My heart felt like it was being carved apart. I staggered back two steps, staring in shock at the sister I had raised and taken care of my whole life.

But she didn't even register my pale face. After urging me two more times, she just turned and walked away.

A chill sank deep into my bones.

I deleted the message I'd just sent and wrote a new one to my lawyer: [Also draft a document to sever sibling ties.]

I wiped the tears from the corners of my eyes, hard.

The love that had already rotted, and the sister who had betrayed me—I wanted none of it anymore.

When I got home, the newly decorated wedding room I had put so much care into was in complete chaos.

Wrappers from condoms were scattered across the floor, and traces of their intimacy were everywhere.

Chuck walked out, rubbing his lower back with a satisfied look.

When he saw me, he deliberately tilted his head, showing off the marks on his neck.

"Adam, that wedding bed you picked out is really something. Julie and I tried eighteen new positions—she was so into it, you'd think she'd never been with a man before. She wanted me over and over. What's the matter—are you not able to satisfy her?"

His eyes dropped meaningfully toward my waist.

Blood rushed to my head. I swung and punched him hard.

"You ungrateful bastard!"

He took the hit and fell to the ground, clutching his bruised lip as he put on an act of apology.

"I'm sorry, Adam. I didn't realize you still couldn't accept me. Since you're calling me the other man, I have no right to stay here. I'll leave right now."

Julie walked in just in time to see it. Furious, she shoved me aside.

"Adam, have you had enough? What did Chuck ever do to you? Why do you keep going after him like this?"

In twenty years together, she had always been sweet and considerate with me. Even when we argued, she was the first to back down.

And now, over another man, she was attacking me without a second thought.

Julie cupped Chuck's face, checking his injuries—the same way she used to worry over me, full of tenderness and care.

A flash of smugness crossed Chuck's eyes. Pretending to be understanding, he said to Julie, "Julie, don't blame Adam. He's just jealous and upset—I get it."

Then he put on a concerned act, coming over to talk to me, leaning close to whisper in my ear with a mocking tone:

"A kept man like you, with no real talent—who can you blame when your wife finds someone new? I was nice enough to let you keep cooking so you could keep mooching off the household."

His voice dripped with ridicule.

"You didn't know, did you? That one-dollar 'encouragement bonus' Julie sent you—I'm the one who told her to give it to you. She said if she hadn't taken you in, you'd be a lonely old man nobody wanted—totally not worth a cent."

Chuck's arrogance made me sick to my stomach.

I swallowed my rage and hardened my expression.

"No matter what you say, you're still nothing but a pathetic homewrecker. Even if Julie and I get divorced, it won't be your turn."

Chuck's face went dark instantly.

Without warning, he shoved a pair of scissors into my hand and let out a bloodcurdling scream.

"Adam, I swear I won't touch Julie again! I'll leave right now. Please don't kill me!"

At almost the exact same moment, Julie charged forward and kicked me away.

"Stop! Don't you dare lay a finger on Chuck!"

My sister heard the commotion and ran out, snapping at me.

"Adam, even if you're jealous of Chuck, you don't need to try to kill him!"

Even my own sister—my own flesh and blood—was convinced I had hurt him. My heart turned even colder.

"He set this up himself! I didn't touch him at all!"

But the look in Julie's eyes only grew more disgusted.

"How can you be so cruel? And you're still trying to blame Chuck!"

My sister glared at me like I was her enemy.

I was about to speak again when Chuck suddenly cried out in pain.

Panicked, Julie and my sister rushed him into an ambulance, dragging me along with them.

Just then, my father-in-law and mother-in-law arrived.

The second they saw me, they flew into a rage and slapped me twice across the face.

My usually gentle mother-in-law was now grinding her teeth, pointing at my nose as she cursed.

"Chuck gave us our first grandson! If you cause any more trouble, I'll have you thrown out of the family to beg on the streets!"

Julie's parents had watched me grow up. They were like a second set of parents to me.

Who would have thought that twenty years of history couldn't compete with an outsider?

"I didn't touch Chuck—he's not even injured—"

"Adam, you're still lying! The doctor said Chuck is seriously hurt—he needs a kidney transplant!"

My sister burst in, cutting me off.

At that, my mother-in-law viciously lashed out, kicking toward my groin.

"I always knew you had bad intentions! Since you're useless yourself, you can't stand seeing Chuck do well! You've been with Julie for years—if you could have gotten her pregnant, we wouldn't need Chuck at all! It's your fault for being worthless!"

My sister's face was full of anger and disappointment.

"This is attempted assault. I've already called the cops—you can rot in prison! A criminal brother like you isn't worth having!"

What a "wonderful" sister I have.

A deep chill settled in my chest. In the end, rage twisted into bitter laughter, and tears slipped from the corners of my eyes.

Just then, Julie dragged me into the hospital room, her face dark with fury, and forced me to kneel in front of Chuck.

Lying pale on the bed, Chuck weakly opened his mouth.

"Adam just lost control for a moment. I don't blame him… please don't send him to prison."

Julie's eyes reddened. She grabbed my hair and slammed my head against the floor.

"Even after being hurt this badly, Chuck is still thinking of you—how can you be so cruel, trying to frame him like this?"

I was forced to kowtow to Chuck again and again, my forehead striking the ground until it split open, blood streaming down as my consciousness blurred.

Only then did Julie stop. Her voice turned ice cold.

"You wronged Chuck first. So you'll compensate him—with one of your kidneys."

As they dragged me away, I struggled to lift my head.

Chuck stood behind her, looking at me with a smug, contemptuous smile.

Eight doctors strapped me tightly to the operating table.

Without anesthesia, they cut me open and forcibly removed my kidney.

The tearing pain of flesh being carved apart was unbearable—I screamed until my voice gave out.

When I woke up again, Julie stood by the bed, looking down at me from above.

"Adam, even though I love you, I can't keep letting you hurt Chuck over and over. We'll let this go. After my baby with Chuck is born, you'll devote yourself to taking care of both of them. If you dare get any more twisted ideas, I'll make your life worse than death."

I couldn't move. I just stared numbly at the ceiling.

That night, as I left the hospital, Julie suddenly video-called me.

But the face that appeared on the screen was Chuck's—his skin slick with sweat.

Along with his heavy breathing came the faint, suggestive sound of water in the background.

I instantly understood what he and Julie were doing. My jaw clenched tight.

He deliberately kissed Julie until she let out soft, breathy moans.

"Julie, who's better—me or Adam?"

Half-dazed, she answered over and over, "How could Adam compare to you?"

Gone was the awkward, insecure boy he once was—his eyes held nothing but triumph.

"In that case, why not send Adam somewhere for some 'training,' so he doesn't come back and try to kill me again?"

Julie didn't hesitate for a second.

"Whatever you say."

I ended the call, a cold smile curling on my lips.

On my phone, a message had arrived from my lawyer a minute earlier—the expedited divorce papers.

Since Chuck dared to provoke me, I would make him understand: Everything he stole from me meant nothing without me.

By the time Julie finally pulled herself away from their passionate entanglement, it was already three in the morning.

When she noticed I hadn't come home after being discharged, she frowned and called me.

But the only response was a message: the number was no longer in service.

An inexplicable unease crept into her chest.

At that moment, her assistant's call came through urgently, "Ms. Black, Mr. Ford set fire to all the patent files at the company. He left behind nothing but a voice recorder."