Sometimes, when I couldn't hold it in anymore, I'd sneak off to cry where no one could see. Mom would pull me into her arms and whisper:

"Don't be sad. Your cousin just lost his parents. It's only right that we show him a little extra love."

"But you're our own flesh and blood. Deep down, we'll always love you more."

Naive as I was, I believed every word.

I was their biological son.

Of course they loved me.

So I kept giving ground. One step at a time.

Even after I scored high enough on my college entrance exams to get into a top-tier university, my parents made me drop out and find work. They said education was useless—money was all that mattered. I needed to start earning and supporting the family.

Meanwhile, Derek barely scraped into a vocational college, and they shelled out a fortune to buy him a spot in a bachelor's program. They even sat him down and told him, gently, earnestly, to study hard so he could make something of himself one day.

I felt the difference. Of course I did. But I still couldn't bring myself to tear through that thin paper of family bonds.

Because I was their son. Their real son.

They couldn't truly not love me… could they?

But my concessions never earned understanding or gratitude.

They only fed the favoritism, made it bolder, more brazen.

In the end—the betrothal money, the house, the wife, even my son's life—all of it slipped through my fingers under the weight of their unquestioning devotion to Derek.

His laughter in that video call rang in my ears like mockery.

I drew a sharp breath and blocked Derek on WhatsApp.

The moment I did, a knock hammered against my door. The landlord.

"You don't pay this month's rent, you're out! You hear me?"

I patted my pockets. Checked my phone.

Twenty-three dollars. That was everything I had left in this world.

To scrape together the $500,000 for Abner's surgery, I'd maxed out every loan I could find—every app, every lender, every last avenue of borrowed money.

And in the end, the money was spent, but my son—his condition had been left untreated too long. The surgery failed. He died on the operating table.

Now I was buried in debt and couldn't even make rent.

That same day, I packed my things and walked out of the apartment.

I found an overpass that kept the wind and rain off. That became home.

To pay down the debt, I threw myself into work with everything I had.

Days, I sorted packages at a logistics warehouse.

Evenings, I washed dishes in the back of a restaurant kitchen.

Late nights, if my body still had anything left to give, I picked up ride-hailing shifts.

When exhaustion finally won, I'd crawl back under the overpass, pull my jacket tight, and steal whatever sleep I could.

When hunger gnawed too deep, I'd chew on the cheapest steamed bread I could find.

On the seventh day under the overpass, a crowd showed up.

Leading the way were my parents.

Behind them trailed Aunt Patrice, Derek and his wife, a swarm of relatives, and half the people from our hometown.

The second my father saw me, his face went dark as a bruise. He jabbed a finger at my nose and started shouting.

"People in town told me you were living under a bridge. I didn't believe it—but here you are!"

"Cecil! You're determined to drag the Dickerson name through the mud, is that it?!"

My mother stepped forward, her face twisted with disgust.

"The whole town's talking!"

"They're saying the Dickersons must have done something terrible—their own son so destitute he's sleeping under a bridge, while his parents sit on five million dollars from the demolition settlement and won't spare a single cent!"

"They're saying we'd rather give the money to a nephew for his wedding than pay for our own grandson's medical bills!"

I looked at them. My expression didn't change.

"And were they wrong?"

My father trembled from head to toe.

"Cecil, you moved under this bridge on purpose—to play the victim! You want your mother and me drowned in gossip, is that it?!"

"Don't think I can't see through you. This is all just another one of your schemes!"

"All so you can bleed us dry!"

"You've been cunning since you were a kid—always knew how to play the pity card!"

"Before, you used your own son's illness to lie and con money out of us, out of the whole family!"

"And now you've outdone yourself. To milk sympathy, to make sure everyone points fingers at us, you came out here and set up camp under a bridge like it's some kind of performance!"

"All this drama—you're just trying to force us into giving you money!"

My father dug into his canvas bag and pulled out a thick stack of bills.

"Two hundred thousand dollars. Every last cent!"

"You said your son was critically ill and you couldn't afford treatment? Where is he?"

"Bring your son out here! Let everyone see just how sick he really is!"

My mother's voice rose to match his.

"Exactly! The second you heard we had money, suddenly your son is deathly ill and needs cash. What a coincidence!"

"We brought all our relatives and neighbors here on purpose—to prove to everyone that you're nothing but a schemer, a liar, putting on a show and crying poor!"

"Your son's so sick? Then bring him out! Let everyone see for themselves!"

"Today, I'm going to make sure every single person here knows your son isn't sick at all. This whole thing is an act!"

Patrice glanced around the space beneath the overpass. No sign of a child. Confusion creased her brow.

"It's the weekend. Where's Abner? Why isn't he here with you?"

She turned to me, her tone softening.

"Your parents are genuinely angry this time. Just bring Abner out and let them see him. Clear up the misunderstanding."

"They brought the money. Don't keep butting heads with them."

Other relatives chimed in one after another.

"She's right. Family grudges shouldn't last overnight. Let the boy come out, clear the air, and that'll be the end of it."

"You're a grown man—living under an overpass is one thing. But the child is young, his body's fragile. You can't let him ruin his health like this."

"We've been standing here talking for ages and haven't seen the kid once. Where is he? Just bring him out already!"

Under the weight of all their urging, I raised my hand and pointed to the corner—to the urn sitting there, the one I couldn't afford a burial plot for.

My voice broke.

"He's right there."