I spent the night tending to my wounds, carefully dabbing ointment on each bruise until my face looked presentable again.

The next morning, I took the score report to the psychiatric hospital.

My mother had been living there for ten years, committed after my father, in a drunken rage, beat her so badly she lost her mind. Now, I was the only person she recognized.

After my mother's breakdown left the family without her support, my dad forced me into this program, designed to groom a husband for Sterling Bay's heiress, Genevieve.

"Mom, I'm here. I know you're disappointed I didn't win, but I really had no choice..."

She sat on the bed, clutching a delicate music box. It was a gift Genevieve had given me back in middle school.

My mother caressed it gently, murmuring with a dreamy smile, "Lily, look who's here. Say hello to Nolan."

Lily was the sister I never met. Ten years ago, my father's fists had not only shattered my mother's mind but had also caused her to miscarry.

From that moment on, everything had been broken.

My eyes stung as I thought about how powerless we were, our lives toyed with by the Prescotts as if we were nothing more than weeds to be trampled underfoot.

Just then, a loud, mocking voice broke the silence. "Well, if it isn't Nolan. What are you doing here? Reserving a room for yourself in the nuthouse?"

Julian's voice dripped with mock surprise. "Well, look at you, actually going through with the final interview. How inspiring. For a second there, you were almost my equal."

They were both wearing volunteer vests, probably here for some charity project to earn extra credit for their college applications.

Genevieve wrinkled her nose at me and said to him, loud enough for the whole ward to hear, "Don't be scared, Julian. I'm here. He's not the crazy one; his mom is. She's been insane for ten years."

Their mocking voices cut through the air like glass. My mom flinched. Then, as if to protect the music box, she clutched it to her chest and tucked it under the hem of her shirt. "Don't be scared, Lily. I'm here."

I rushed forward, gently taking the music box from her and straightening her clothes with trembling hands. A film of tears clouded my vision, but I forced myself to stay calm.

Genevieve pursed her lips. "A whole family of psychos."

Her gaze fell on the music box in my hand. She pinched her nose in disgust. "Nolan, that thing looks like some piece of junk from the last century. Why do you still have it? God, you're pathetic. It's disgusting."

Disgusting? This music box had once been her favorite, too.

Unlike the other candidates, I was the only one actually born in Sterling Bay. During summer breaks, I was assigned to be Genevieve's programming partner and playmate.

Once, when we were just kids, she had handed me this music box and giggled, "Nolan, this is our baby."

The adults had laughed, but I had held that music box like a treasure.

Now, to prevent my mother from having another episode, I clutched it tightly and said softly, "I'm sorry, Miss Prescott. My mother's behavior startled Julian. She's not well. Please forgive us."

Before I could finish, my mother's voice rose behind me, sharp and trembling. "Nolan! Who's bullying you? I'll beat them up!"

Julian clutched his chest dramatically and squatted down. "Nolan, what are you doing?" he wheezed weakly. "Just because I beat you, you're siccing your crazy mom on me?" His voice cracked as if he was about to cry.

Genevieve was overcome with pity. She hugged Julian tightly, cooing at him. "Julian, are you okay? Don't worry. I'll take care of this crazy family for you!"

Once he caught his breath, she stood up and slapped me twice, hard, across the face.

Genevieve warned, "Get your crazy mother under control. If she ever dares to touch Julian again, I'll make you both regret the day you were born."

My mother shrieked back, "I'm not the one who's going to die—you are!"

Shaking with rage, Genevieve snatched the music box from me and said coldly, "Mrs. Shaw, that's not Lily. It's a broken old toy from my childhood. Lily is gone, gone when you were pregnant. Stop living in a fantasy."

Then, as if her words weren't cruel enough, she raised the music box high and smashed it onto the floor. Over my mother's heart-wrenching screams, Genevieve stomped on it with the heel of her stiletto until it was a pile of splintered wood and parts.

"She's dead! Do you hear me? Dead!"

My mother stared blankly at the pile of debris, her face a mask of emptiness, before collapsing to the floor. Uncontrollable sobs wracked her body with tremors. With trembling fingers, she tried to piece the torn fragments together, murmuring, "My Lily… Oh, my Lily…"

I held her tightly, terrified she would hurt herself, my own heart hammering with a mix of rage, grief, and helplessness.

When I finally looked up, my eyes met Genevieve's. My voice was cold and steady. "Genevieve, you won't have to worry about seeing me again. I'm leaving the country soon."

Genevieve stared at me in disbelief, then let out a sharp, mocking laugh. "You? Study abroad? Your dad's a drunk and your mom's insane. Where would you get the money? In your dreams?"

"This isn't a dream," I said calmly. "Your life with Julian is about to begin, and my twelve years in your shadow are over. I don't need the Prescott family's money. And you have no right to question my future."

For the first time, a flicker of panic broke through Genevieve's icy composure. She pointed a finger at my mom, her voice sharp and vicious. "Even if you manage to work your way through college abroad, what about your mother? Who's going to take care of her? Are you just going to dump her in some institution to rot? As far as I know, your father won't lift a finger."

"That's none of your business," I answered coldly.

She stepped up to me, her slender fingers gripping my chin. Her beautiful eyes were sharp and cold, like a viper ready to strike. "Do you really think you can just leave Sterling Bay whenever you want? Do you think you can escape my grasp?"

"In a few days, Julian and I are throwing a party to celebrate the start of our college lives. You will be there."

Before I could respond, my mother screamed again.

She had gathered all the pieces of the music box from the floor and thrust the bundle into my arms. "Nolan, my good boy, your sister is hurt. Please save her, I'm begging you!"

My throat burned, and tears blurred my vision. I took the pieces from her trembling hands. "Mom, Lily is sick. I'll take her to a doctor."

Then I turned to Genevieve, glaring at her with all the fury I had left. "I've already called a nurse. This room has cameras. Don't you dare touch my mother again."

I had never raised my voice to her before. This time, she looked startled. She bit her lip, a flicker of something unreadable, like hurt, crossing her face before she looked away.

I borrowed glue and tools from the nurse and sat in the hallway, clumsily piecing the music box back together.

When I finally carried it toward my mother's room and pushed open the door, my heart seized.

Genevieve and Julian were on the companion bed, a tangled mess of skin and limbs, their breaths mingling as they crossed every line imaginable.

And my mother was perched on the third-floor balcony railing, her body teetering, ready to fall at any moment.

The two of them, lost in their pleasure, hadn't even noticed the woman on the brink of death behind them.

I wanted to run and pull her back, but I was terrified a sudden movement would startle her into jumping. I froze at the door, barely daring to breathe.

Then, just as Genevieve and Julian climaxed, their intertwined moans filled the room, and the sound was just enough to shatter the last, fragile thread of my mother's sanity.

In truth, her madness hadn't started when Lily died. It had started long before, when my father had his affair.

I was just a child, not yet in elementary school, when he brought another woman into our home. He flaunted his affair right in front of my mother, just as Julian and Genevieve were doing now.

My mother's eyes turned bloodshot. She screamed, "Frank! I hate you!"

Then she jumped.

It all happened so fast I didn't even have time to scream. It felt as if my heart had been ripped straight from my chest.

My hands shaking violently, I dialed 911 and called for the hospital staff until my voice was hoarse.

Genevieve and Julian froze, pale and trembling, scrambling to cover themselves as nurses and orderlies rushed in and out.

I ran downstairs and saw my mom was still breathing. I knelt beside her, sobbing. "Mom, please! Hold on! Don't go! I can't lose you!"

The ambulance arrived. They put her on a stretcher and took her away. I collapsed onto the cold pavement, gasping for air.

Then I saw a pair of designer heels stop in front of me—Genevieve's.

"A three-story fall won't kill her," she said, her voice dripping with contempt. "Stop the theatrics. I saw her breathing."

Something inside me snapped. I looked up at her, my voice a raw roar. "Get out! I never want to see you again!"

For a moment, her face twisted in anger, but she quickly masked it with her usual, cruel composure. She took Julian's arm, glanced back at me, and said coldly, "You'll pay for this, Nolan. One day, you'll come crawling to me, begging for my forgiveness."