The door to my room soon opened.

"Logan, breakfast is ready."

I dragged myself out of the room on my trembling legs. The dining table was covered with all sorts of dishes, and the guests had already sat down.

I looked at Mom. "Can I eat now?"

Mom seemed confused. "Of course. You're making it sound like we didn't let you eat."

As soon as she finished speaking, I rushed into the kitchen and started devouring from the trash can. But all I found in there was kitchen scraps.

Everyone stared in disbelief as I stuffed fish scales, rotten vegetable leaves, and eggshells into my mouth. Their faces were filled with disgust.

A hand grabbed my collar and yanked me up.

I looked up to see Dad's face turning an angry shade of blue. "Who taught you to eat this stuff?"

He slapped me hard across the face and roared, "Are you trying to embarrass me on purpose?"

I didn't react, just numbly swallowed the "food" in my mouth.

Mom tried to get closer, but the fishy smell clinging to me made her stop in her tracks.

Noticing something was off, she looked at me with concern. "Logan, what's wrong with you?"

Then, one of our relatives asked, "Is that Logan? How did he turn out like this? He's actually eating trash? Those human traffickers are worse than animals!"

Mom and Dad froze when they heard that.

They'd always avoided talking about the time I was kidnapped.

After all, it was because of their argument and their threat to abandon me that they left me at the trash station in the neighborhood.

As a result, I was really taken by human traffickers.

They never wanted to admit their mistake, so they quickly adopted Jake and acted like nothing ever happened.

Now, they were starting to realize the consequences.

Dad released me, and I fell back to the ground.

But I still felt hungry, so I crawled over to pick up the leftovers I hadn't finished.

Mom tried to stop me, but I thought it was another member of the production team, so I bit down on her hand.

Mom screamed and covered her bloodied hand in shock. "You bit me?"

Jake rushed to shield her, glaring at me in disgust. "How could you do that to Mom?"

The relative who had spoken up earlier fell silent and looked at me as if I were some kind of monster.

Losing control of his anger, Dad walked over and kicked me aside.

He pointed down at me and shouted, "How dare you hurt your mom? I don't have a son like you!"

My throat went dry, and I couldn't say a word. I wanted to apologize, but the words stayed stuck in my chest.

The gathering ended on a sour note. To make me reflect on my actions, Dad locked me in the utility room.

In the dark, narrow space, I instinctively curled up against the wall.

Then, my foot hit a box, and I fell hard, knocking the box over and spilling its contents everywhere.

Panic set in.

If Mom and Dad found out I'd made another mistake, they might never want me again.

Suppressing the fear, I slowly crawled to the door and turned on the light.

As the room lit up, I saw the scattered items on the floor. There were old toys and clothes from my childhood.

At the bottom of the box was a family photo—Mom, Dad, and me, all smiling happily.

On the back of the photo, Mom had written, "I'll always love you, my dear Logan."

Tears started to fall uncontrollably as I clutched the photo tightly.

I thought they'd thrown it away a long time ago. It turned out that Mom and Dad hadn't given up on me. They still loved me.

A tiny spark of hope flickered in my chest.

What if I told them the truth? If they knew what I'd gone through on that show, would they understand my actions?

Just then, I overheard Mom and Dad talking outside the door.

Dad's voice was filled with frustration. "I just can't handle him anymore. How did we end up with a menace like this? It'd be better if he never came back!"

"Don't say that. He's still our son."

My gaze flickered when I heard Mom's voice.

Then, I heard Dad raise his voice. "He's just so different from Jake! I'd rather just have Jake as my child! Look at Logan. What does he do except cause trouble? Jake has always been thoughtful to us, yet Logan just hates him, causing nothing but chaos!"

Mom sighed deeply. "I've thought about whether I should send him away... How about this? When we go to the premiere tomorrow, we'll ask Mr. Black if he can continue training Logan. We'll pay whatever it takes."

Her words crushed the last shred of hope I had.

I collapsed onto the floor, staring blankly at the door.

I had been fooling myself.

Mom and Dad had long since given up on me, just like how the memories of our family of three were carelessly thrown away in the utility room.

The next morning, they let me out and put me in clean clothes.

I stared blankly, showing no reaction whatsoever.

Jake worriedly spoke up. "What if Logan hurts someone on the way?"

Upon hearing that, Dad immediately grabbed a rope and tied my hands together.

I didn't resist or say a word.

When we got into the car, Mom looked uneasy but didn't dare come too close. "Logan, today is important. Can you behave?"

I kept my eyes fixed on the rope around my wrists, not answering.

Dad grumbled, "No manners at all."

The car drove to the city's TV station, where Arthur had come to meet us.

He greeted us with a wide smile. "I'm counting on you to help promote the show at the premiere today!"

Dad replied, "Of course! But we'll still need your help. Logan's still got some bad habits. He needs a bit more training."

Arthur grinned. "No problem. I can train him as long as you want!"

Not long after, Arthur's assistant came running over. "It's about to start, Mr. Black. Please, bring the guests inside."

Because there were cameras, Mom and Dad finally untied the rope from my hands.

Inside, under the bright flash of lights, I recognized several familiar faces.

The instructor who had treated me like livestock was sitting in the VIP guest section.

Mom and Dad, having heard these were the ones who had cared for me during the show, pulled me over to thank them.

Dad nudged me. "Go thank the instructors."

My stomach churned. Seeing me stand still, Dad shoved my head down. "Say thank you!"

I opened my mouth, but in the end, I couldn't hold it in and vomited. The clean clothes I changed into were immediately covered in vomit.

Dad's expression darkened, and he opened his mouth to yell at me. But with so many cameras around, he held himself back.

Arthur quickly had someone take me to the bathroom to change clothes.

This was just a minor episode. The premiere continued as planned.

While I was backstage, I could hear Arthur talking animatedly. "Our crew has worked hard to document the transformation of every troubled teenager. Our instructors have been dedicated, ensuring every troubled youth receives the training they need."

Then, I heard Mom and Dad being called to the stage.

"We'd like to thank the crew and Mr. Black for giving our child a second chance at life!"

A second chance at life?

I couldn't help but smile bitterly at those words. I turned and walked toward the hallway.

…

The emcee's voice rang out, full of excitement. "Now, let's welcome the transformed teenager, Logan Ewing!"

The audience erupted in applause, but I didn't appear on stage.

Arthur's face darkened. Just as he was about to send someone to find me, his phone rang.

He picked up the phone, and his assistant's panicked voice came through. "Mr. Black! That kid just jumped off the TV station's rooftop!"