The Choice

I laughed. Of course, I could live with it.

An hour later, my father and stepmother found me at the detention center.

Behind the cold steel bars, I watched the news on the wall-mounted TV—a live broadcast of the Abyss Explorer rescue mission. The anchor's voice was full of practiced emotion as she recited the list of missing crew members, hailing them as national heroes who had sacrificed themselves for science.

She really nailed the tone.

I raised my cuffed hands and gave a small shrug toward the two standing outside the bars. "As you can see, my hands are tied—literally. I've been detained for allegedly leaking classified data from the Abyss Explorer."

Claudia's expression shifted in mere seconds—from shock, to disbelief, to venomous hatred. Her carefully maintained face twisted with fury as she shrieked, "It was you, Lucas! You did this on purpose! You've always been jealous of your brother—jealous that he became the chief designer of the Abyss Explorer at such a young age! You couldn't have it, so you decided to destroy him! You're vile!"

Every word of her accusation mirrored the same script the media had used in my previous life. Clearly, they'd had this story ready for a long time.

Theron, on the other hand, was much more composed. His anxiety was evident, but he still carried himself with the authority of a senior government official—the director of the Oceanic Department. He stared hard at me. "What exactly happened?"

"No idea." I leaned back against the wall, my posture lazy. "The disciplinary team stormed into my lab in the middle of the night. They said someone had filed a real-name report accusing me of selling the Abyss Explorer's schematics and sonar code to a foreign organization."

Theron's face turned the color of steel. He knew damn well it was a setup. Half of the submarine's core technology came from my research. There was no way I'd ever betray my own work.

"Damn it!" he growled, pulling out his phone. "I'll make some calls. I don't care what it takes—I'll have you out of here by tonight!"

"Don't waste your time," I said flatly.

"What do you mean?"

"If I walk out before the investigation is over, it'll only make me look guilty." My gaze met his—calm but sharp. "Dad, we both know that once this charge sticks, I'm finished for life."

Theron froze, the phone still in his hand. He understood perfectly.

Then, I asked him quietly, "Dad, if today only one of us—Aidan or me—gets to live, who would you choose?"

His mouth opened, but no sound came out.

Just then, his phone rang again. He grabbed it like a drowning man clutching a lifeline and answered immediately.

It was a call from the Polar Research Center. "Director Sullivan, we've just made contact with Chief Zimri!"

Theron's eyes lit up. "That's great! What did she say? Does she have a plan?"

"Chief Zimri said she's already suspended her Arctic mission. She's using a backup channel to try to remotely connect to the Abyss Explorer's operating system, but…"

"But what?"

"But the submarine's physical interface is locked. The remote signal can't fully access the system. Someone will have to pilot a rescue sub down there to manually link up. Only then can the system be restarted. And according to Chief Zimri, there's only one person in the world capable of performing that manual docking—engineer, Lucas Sullivan."

The Cold-Blooded Brother

The phone was on speaker, and every word came through loud and clear.

When the call ended, Theron turned to me, eyes bloodshot, voice hoarse. "Lucas, you heard that, didn't you? This isn't just about saving your brother anymore—it's about completing Elara's rescue plan! That's an order!"

I yawned lazily and didn't bother to answer.

Just then, a commotion erupted outside the detention center. A few parents of the missing students had somehow learned where I was being held, and they came rushing in. The moment they saw me, they fell to their knees in unison.

"Professor Sullivan! Please! Please save our children!"

"Please, Professor Sullivan, my boy's all I have—he can't die down there!"

Their cries and pleas echoed through the corridor, raw and desperate. I looked down at them from behind the bars, my eyes as cold as ice. "And what does their survival have to do with me?"

The words struck like a whip, silencing the room instantly. They stared up at me in disbelief, as if I were some kind of monster.

One of the fathers finally snapped out of it. He pulled out his phone, opened a screenshot of a bank transfer record, and held it up for me to see. "How can you say it has nothing to do with you?

"Look—this is proof! My son sent you money for ‘research funding.' He said you demanded 50,000 a month, or you wouldn't let him join your projects or graduate! His whole future depended on you—how can you just stand by and let him die?"

The others followed suit, each pulling out their own phones, waving screenshots like evidence in a trial.

"We paid too!"

"All of us did—for two whole years!"

Theron's face turned purple with rage. His body shook as he pointed a trembling finger at me. "You… You disgraceful bastard! Not only are you heartless, but you've also stooped to extortion and corruption—blackmailing your own students! You've brought utter shame to the Sullivan family!"

He was shouting so furiously it sounded as if I'd committed some unforgivable crime. But both he and I knew the truth. The account those payments went to wasn't mine. It belonged to his precious golden child—Aidan Sullivan.

No matter how they begged, cursed, or threatened to kill themselves in front of me, I didn't flinch. I simply watched the spectacle unfold, detached, like an audience member in someone else's tragedy.

Minute by minute, the golden rescue window for the Abyss Explorer slipped away. Online, public outrage was already boiling over.

'Chief Engineer Lucas Refuses to Join Rescue'

'Lucas Sullivan Detained for Leaking Classified Technology'

'Lucas Sullivan Accused of Extorting Students'

Each headline burned brighter than the last. In just a few hours, my name had become synonymous with cruelty, greed, and disgrace.

Then, amid the live broadcast of the rescue feed, a faint burst of static came through the speakers—broken, halting. It was Aidan.

"Lucas… Lucas… can you hear me…"

He sounded exhausted, terrified, fighting to stay conscious. His voice trembled with both the fear of death and the desperate will to live.

"Lucas… I believe in you… I know you can save me… You always could… Ever since we were kids… you were my hero… You won't give up on me… right?"

The Price of Blood

That dying message between brothers—so full of devotion and despair—pierced through millions of hearts. In the live broadcast, Aidan's trembling voice became the nation's tragedy. Within moments, the comment section exploded.

'God, this is unbearable! The brother is begging for his life while the other just sits in jail doing nothing!'

'Lucas is a monster! That's your brother, for God's sake!'

'How did someone like him ever become a chief engineer? Investigate him!'

'Go save him! It'll be too late if you don't move now!'

The insults and accusations came like a tidal wave, drowning me completely. And right at the crest of that public outrage, my stepmother, Claudia, made her move.

With a dramatic thud, she dropped to her knees again—not to me this time, but in front of the reporters who had gathered outside the detention center. She wept with perfect anguish, her voice cracking between sobs. "Please, Lucas… if you'll just save Aidan… I'll make him give up all his inheritance from the Sullivan family. Everything! It'll all go to you!"

As she spoke, she pulled a folded document from her bag—a Property Renunciation Agreement already prepared in advance. Aidan's signature was right there, waiting for me to accept.

It was a flawless performance, turning herself into a grieving mother willing to give up everything for her son's life.

I looked at her and smiled. Amid everyone's stunned silence, I said softly, "All right."

Claudia froze, clearly not expecting me to agree so easily.

I lifted a finger, beckoning. "Bring it here. Let me take a look."

She hesitated, then slid the papers through the narrow gap in the bars. I took them, glanced over the pages, and nodded approvingly. "Looks sincere enough."

Joy flickered in her eyes. "You… You'll go now?" she asked eagerly.

I set the document down on the table and leaned back against the wall, my tone casual. "I said I'd consider it. Didn't say when."

Her smile froze in place. "You… You're toying with me?!"

I closed my eyes, done with the conversation.

…

Another half hour passed. Every second was torture for those trapped beneath the sea—and for Theron as well. Finally, he played his last card.

He walked up to the bars, glaring at me with bloodshot eyes, and forced out the words through clenched teeth. "Lucas. If you go now—if you save your brother—I'll give you 60% of Sullivan Group's shares."

Sullivan Group—the billion-dollar empire my mother had built from the ground up. Sixty percent control meant absolute power.

…

Within minutes, Sullivan Group's top legal team arrived at the detention center with a thick folder of share transfer papers. I looked at the neatly printed documents, the staggering figures, the promise of everything I could've ever owned. I picked up the pen.

But just as the tip of the pen touched the paper, a burst of excited shouting came from the live broadcast.

"They've connected! The remote signal's online!"

"Chief Zimri did it—she actually did it!"

"The rescue's back on track!"

I smiled. They had no idea they'd just fallen perfectly into the trap I'd set for them.