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.

Mom and Dad came rushing downstairs. The moment they saw Andrew and Megan at the punishment room door, their faces changed.

"What are you doing? Sneaking around in the middle of the night trying to break a lock?

"This is theft. Thieves do things like this. Is this how I raised you?"

Megan threw herself at Dad and grabbed his arm, crying so hard she could barely breathe.

"Dad, please. Let Zack out.

"Open the door and let us look at him, okay? Just one look."

Dad shook her off.

"He cannot hold out?

"Zack Reed, answer me. Are you pretending to be pitiful again?"

There was not a single place on my body that did not hurt.

I wanted to speak, but I no longer had the strength to open my mouth.

Dad's face darkened.

"You are getting better and better at taking shortcuts. Now you have learned to act mute.

"Do you think this will make me let you out? Dream on."

Mom hesitated.

"All right. It is only one night.

"Maybe let him out. What if something really happens?"

Dad's voice shot up.

"No. I finally got them to admit their mistakes and swear.

"If you let him out now, everything today was for nothing. They will do it again next time."

With that, he turned and rushed into the storage closet.

Andrew and Megan exchanged a terrified look.

"Dad, what are you doing?"

Dad came back gripping a can of expanding foam and sprayed it wildly at the little window of the punishment room.

White foam sealed the opening solid.

Megan threw herself forward to stop him.

"Dad, you cannot seal it! The room is completely enclosed. That window is the only air opening. Zack will suffocate!"

Dad did not stop.

"Stop scaring me with death.

"When we renovated, I had a vent installed. Do you think I am an idiot?

"I hate this hysterical attitude of yours. You act as if I am some evil stepfather."

As he sprayed, he turned to glare at Megan.

"You two, go back to your rooms and sleep right now.

"Otherwise, I will shut off the vent too."

Andrew and Megan shook with anger, but Mom grabbed their arms and dragged them back.

"Did you hear your father?

"He is right. You are both too ungrateful. Go to your rooms."

I curled up in the corner. The air began to turn heavy.

I opened my mouth to breathe, and the taste of blood in my mouth grew stronger.

Dad did not know the vent had been broken for years.

I wanted to tell him, but as soon as I opened my mouth, a clump of bloody foam choked me.

My temples throbbed. My brain began to starve for air.

I opened my mouth like a fish thrown onto dry land, desperately trying to breathe.

To get air, I clawed at my own throat.

My nails dug into my skin, leaving deep red marks.

In the end, my face swelled purple, and my awareness faded.

...

At dawn, Megan ran over with tear tracks still on her face.

"Dad, it is morning. Open the door."

Andrew stood beside her, dark circles under his eyes. He had not slept all night.

Dad calmly straightened his clothes.

"Why are you rushing me? I have not finished breakfast.

"I told you, I know what I am doing. Your brother will be fine.

"You two spoil him too much. That is why he spits blood every time he wants attention."

Megan glared at him and screamed.

"Dad, how can you say that about Zack?"

Dad's hand paused, and his eyes went cold.

"What are you shouting for? Shout again, and I will not open it today."

Megan's tears fell at once, and she swallowed the rest of her words.

At last, Mom and Dad leisurely finished breakfast.

"All right, all right. Stop calling. I am here, am I not?"

Dad walked to the door and entered a few numbers on the keypad.

"You two watch your brother carefully."

He turned his head toward them with a boastful tone.

"Remember, this is what happens when you eat things behind our backs. Whoever dares to order takeout again will end up like this."

Dad pulled open the heavy metal door.

Light poured into the small room that had been dark all night.

The terrible scene inside was laid bare before everyone.