Felix buried his face deeper into Aunt Mariz's embrace, sneaking a triumphant, taunting glance at me from between his tears.
Ah. A true pretentious brat.
Trying to guilt-trip and manipulate everyone in one move? Not on my watch.
Smirking, I activated my full "poison tongue" mode.
"So you're the adopted son, Felix? Oh—excuse me, my mistake. I just thought some shameless idiot was playing swing indoors."
I tilted my head innocently.
"Wait, were you trying to hang yourself? Using the crystal chandelier? With a slipknot that unties itself the moment you twitch? Be careful—if the lamp falls, you'll end up killing someone else instead."
Noah got up from the floor and chimed in enthusiastically, "Yeah, super dangerous! Luckily, I jumped in—uh, I mean, kicked in—at the right time."
Everyone looked up at the ceiling.
Sure enough, the chandelier chain was already half-loose, swaying ominously.
Uncle James' face went black as thunder.
"Ridiculous! What if you smashed it on your brother's head?"
Seeing his melodramatic act and guilt-tripping tactics both fail, Felix turned back to me, still pretending to cry. "I'm sorry, Brother... I really didn't mean to cause trouble..."