Chapter 1
“Oh, Ethan, it’s truly pitiful for you and your wife to suffer like this. Your youngest son is still so young, and now you’re both paralyzed?”
“Logan, you have to be responsible in the future. Your Chloe is still young, and the whole family will depend on you.”
Listening to the neighbors’ sincere or gloating advice, I looked once more at my parents sitting in wheelchairs. I was momentarily stunned—I had been reborn.
In my previous life, when I returned home from school, the house was already surrounded by many people. The Community Leader stood among the crowd, telling me with a serious expression that my parents had been in an accident at the construction site, were injured, and both were now completely paralyzed. I cried until I fainted.
When I woke up, my parents had returned, sitting in wheelchairs. My brother was already in a daze, terrified by the sudden change. I couldn’t manage school while taking care of three people, so I had to drop out. Later, my brother grew up and had to go to high school in the city. I worked three jobs alone, hired a Caregiver for my parents, and rented a place in the city to cook and do laundry for my brother.
My efforts paid off when my brother got into Stanford University. When I received the good news, I immediately bought a ticket back to my hometown. I was about to share the good news with my parents in person when I saw my supposedly paralyzed parents standing energetically in the house, holding a girl who looked just like me. There was no sign of their previous illness on their faces.
In contrast, I looked older than them due to long-term malnutrition. Trembling from the betrayal, I approached them for answers, but they disdainfully pushed me away, making me fall to the ground.
“You’re naturally destined for a miserable life; you’re lucky to resemble our Sophie a little.”
“There’s no harm in telling you; your real dad is Mr. Johnson, the Billionaire from Los Angeles. But now, he’s Sophie’s dad.”
“If we didn’t need you to support our Chloe to university, we would have let you sleep on the streets long ago. Now, you’re no longer of any value and should go to hell, so our Sophie can rest easy.”
Only then did I understand that I wasn’t their biological child. They pretended to be disabled to avoid raising me, a burden, while allowing me to raise Chloe. And Chloe, whom I had raised with my own hands, stood by coldly, watching it all, as the bodyguards held me down until I was beaten to death.
When I opened my eyes again, I was back on the day my parents announced their paralysis. Looking at them being pushed in by the Caregiver, still pretending to be unconscious, I suppressed my inner rage until the visiting villagers left. Then I took a stick from the corner and walked toward them.
They wanted to pretend to be crippled? I was going to see how long they could keep it up! Overwhelming hatred surged in my heart. Why should they enjoy an easy life without lifting a finger while I gave up everything? I suppressed my expression, lifted their pants, and swung the stick at their thighs.