They Favored the Imposter, Now They Regret Losing Me

They stepped closer, grinning with filthy amusement. “I wonder how this young master feels about playing with. Never tried a man before—just thinking about it excites me. With an ass like that, it’s bound to be fun.” As he spoke, one of them lunged forward and pinned me down. “Brother, you go first. I’ll take my turn after.” The man in front of me began unbuckling his belt. Terror gripped me. “Don’t you dare touch me! I’m the Reed family’s second young master!” “Second young master? Mr. and Mrs. Reed only treat you like a dog.” “You think being their blood makes you their real son? Only Lucas is the true young master—you’re nothing but a stray!” “Truth is, Lucas sent us to deal with you tonight!” I bit the man holding me hard. “You bastard! How dare you bite me!” He screamed and let go. I seized the chance and climbed onto the windowsill. “Don’t come any closer, or I’ll jump!” “This is the third floor! You’ll be crippled if not dead!” They charged toward me, and I had no choice—I leapt from the third floor. The ground was tiled. I was lucky to survive, though my leg snapped on impact. Bleeding, I dragged myself toward the noise of the party. “Clara! Clara!” I shouted, but no one answered. Then I heard sounds from a corner room downstairs—sounds I recognized too well. I pushed open the door and saw my wife and brother, disheveled, tangled together. “What are you doing?” Clara rose slowly, smoothing her skirt. “I drank too much and mistook someone for someone else.” “I look nothing like Lucas. Was he drunk, too? Mistook someone as well?” “Are you insane? I said I mistook someone else!” He turned, froze when he saw me. “How did you end up covered in blood?” “I jumped from the third floor—that’s how I got here.” “Are you out of your mind? Jumping from that high?” “Lucas sent people to force me! I had no choice but to jump to escape their filth!” Tears blurred my vision as I spoke. Lucas began crying too, tears streaming down his face. “Ethan, I know you’ve always hated me, but how can you accuse me like this?” “I’d never order someone to harm my own brother. This is absurd!” Clara pulled him into her arms. “Ethan Reed, that’s enough! How could you frame your own brother?” I was about to respond when my parents and sister rushed in. Without a word, my father slapped me hard across the face. My head spun. “Dad, why did you hit me?” “We heard everything outside! You’d stoop so low to frame your brother—you deserve it!” “I didn’t frame him! Look at me—my leg’s broken!” My sister snapped, “Stop acting! What a pitiful trick! Ethan, you’ll do anything to ruin Lucas!” I looked at the four people dearest to me—my wife, my parents, and my sister. They all stared at me with the same expression—disgust and contempt. “You all think I framed him? Fine. I have proof. Come with me.”

I limped upstairs, dragging my broken leg. They didn’t follow. “Mom, Dad, Sis, forget it. It’s my birthday today. I don’t want to argue with Ethan.” My sister sighed. “Lucas is so generous, unlike some people—scheming and disgusting.” “What, afraid to come up? Scared to face the truth?” Clara frowned. “Lucas’s protecting you, yet you’re still ungrateful. Do you only feel satisfied when you contradict yourself?” I stopped talking and silently dragged my broken leg upstairs back to my room. My phone was still recording on the table. I played the recording. Good—it captured everything that needed to be caught. I immediately sent the video to the family group chat. Soon, all my so-called family members rushed to react. My sister raised her phone, shouting, “What’s the meaning of this video?!” “Isn’t it clear? Lucas told his two brothers to violate me. Didn’t they admit it themselves?” My father shook his head. “Impossible. Lucas would never do such a thing. Those two acted alone. It has nothing to do with him.” Lucas cried, “Ethan, you have to believe me! I didn’t send them! I’ll confront them myself—where are they?!” “Of course, they ran off after what they did. Did they think I’d tell the family?” My mother looked at me with pity. “Ethan, you jumped from the third floor—are you hurt badly? Should we see a doctor?” Clara asked sharply, “But… how did you even record this? Were you working with them?” I laughed bitterly. “Clara, those two are Lucas’s good brothers. Why would I work with them?” “Maybe you bribed them to frame him!” my sister snapped. “Clara’s right—Ethan planned all this to ruin Lucas!” Lucas cried harder. “Ethan, I’m your brother! Why are you doing this to me?” My mother’s pity vanished. “Ethan, you’ve disappointed me deeply.” My father snorted. “We should never have brought him back.” At that moment, all my affection for this family died. “You want to know how I got the proof? Fine, I’ll tell you!” “Before they broke in, I was recording my last words!” Clara scoffed. “Your last words? Come up with a better excuse! You’re recording your last words—are you planning to die?” “Yes. I’m leaving this world today.” “Don’t be ridiculous! If you dare to die, I’ll eat shit!” My sister screamed, “Ethan, are you insane? Why would you kill yourself?! Now you’re even blaming Lucas—” “The guilty one always cries first.” I looked at her through tears. “Sister, your heart only holds Lucas. Have you forgotten you had a husband named Noah?” “Mom, Dad—have you forgotten you had a son-in-law who honored you?” “Noah’s dead—because none of you would operate on him! You all stayed with Lucas instead, and he died!” “Noah is gone, and I have no reason left to stay. I’m going to follow him.” They all stared at me with contempt. My sister sneered. “You and Noah’s act still isn’t over? What is this, a cheap drama?”

“How’s the act going to end this time? Is he going to pretend to be a corpse again to scare us?” “No, you won’t see him again. I already cremated him and scattered his ashes at sea.” Clara tugged her sister’s arm. “Sis, let’s just ignore Ethan. He’s putting on this grand show because we’re watching. If none of us react, he can’t keep acting.” My father snapped angrily, “From now on, stay in your room and reflect on what you’ve done! When you finally come to your senses, apologize to your brother—or don’t eat!” “Bear the pain, no matter how much it hurts. We won’t call a doctor until you apologize to him!” With that, everyone crowded around Lucas and left together. At the door, Lucas turned back and mouthed, You’ll never beat me. Facing his taunt, I felt no anger anymore. Because soon, I’d finally leave this place—return to my real world, reunite with Noah, and live the carefree life my brother promised me. At first, I wanted to die quietly in my room. But after what they did, I decided to disgust them one last time. I climbed onto the roof of the villa, overlooking the huge swimming pool below. My family was laughing, tossing a ball in the pool with Lucas. I sat at the roof’s edge, pulled out a fruit knife, pressed it to my wrist’s artery, and slashed without hesitation. Blood gushed instantly. Someone screamed from below, “Someone’s going to jump!” Everyone looked up. Mom panicked. “Ethan! What are you doing? Come down!” Dad sneered. “Ignore him! Even if he jumps, he’s not forgiven until he apologizes to Lucas!” My sister frowned. “Ethan, isn’t this act over yet? We’re sick of it!” Lucas cried again. “Why’s Ethan doing this to me? Is he trying to prove I hurt him by dying?!” “I can’t defend myself anymore—might as well die too!” Clara hugged him. “Lucas, that’s exactly what he wants.” Then she yelled at me, “If you’re going to jump, then jump already! Stop pretending!” “If you dare jump, I, Clara, will take your surname!” As blood drained from me, my vision blurred. With my last strength, I shouted, “Then listen carefully—my surname is Harris!” And I jumped, crashing into the pool like a stone. Blood splashed, dyeing the water crimson. I floated face down, blood blooming around me, staining the pool red.