At the family dinner, Dad said, “I’m proud of all my kids… except for the loser sitting at the table.” Everyone laughed. I stood up, placed an envelope in front of him, and said, “For you, Dad. Happy Father’s Day.” Then I left… When he opened it, no one smiled again.

When she realized she was pregnant, she was already engaged to Harrison, who knew there was a high probability the child wasn’t his. He didn’t claim me out of love or kindness, but rather to protect his reputation and avoid a public scandal.

He made sure I paid for that secret every single day by making me feel inferior to my siblings. Suddenly, every disparity made sense, from Tristan getting a brand-new car at graduation to Barrett receiving the capital for his firm.

I was told to work for everything I had while my siblings were handed the world on a silver platter. It wasn’t the lack of blood relation that hurt me, but the realization that he had knowingly used me as a target for his resentment.

As I sat in my car that night, my phone began to vibrate incessantly with calls from my siblings. “What the hell have you done, Max?” Tristan barked into the phone without even a greeting.

I told him to go read the documents and ask our father for the truth before hanging up on him. I could hear the sound of breaking glass and shouting in the background before the line went dead.