Parents like to say every child is a part of them.

In our house, I was but a splinter under the skin.

Mom and Dad were a blended couple. They could not bring themselves to truly punish my stepbrother and stepsister, so they had me and turned me into their cautionary example.

When my brother came last in his class, Dad locked me in a dog crate under the blazing sun to teach him what happened to people who refused to study.

When my sister started dating too young, Mom drugged me and dumped me in a homeless encampment to show her what could happen if she was not careful.

Then one day, Dad found a takeout receipt in the trash.

He forced poisoned food into my mouth and made me swallow.

"Today, I am going to teach you all a real lesson. This is what happens when you eat whatever you want behind our backs."

Even as I coughed blood and writhed on the floor, Dad threw me into the punishment room.

My brother and sister rushed to confess and begged Mom to let me out.

But Mom only said coldly, "You two will learn this lesson properly today. When you have learned it, I will let him out."

I sat on the floor as blood soaked through my shirt.

As my consciousness faded, I finally understood.

Dad, your last cautionary lesson had to be taught with my life.

Megan grabbed Dad's sleeve and begged him.

"Dad, please let Zack out. He is coughing blood!"

Dad gently shook her off.

"No.

"I am doing this for your own good. Only when you see the consequences with your own eyes will you understand the lesson."

Andrew staggered up to Dad, his eyes red.

"Dad, I ordered the takeout. It has nothing to do with Zack!

"Punish me if you want. I will never order food behind your back again, okay? Please let him out!"

Dad's mouth curved into a satisfied smile.

"Now you admit it? When I held up that receipt and asked you earlier, why did you not say so?

"Andrew Reed, you lied to me.

"How am I supposed to believe a single word you say now, when you were lying just a moment ago?"

Andrew's face went white.

I curled up in the corner. My stomach churned violently, and every breath tasted like rust.

I clenched my teeth, stood on tiptoe, and pressed my face to the tiny window in the punishment room door.

"Dad, Zack hurts so much. Can you let me out?"

Dad's face darkened at once.

"Why are you so delicate?

"If you cannot even endure a little hardship, what kind of man will you ever become?

"Bear it. When your brother and sister learn this lesson, I will let you out."

My eyes burned. Tears gathered in them.

But I did not dare cry.

Dad had said tears were a sign of weakness, and weak people did not deserve to be loved.

I blinked hard and forced the wetness back.

My nose stung terribly, but I smiled and nodded.

"Okay. I will listen, Dad."

Andrew could not take it anymore. He dropped down in front of Dad.

"Dad, I am begging you. Let Zack out!

"He is still so young. His body cannot handle this!"

Before he could finish, Dad became even angrier.

He pointed at Andrew, his chest heaving.

"Andrew Reed! A man does not throw away his pride and beg so easily.

"Did everything I taught you go in one ear and out the other?

"I am telling you now, I will not let your brother out today.

"Begging will not work. You could stay there until morning, and I still would not open this door."

The last trace of color drained from Andrew's face.

Something seemed to block my chest.

A mouthful of blood suddenly burst from my lips and splattered across the little pane of glass.

Megan screamed in terror.

Dad's expression shifted. Instinctively, he took half a step closer.

Then he gave a cold snort.

"Stop acting pitiful. Are you trying to compete for attention because you do not want your brother and sister to improve?

"I am telling you, this is your role. I had you so you could serve as a warning to them.

"The more you act like this, the less likely I am to let you out."

Megan froze.

Then she wiped her tears and ran toward the front door.

"Zack, do not be scared!

"I am going to get help right now. Wait for me!"

Megan ran so fast she disappeared through the door in the blink of an eye.

Mom chased after her for two steps, her face flushing with anger.

"Fine! Wonderful. Every one of you thinks you can rebel now!"

Andrew rushed toward me, hope lighting his face again.

"Great. Zack, do not be scared. You will be saved soon."

Hearing that, the pain in my chest seemed to ease, just a little.

Before long, urgent footsteps sounded at the end of the hall.

Megan had come back, and Mom was behind her.

Mom looked around.

"What is going on?"

Dad lit a cigarette, took a drag, and laughed coldly.

"What else? These two perfect children secretly ordered takeout and then refused to admit it."

He walked toward Mom, lifting his chin with smug certainty.

"This time, I am going to teach a real cautionary lesson. I will not be soft again."

Mom frowned and glanced at me.

"What did you make Zack eat?"

Dad said lightly, "Rodenticide."

Mom's eyes changed at once.

"How could you give a child poison?"

Dad laughed out loud.

He waved a hand, proud of himself.

"I am not stupid.

"The box expired more than a year ago. It cannot kill anyone."

Mom visibly relaxed.

She let out a long breath and turned to Andrew and Megan.

"Did you hear that?

"Your father is doing this for your own good. He knows what he is doing.

"Why did you run out and make a scene?"

Megan stared at her. Her voice rose sharply.

"Mom, Zack is vomiting blood. How could he possibly be fine?"

Mom frowned impatiently and waved her off.

"Enough. Your father said expired poison is not a big deal. Stop making everything dramatic."

I clenched my fists. My nails dug into my palms.

Using all my strength, I pushed myself up against the wall.

"Mom, Zack hurts..."

Mom gave me a perfunctory smile.

"Be good, Zack. Endure it a little longer. Think of it as helping your brother and sister.

"When your father finishes teaching them, you can come out sooner.

"We are a family. Do not be so selfish."

My hand slowly slid down the wall.

Andrew suddenly stood up and slammed his fist into the wall.

His knuckles split open at once. Blood ran down the paint.

"What kind of sick lesson is this? I do not accept it. I will not learn it!"

Mom cried out and rushed over to hold his hand.

"How could you hurt yourself like this? Your hand is bleeding!"

She held Andrew's bleeding hand, and her eyes instantly reddened.

Dad was furious too.

"You still have the energy to throw a tantrum. Clearly you have not learned anything."

He turned and glared at me through the little window.

"This is all because of you.

"Can you not behave and cooperate while we teach your siblings? Must you be this fragile?"

I could not hold it in anymore. Tears of hurt rolled down my face.

Megan broke down completely. She sobbed so hard she could barely speak.

"Dad, Mom, I know I was wrong. I will never order takeout again, okay?

"Please, let Zack out!"

Andrew pulled his hand out of Mom's grip and knelt beside Megan.

"I swear too. I will never order takeout again in my life."

Dad and Mom exchanged a look.

Both of them smiled.

Dad bent down and looked at them gently.

"Then swear it on Zack's life."

When I heard that, it felt as if someone had crushed my heart.

Andrew and Megan's eyes filled with struggle, but in the end, they lowered their heads.

"I swear I will never order takeout again. If I break this promise, may Zack Reed die a terrible death."

Dad nodded with satisfaction.

"There. Was that so hard?

"If you had done this earlier, your brother would not have had to suffer so much."

Mom nodded and walked to the punishment room door, reaching for the keypad.

Just as Mom touched the keypad, Dad pressed his hand over hers and shook his head.

"Wait. They have a history of lying.

"They lied just now. Now they say they swear, but who knows whether they are lying again?"

Megan trembled with anger.

But she knew that if she exploded, I would be locked inside even longer.

"What do you want, then?"

Dad thought for a moment.

"Here is what we will do. Andrew will come with me to get his hand bandaged. His skin is broken, and infection is no joke.

"Megan will go eat dinner like a good girl. You have both done what you should. Tomorrow morning, I will let him out."

Andrew stiffened.

"Tomorrow morning? That long? Zack..."

Dad's gaze turned cold at once.

"Are you unhappy with my arrangement?"

Megan's tears fell hard. She pressed herself to the little window and comforted me.

"Zack, hold on a little longer. Tomorrow morning, I will come get you."

I nodded and whispered, "Okay."

But the tears would not stop.

Dad saw them. He shoved Megan away and leaned close.

"Hold them back.

"What are you crying for? Did I wrong you? I am doing this for all of you."

I jolted in fear and wiped my face messily.

"I will not cry. Zack will not cry. Dad, do not be angry."

Dad ignored me. He turned, grabbed Andrew, and left.

Their footsteps faded down the hall, and the world went quiet.

I curled into the corner. My stomach hurt as if a knife were twisting inside it.

I did not know how long passed before I closed my eyes in a daze.

In my dream, Dad opened the door and lifted me gently into his arms.

Mom, Andrew, and Megan stood around me, smiling happily together.

Then suddenly, it felt as if someone had shoved a red-hot piece of iron into my stomach.

The pain jolted me awake. I cried out.

I rolled on the floor like a fish with its tail crushed.

I tried to scream, but bloody foam bubbled in my throat.

Andrew and Megan woke up from the noise and rushed over.

"Zack? Zack, what is wrong?"

I forced my eyelids open, but everything before me was blurry.

"It hurts... Megan, it hurts so much!"

There was chaos outside the door. Megan ran back with a box of painkillers.

"Zack, take these. Once you take them, it will stop hurting."

I shoved the tablets into my mouth and chewed them dry.

The powder caught in my throat, and I coughed again.

Then I lifted my head and forced a smile through the crack under the door.

"Megan, it does not hurt anymore."

Megan's voice shook with tears.

"Silly Zack. Your face is white from pain. How much must it hurt?"

Andrew's eyes were red.

"Zack, do not be scared. I am getting you out right now."

He tried the keypad, muttering under his breath.

"It has to be Mom's birthday. No, wrong. Let me try Dad's..."

His voice grew more urgent, then panicked.

He entered the wrong code four times in a row.

On the fifth mistake, the alarm blared through the entire house.