My parents' enemy kidnapped me and live-streamed cutting off my fingers, just to force them to show up.

For a time, the entire internet was searching for my parents. But what no one knew was that the police chief on the live connection was my real father.

At that very moment, he was on a beach in Havai, lighting fireworks for his adopted son. And on their barbecue table, the live stream of my fingers being cut off was playing.

Later, I survived long enough to be rescued, and I reached out with my severed fingers, wanting to touch my parents. But they recoiled in disgust and, without so much as a backward glance, took their adopted son out for steak.

What they never realized was that hidden inside my severed fingers was something that would make them regret everything.

The Live-Streamed Hostage

My parents' enemy had kidnapped me, and the kidnapper was brazenly live-streaming the whole thing.

Twelve hours had passed at this point, and I was down to just one finger.

The comments section rolled by at lightning speed.

'I can't take this anymore—the kid's screams are too much!'

'Didn't they say the parents just had to show up and the kid would be released? Where are the parents?'

'How can they leave their own child to suffer?'

The kidnapper was losing patience. He finally tore off the tape over my mouth. I was about to explain that my parents were special-ops officers often sent on dangerous missions, that they couldn't help it.

But right then, a vacation photo from their adopted son popped up on my phone.

'Will, I just landed in Havai with Mom and Dad! They said you'd only spoil the mood if you came, so they're spending my birthday with me alone.'

In the photo, my parents stood on either side of Ezel Lewis, their eyes full of tenderness. Behind them stood aunts, uncles, cousins, and even my gray-haired grandmother—the whole family was having the time of their lives. So, while I was being kidnapped and live-streamed, not one person in the family had noticed.

The kidnapper shot me a suspicious look and ordered me to call home. As soon as my mother heard my voice, her tone turned impatient. "I knew you'd call to ruin the mood! Ever since the day we brought you back from the countryside, there hasn't been a single day of peace in this house. Ezel's never had a proper birthday once. This time, no matter what you say, we won't make Ezel suffer because of you."

Ignoring the bitter ache in my chest, I rushed to speak. "Mom, I've been kidnapped—"

"Will Lewis!" My mother cut me off, her voice dripping with disgust. "You're such a drama king! Only call me after you're dead!" At that, she hung up without a second's hesitation.

At the same time, another message from Ezel appeared. 'Will, Mom and Dad really hate you. After Mom hung up on you, Dad blocked your number too. He even forbade me from speaking to you again.'

It felt as if someone had crushed my heart in their fist—worse than the pain in my fingers.

…

In a daze, my consciousness began to slip away, and a bucket of cold water splashed over my head.

"Don't even think about passing out. You'll keep suffering until your parents show up. You've still got one finger left. After that's gone, we'll go for your toes. And then your ears."

The comments section exploded with curses—some at the kidnapper's cruelty, but even more at my parents' cold-bloodedness. Others turned their anger on the special ops unit.

'What are the special ops even doing? It's been 12 hours and they still haven't found the kidnapper's location!'

'Forget the kidnapper, just drag those two heartless parents here first!'

'You cowardly kidnapper! If you're so tough, go after the adults. What's the point of tormenting a child?'

No matter how frantic the scrolling comments grew, the kidnapper still raised his knife. My last little finger was chopped off.

It hurt. God, it hurt. It hurt so badly I wanted to die.

My sharp, broken cries made viewers cover their ears. Even the comment section seemed to freeze for a moment. Then a bold, highlighted message caught the kidnapper's eye.

'Connect me to the livestream! I'm Shaun Lewis, Special-Operations Captain!'

The name jolted my foggy brain awake for one fleeting moment.

The Only Son

It was my dad! He had found me and was coming to save me.

The connection went through, but the voice on the other end wasn't my father's. The kidnapper clearly noticed too and flew into a rage, threatening to slice off one of my ears as punishment for the imposter.

"Wait—don't do it!" The imposter intervened. "I'm Shaun's superior. This is the only way we can track you down! You've kidnapped the wrong child. Everyone in the unit knows Shaun has only one son, Ezel Lewis, and the whole family is on vacation abroad. Whatever you want, state your terms—don't drag an innocent child into this!"

The kidnapper yanked me forward and forced me to kneel in front of the screen. My knees slammed against the floor as he dragged me, pain shooting through every nerve in my body—but it was nothing compared to the ache in my heart.

He sneered. "Take a good look at this face. This is Shaun Lewis' real son! Call him right now, or I'll kill him!"

With no choice left, the superior dialed my father's number. But the first voice on the line belonged to Ezel. "Dad, buying me two game consoles is really expensive. Maybe we should save the money for—Dad, you should answer this call first."

Then, my father's voice came through. "Sir, what's the matter?"

The superior immediately asked how many sons he had. My father didn't hesitate. "We only have one son—Ezel. Why… is something wrong?"

The superior explained my situation. My father's voice held a note of regret. "These criminals are truly foolish—kidnapping the wrong person without even realizing it. I do feel sympathy and guilt for the innocent child caught in this mess, but we're overseas right now.

"Even if we returned, it would be too late. Still, that child's parents… It's unbelievable they haven't shown up yet. So irresponsible!"

The superior pressed again. "Just in case, could you come back? Maybe the kidnapper would release this boy."

There was a pause. Then, on the other end, Ezel spoke in a choked voice. "It's okay, Dad. My birthday doesn't matter. That boy is so pitiful. Every time I celebrate my birthday, something bad happens to someone else. I'll never celebrate again."

"No, Ezel. I'm not going…" My father soothed Ezel, then flatly refused the superior. "I'm sorry, sir. After all these years of blood and sweat, my wife and I just wanted to give our only son a proper birthday…"

Their only son, huh?

But I was their only biological child. Because I'd been abducted as a baby and grown up in the countryside—awkward, slow, nothing like them—my parents had never acknowledged me in public. They'd never even registered me as their child.

My chest heaved violently, a searing pain ripping through me. My organs clenched and spasmed until I doubled over, retching.

The superior's voice still echoed through the call, trying to reason with the kidnapper, but the man didn't care. He pulled off my shoes and picked up a pair of pliers. "Remember this. Everything you're suffering now—it's your parents' fault!" Then, he crushed one of my little toes.

The stabbing pain made me thrash wildly. In my struggle, I kicked over the phone streaming the broadcast. As it hit the floor, I caught sight of a bold, highlighted comment flashing across the screen.

'I'm Ezel Lewis' classmate, and I swear I just saw him celebrating his birthday here in the country. What's going on?!'

Ezel hadn't left the country? Then, where were my parents? Where was the rest of the family? If they were here, how could they not see the livestream? How could they not save me?

I ignored the kidnapper at my side and clawed across the floor, frantically searching for my phone. With my severed finger, I tapped open the Havai photos Ezel had sent me.

The Son They Refused to See

I zoomed in, and zoomed in again, until the buildings in the picture came into focus. This wasn't Havai at all—it was the city beach.

Behind me, the kidnapper laughed, a twisted sound. "Hahaha, your parents never left the country. They're hiding like cowards! They don't want to come save you!"

The last thread in my head snapped. The horror of that truth kept me from thinking even for a second. I dragged myself to where the livestream phone lay, my face blurred by blood and tears, and I screamed at the screen, wrenching my voice raw, "Mom, Dad, it's me—Will! Can't you see me? My fingers are gone, it hurts so much, I'm dying—are you really not going to help me? I'm your son! Your biological son!"

The comments exploded.

'My heart is breaking for this child!'

'I'm the boy's father—villain, release him! I'll pay the ransom!'

'I'm the boy's mother. Let my child go. Take Ezel Lewis!'

'We're all this child's parents—say your terms!'

Countless strangers online claimed to be my parents, but my real parents never appeared.

Ever since I had returned to my birth family, I had only been met with cold stares and contempt. When I was happy, they accused me of stealing from Ezel; when I was down, they said I ruined the mood. Still, some instinctive kinship made me cling to the idea that they loved me. I had been foolish enough to believe it.

"Your parents won't come." The kidnapper cut the livestream off and pronounced without mercy.

I covered my ears and mumbled numbly, "No, maybe they just didn't see it…"

He yanked my hair and shoved the phone in my face with a sneer. "You poor, pathetic, unloved child. Face reality, little one."

A new video had come from Ezel. In it, my family stood on a beach, lighting a sweep of fireworks. Under the glow, they ate barbecue together, everyone raising glasses and laughing to celebrate Ezel's birthday. In the corner of the shot, a phone left on the table played my torture. My screaming was swallowed by their cheers.

Ezel quickly deleted the clip, then jeered, "Oops, sent to the wrong person! Dad told us to pretend we didn't see you. Will, just act like you didn't see it.

"Actually, whether you saw it or not doesn't matter—Will Lewis is just a rat that can't show its face. You're going to die in a gutter soon."

I slumped to the ground, hands shaking uncontrollably, blood welling from the severed digits. My eyes were dry; I couldn't shed another tear.

"You hate them, don't you? Loathe them. Why should they be merry while you suffer alone? If I were you, I'd get my revenge—make that family burn!" the kidnapper hissed, eyes bloodshot as he gripped my trembling hand and shoved a remote into it.

"Press this button, and a video of Shaun and his wife torturing my son years ago will spread across every major site. He'll be ruined—he'll regret ignoring you. I want Shaun Lewis to die by the hands of his own son."

The remote had lain in my palm for 24 hours, stained dark with my blood.

However, I never pressed it.

…

After 24 hours, the kidnapper was gunned down by the special ops unit that had come. A group of uniformed officers burst in, and at their head were my parents.

I lay there weak on the floor and watched them rush past me without stopping.