Family Fraud: The Big Lie

After my parents get divorced, my twin brother, Archer Sullivan, chooses one parent to live with.

I choose to be with Mom. After the divorce, Mom's mood is at an all-time low. She gambles away all of the money we have, and she begins bringing various men home the moment she runs out of money.

I have to move into a dark and damp apartment with Mom afterward. Lewd sounds keep drifting from her room every now and then.

Every day, I have to secretly take on part-time work in order to earn my living expenses, on top of going to school. Life is very harsh and bitter for me.

That is, until Archer, whom I haven't kept in touch with for a very long time, sends me a link to a streaming website.

"Tap on the link, Adam. It's a surprise for you."

I tap on the link, only to realize that the livestream that's on top of the trending list features… me?

It's a livestream with a split-screen function. One screen shows me finishing my homework under the dim light in a cheap apartment. The other screen shows my parents cuddling with Archer happily while seated on a luxurious couch in a villa.

"Let's see what sort of differences there will be between a pair of twins that are raised differently till they're 18 years old!"

"I suppose the older twin doesn't realize that his parents never got divorced, and that his family is actually very rich! Both parents are still living happily together. Even his younger brother is living a great life."

"That poor twin, though! He's living a very difficult life without three hot meals a day! Isn't this considered abuse?"

"Well, that older twin is more understanding and obedient, isn't he? That's why his parents chose to make him suffer in life."

My hands trembled as I gripped my phone. I couldn't believe what I was seeing on the screen. This was a livestreaming platform for pranks, with a majority of viewers coming from wealthy families or elite backgrounds.

My parents told me they got divorced, left me to my own devices, but raised my younger twin brother, Archer Sullivan, rich. It turned out everything was just a game, a six-year-long livestreamed spectacle, made purely for the entertainment of others.

I always thought Dad took Archer to another city, but in reality, they were with Mom the whole time.

I was sitting outside a snack shop in the blazing sun, but a chill ran through my whole body. Soon, I received two more text messages from Archer.

"You're the one Mom and Dad chose not to love, Adam."

"Honestly, I feel bad watching you live such a terrible life from my big, luxurious villa."

I could barely move my hands or make up my mind on how to reply.

"Adam, clean those two tables now!" my boss ordered.

This was my part-time gig after school. After the so-called divorce, Mom got hooked on gambling. She never gave me money to live on. On the rare occasions she actually won at cards, she might toss me a little out of charity.

I even had to beg to get this part-time job at the snack shop.

At 9:00 pm, I finished my shift and trudged home like a lost soul. It was the height of summer. My cheap top-floor rental had no air conditioning, so stepping inside felt like walking straight into a boiler room.

My family probably couldn't imagine this, could they? After all, they were most likely sitting in their huge villa somewhere, enjoying the air-conditioning.

The light bulb flickered on and off, like it was about to die again.

Ever since Mom moved me into this place, she had barely come home. When she did, though, she would bring different men with her to fool around. The sounds coming from the bedroom were unbearable.

She took the money she earned from sleeping with men and gambled it all away, never sparing a thought—or a penny—for me. What I never expected was that she was actually spending all her time away with Archer.

Did they ever think about me, their flesh and blood, who struggled to survive alone in this rundown rental? I had lived like this for almost six years.

I glanced around the place, which must have hidden cameras planted everywhere. From the corner of the kitchen came a faint rustling sound. I knew right away that it was the rats again.

I used to get scared all the time, but now, I was completely numb to it. Ironically, the rats had kept me company longer than anyone else in this place.

When I reconnected to the livestream link, I saw that my rental's feed was ranked first, with sky-high viewer numbers. The dark, cramped apartment stood in stark contrast to the bright, luxurious villa.

The pain on my face—on another almost identical face—was nothing but happiness. At that moment, I realized I was a rat, too, one who peeked in on someone else's happiness.