubled, twisting her hands together. “The hospital… they told me to take a ‘break.’ The Chief of Staff said they wouldn’t need me back in the outpatient clinic for a while.” A suspension? I frowned. Olivia wasn’t the most famous Nurse Practitioner at the hospital, but she was meticulous, dedicated, and had been there for years without a single complaint. There was only one possible reason. “Dr. Evans said… he thinks I might have upset the wrong person.” Upset the wrong person. There was no one else with the reach, the power, and the sheer nerve to leverage my wife’s job to get to me. Victoria. Back upstairs, after Sunny was finally rocked back to sleep, Olivia sat curled up on the couch, head down. I sat next to her, and she suddenly threw her arms around me, holding me tightly. “Kai…” Her voice was thick with emotion. “I can’t even imagine what you went through for those years, dealing with a sister that… that unhinged and driven.” Those years. They felt like a lifetime ago. “It’s just that now, I’ve dragged you into it.” My guilt was a bitter taste. Olivia shook her head. “No. This actually makes things easier. I have a friend who’s been asking me to join her private practice for months. I was too afraid to give up the stability of the hospital system… but now I don’t have to hesitate.” She gripped my hands, her eyes filled with resolve. “We’ll close ranks, Kai. We’ll live our life, just us.” I didn’t speak, just leaned my head against hers.

The next day was the anniversary of Dad’s death. Every student he had mentored and sponsored over the years showed up, and his gravesite was covered in flowers. In the evening, I reserved a room at the old bistro he loved and invited them for dinner. After a few drinks, the heavy atmosphere finally lifted slightly. Sarah, a former student who sat across from me, fiddled with her wine glass. She hesitated for a long time before finally speaking. “Kai… there’s something I need to tell you.” “Victoria came back to the States and couldn’t find you. She contacted me through the alumni network last month.” “Your number… I gave it to her.” The second the words were out, Mark, another former student, slammed his glass down. “You gave her his number?!” he snapped. “Don’t you know she’s the last person Professor Peterson or Kai ever wanted to see?” Sarah tried to grab his sleeve, but he was too angry. “I’m going to say it! That man—Professor Peterson—he scrimped and saved, and Kai dropped out of college and worked dead-end jobs just to put her through medical school. They sacrificed everything!” “And she turned around and partnered with the son of the man who ruined her mentor. That betrayal—it was the final thing that broke your father!” The table went silent, all eyes on me. I gripped my wine glass until my hand ached. Finally, I shook my head. “It’s fine. It’s not worth dwelling on people who are irrelevant.” Just like Dad said on his deathbed: we just have to accept that some people in your life are only there to exact a toll. It’s okay. You cut them out and move on. As for the things Victoria did… it felt so distant. The first domino, I faintly remembered, was a man named Rhett. 3. Eight years ago, Victoria had been recruited to the City’s top hospital as a cutting-edge Neurosurgery Fellow. When Dad heard the news, his hands trembled with pride. He cooked a massive feast himself. I went to the train station to pick her up, just as she’d instructed. I saw her immediately as she walked out. But right next to her stood a striking man in a white cashmere coat. He was so handsome, he turned heads. I grinned, nudging her. “Well, hello, who is this… the lucky fiancé?” Victoria nodded, but her expression was strained. “Kai, when we get home, if Dad gets mad… please, talk him down.” I found her worry amusing. She was old enough to date; Dad would be thrilled. But my reassurance did nothing to calm her. All the way back, both of them seemed deeply worried. Victoria clung to Rhett’s hand, her knuckles white. When we walked in the door, Dad froze the moment his eyes landed on Rhett. He quickly recovered, however, and smiled, inviting us to sit. I gave Victoria a look: See? You worried for nothing. The dinner started well, the small talk flowing until Dad casually asked: “So, Rhett, what does your family do?” Rhett glanced nervously at Victoria, then spoke quietly. “My father is… also in medicine.” Victoria jumped in immediately. She explained that Rhett’s father was an old acquaintance of her mentor, and that she and Rhett had been together since college. It was a deep, serious relationship. Dad’s smile tightened. “What’s his name, son? Where does he practice?” Rhett gave a name. “Alistair.” Dad’s chopsticks clattered to the floor. The next second, he ripped the tablecloth off the table— Dishes, food, and silverware smashed onto the hardwood. Hot sauce splashed Rhett’s pristine coat. “Get out.” Dad’s voice was a low, terrifying growl. “Dad…” Victoria tried to shield Rhett, attempting to reason with him. But Dad just pointed at the door. “Get out!” I had never seen him so incandescent with rage. His face was blotchy and purple, like a wounded animal pushed into a corner. “As long as I draw breath, that man’s son will not step foot in my house!” Victoria, protecting a stunned Rhett, stumbled backward across the shattered ceramic and scattered food. It was only then that I understood. Victoria’s tense nervousness. Her desperate plea to “talk Dad down.” But it was too late. Dad banished them both. Victoria stood in the cold outside, her eyes blazing red, arguing with him. “Dad! That was the feud of your generation! It happened decades ago! Why can’t you let it go?” “Dad, Rhett and I are genuinely in love. We shouldn’t have to pay for your old grudges!” Dad didn’t answer. He slumped against the door frame, struggling for air. Terrified, I fumbled for his medicine bottle, my hands shaking as I unscrewed the cap. He swallowed the pills, then slid down the door until he was sitting on the floor, his hands covering his face. Tears leaked out between his fingers. “Your mother…” Dad’s voice was raw and broken. “When she heard what that bastard Alistair had done to me, her heart gave out. She went into the ER…” “I was the only person who could have performed that surgery, but my medical license had just been revoked… they wouldn’t let me into the operating room…” “I had to watch her…” I stood paralyzed. That night, Dad spoke of everything. How he had trusted his former colleague, Dr. Alistair. How he was betrayed, his research stolen, and slapped with the career-ending charge of plagiarism. He went from a top provincial surgeon to a disgraced outcast. “It was my fault, all my fault…” He looked up, his face stained with tears. He blamed himself for everything: the loss of Mom, the ruin of our family, and my having to drop out of college to work and pay for Victoria’s tuition. “I have nothing left,” he choked, gripping my arm with painful strength. “I only have my integrity left. Kai, do you understand?” I understood. Dad could never allow Rhett Alistair into our family. Victoria came back a few more times. I met her at the door, and each time, I slammed it in her face. The last time, she came to me. She begged me to steal the necessary family documents for her to get married. “Kai, just help me this one time… just get me the papers, please?” Her eyes were red-rimmed. “I’m only asking you this once. I really love Rhett. We are genuinely in love…” I refused. I stood firmly on Dad’s side. I watched the light slowly dim in Victoria’s eyes, replaced by a cold, alien resolve. I thought she would give up. But I forgot that my sister was never a person who gave up easily. She clawed her way out of poverty into a top PhD program and a prestigious hospital on sheer, almost pathological, ambition. I just never imagined that ambition would ever be aimed at me. 4. After the holidays, a thick blanket of snow shut down the city. But I had to get to the design competition. It was my only chance—the opportunity Dad had fought tooth and nail for, pulling in every favor he had, to get me a foot in the door of the professional world. As I was frantically looking for a ride, Victoria showed up at my door. “I’ll drive you,” she said. I didn’t hesitate. Two decades of brotherhood blinded me. I never suspected. She didn’t take me to the exhibition hall. Instead, she drove to a deserted, dilapidated old warehouse on the outskirts of town. “I’m sorry, Kai.” She locked the door. “I called Dad. It’s the paperwork for your competition.” The realization hit me like a physical blow. I suddenly knew exactly what she was doing. I threw myself at the door, screaming until my throat tore. “Vic! Let me out! You have to let me out!” “Don’t you understand, that competition is my life! It’s my only shot!” She didn’t answer. I could vaguely hear her on the phone with Dad. I knew I was bait now, the sharpest knife she could plunge into his conscience. “Vic! Open the door! Now!” My voice was raw. Time bled away, minute by minute, and the competition’s start time was approaching fast. Victoria made no move to let me go. She only spoke to the door: “Kai, just talk Dad into giving me the documents. It’ll be better for everyone.” I wouldn’t sacrifice my future. But I couldn’t… I couldn’t let the last shred of Dad’s integrity be ripped from him because of me. I begged her, my voice hoarse, on the verge of breakdown. Silence met me from outside the door. The last spark of hope died. I climbed onto the dusty windowsill and used a chair to smash the corroded latch. I jumped, not caring what happened next. The snow cushioned the fall, but a blinding, searing pain shot up my ankle. Dragging my injured leg, I scrambled through the knee-deep snow. “Kai!” Victoria’s enraged shout and the sound of her running footsteps followed me. My vision blurred with snow and tears. I just needed to run, to escape to the place that could save me. As I burst out of the alleyway— Blinding headlights and the shriek of tires tore through the snowy silence. The world dissolved into darkness with a shattering impact. … When I next woke up, I saw the sterile white ceiling of a hospital. Only Dad was there, his eyes hollow, having aged ten years overnight. I missed the competition. No—it was stolen from me. The tiny flame of hope that had burned so fiercely was suddenly, brutally snuffed out, leaving only cold ash. I heard later that Victoria had gotten the documents. Dad never said how, and I never asked. I only watched his back, hunched and broken, as he smoked, never straightening again. She and Rhett got married. The glaring red of the marriage license was a wound. While they busied themselves with wedding plans, Dad sat down with a few old relatives and signed the legal affidavit severing all ties with Victoria. “Some children are just here to exact a toll,” Dad said, collecting the paper, his voice calm, as if talking about a stranger. “The debt is paid. The connection is severed. It’s better for everyone this way.”