No More Taking the Fall

I thought Joan was scared, that she regretted it.

Instead, she laughed right in my face.

"You really will say anything! Do you think you're capable of that? You can forget about calling the cops and ruining my wedding with Shaun. Stay here and think about what you've done."

She ignored my struggling and shouting, picked up my phone, and walked out.

The doors and windows were locked.

My phone was gone.

This place was out in the suburbs. I could scream all I wanted, and no one would hear me.

For three full days, I survived by swallowing toilet paper when I was starving. I even drank water straight from the bathroom sink.

Right when I thought I might actually die in there, Joan came back with Shaun.

"Matt, ever since you came back, you've been trying to take everything from me. Our parents, our sister, and now even the person I love. I put up with all of it. Why won't you just leave me alone?"

Shaun grabbed my hair, his eyes red, and drove his fist into me.

I didn't even understand what was happening before I was slammed to the ground. The taste of blood filled my mouth.

Joan, who once swore she would only ever love me, just kept blaming me.

"Who told you to put your name in that AI paper? Do you even know that after Shaun published it, people are already accusing him of plagiarism?"

I froze for a second, then rage surged through me. "That was my paper! What right did you have to give it to him?"

Joan frowned. "You've been in prison. Your reputation and future are already ruined. What difference does it make if he uses your paper? Go record a video and say you altered his work."

"In your dreams!" I spat.

They wanted to take my work for free, but couldn't even be bothered to read it carefully.

Now that their sloppy mistake had backfired and people were questioning it, they wanted me to take the blame.

How could they even say that out loud?

"If Shaun succeeds, the West family succeeds," Joan snapped, her voice rising. "And if the West family makes it, you benefit, too. How do you not get that?"

I looked at her, my voice flat. "The only one benefiting is you."

"Matt, if you don't cooperate, you're going to regret it!"

"You're the one who's going to regret it. In four days, you and the West family will be dragged back to where you belong. That's what you deserve!"

Joan was furious. She let out a cold laugh and left with Shaun.

The door shut, cutting off the last bit of sunlight.

At that moment, the woman I once remembered as proud but kind died completely in my mind.

Half an hour later, Helen showed up.

"Didn't Joan even give you food or water? How did you end up like this? This is too much."

She looked at me with concern, took me to the hospital for a checkup, then brought me back to her place. She treated me with the same gentle care she showed Shaun, as if she had finally accepted me as her brother.

However, that hope didn't last long.

The moment we arrived at her place, she spoke before I could even sit down.

"Matt, your reputation and future are already ruined. One more accusation of plagiarism won't make a difference. Can you clear things up for Shaun about the paper?"

"No."

"Are you worried about being criticized? It's fine. Just don't read the comments."

Crash!

I slammed the glass in my hand onto the floor and glared at her, my teeth clenched.

"I already gave him my family, my fiancée, a kidney, and three years of my life in prison! Isn't that enough?!"

"Matt, I know you've suffered, but I was dying. I had no choice. I just wanted to live."

Helen groveled before me, her eyes red as she looked up.

"Please. I'm begging you. Just this once, okay?"