The Betrayal of Kinship
Chapter 1
Just because I missed three calls from my brother before he jumped, my parents decided I was his murderer.
Every day after that, they wished it had been me who died.
When I was being beaten by my dad’s criminal contacts, he ignored my calls.
“I knew we shouldn’t have bothered bringing you back!”
Even my doctor mom hung up in exasperation, “You know we’re going to pay respects to your brother. You’re just faking it to ease your guilty conscience, right?”
So I was beaten for a full day and night.
When I was finally dumped in front of my cop dad, I was so messed up he didn’t even recognize me.
It was four days after my death that the whole family went crazy.
…
The day after I died, at the police station entrance…
Dad finally saw the desperate text I’d sent him two days before.
“Help me,” mangled with random punctuation from my flailing fingers.
He just glanced at it, frowned slightly, and blocked my number.
He couldn’t even be bothered to send a message cursing me out.
My spirit, hovering in the air, sank a little further.
I should have known he wouldn’t care. He and Mom both wished I were dead.
Just then, two cops finishing the night shift walked out.
Dad casually greeted them.
They looked grim.
“Hey, Jerry, when we were getting ready to clock out this morning, somebody dropped off a body right at the front door.”
“The security cameras were down, too. We think it’s a deliberate provocation. Go take a look.”
They headed home, and the case landed on my dad’s desk.
The body was moved to the autopsy room.
The medical examiner unzipped the body bag, revealing a corpse in horrifying condition.
I had to look a few times before I could finally recognize myself.
The medical examiner shook his head sadly.
“Preliminary assessment: this kid’s probably in his late teens.”
My dad visibly stiffened.
His face hardened.
He muttered, “What kind of animal does that? This kid was so young.”
He wasn’t usually emotional, but his eyes were red.
“My older son was only nineteen when he passed away. If his parents knew their kid was like this…I don’t know how they’d cope.”
I stared at his face, thinking: If they knew it was me, would they really be sad? Wouldn’t they be relieved?
“Jerry, it’s been too long. You gotta let it go.”
The medical examiner started his work.
Dad gave the body one last look and went outside for a cigarette.
“What kind of hate could make someone do this?!”
He came back in and heard that line.
He leaned closer.
“The victim’s unrecognizable. Internal and external bleeding everywhere, the whole body’s covered in bruises and contusions. There’s not a single patch of undamaged skin. Even the subcutaneous tissue and muscle have been beaten into a pulp.”
“And no fatal wounds. The cause of death was hypovolemic shock from widespread subcutaneous and muscle hemorrhaging. It’s practically a death by a thousand cuts!”
“He was beaten to death, plain and simple. And he only weighed ninety pounds! What were his folks feeding him?”
Dad visibly registered the brutality of the crime.
He frowned.
“The perp was careful, didn’t leave anything. Facial reconstruction’s gonna take some time.”
The medical examiner patted my dad on the shoulder.
“Jerry, don’t rule out the possibility that this is some kind of retaliation against the department. Go back and tell everyone to be careful, especially with their families and kids.”
Mentioning kids seemed to hit a nerve.
Dad’s face darkened.
“My delinquent son? He’s better off dead, paying for what he did to his brother. He was a murderer anyway.”
Four years ago, my brother called me three times before he jumped into the river.
I’d passed out from basketball practice and missed the calls.
When I woke up, I learned he was gone, and they never found his body.
After that, I became the murderer in my parents’ eyes.
They hated me so much, and even though I tried my best for four years, I could never erase their resentment.
“Jerry! What do you think the kid would think if he heard that? You already lost one son. Do you want to lose another?”
“You’re going to regret treating your kid like that!”
Dad raised his voice, “I don’t care what he thinks. All I know is, if he’d answered the phone, my son wouldn’t be dead! He was begging for help, and nobody helped him!”
“My son… he was only eighteen! He got into the Air Force Academy. He could have had a bright future, made the whole family proud! All ruined by that little bastard!”
“Why couldn’t it have been him who died?”
Those words were like ice water thrown over me, freezing me to the bone.
I’d heard it countless times, but it still hurt.
He wasn’t just venting, he really wanted me dead.
Every year on my brother’s death anniversary, they’d throw his picture in my face.
Eyes red, they’d strangle me and ask over and over: Why wasn’t it you who died?
They didn’t know I hated myself just as much as they did.
And I had stomach cancer, I was going to pay for what I did soon.
Maybe even God couldn’t stand me, letting me die in such a horrible way. That was his punishment for me.
Mom, Dad, you’d be so happy if you knew.
The medical examiner gave him a look, then finally said, “Alright, I’m done talking. The kid’s already finished high school. He’s off to college soon, you’d have to be lucky to see him.”
Dad scoffed, “Please, his brain’s made of mush. He’s not half as good as his brother.”
My heart sank. I was right not to show them the acceptance letter.
No matter what I did, they’d never approve.
Then, the medical examiner handed Dad a watch and a bottle of pills in a clear bag.
My heart jumped when I saw the watch.
“These were on the body. The watch might help find the family. Check where the pills were prescribed, the hospital should have records, might lead us to the victim’s ID.”
Dad took the bag and gave it a cursory glance.
I felt a pang. He didn’t even remember.
That watch was a gift he gave me when I came home after being kidnapped in the mountains.
He said that even if I got lost again, as long as I had the watch, he’d recognize me no matter what.
Right, he couldn’t even recognize me, let alone a watch.
The watch had stopped working long ago, on a rainy night four years ago.
Those first three years after coming home were the happiest I’d ever been, but after my brother died, they couldn’t wait for me to die.
I was so naive then, thinking I was still their kid, that they’d be hurt if I left.
I went to the arcade and stayed out past midnight, hoping they’d come looking for me.
And they did come for me.
But only to drag me home and beat me. The watch was knocked off my wrist and broken.
Dad pointed in my face and yelled, “Keep it up! If your brother hadn’t been so insistent about finding you, do you think we would have bothered?!”
That night, a kid’s hope for love was shattered.
After dealing with things at work, Dad went home.
Like always, the first thing he did was offer incense to my brother.
It was Mom and Dad’s habit for the last four years.
Mom came home and did the same.
After that, Dad gave Mom the bottle of pills.
“See if you can find out who this was prescribed to. We need to ID this victim.”
Mom’s eyes flickered when she saw the pills.
I thought she might have recognized something.
But she just took the bottle and examined it.
“These are painkillers. I’ll check in a couple of days.”
Dad agreed and reminded her to be careful.
She checked all the doors and windows, then started dinner.
She didn’t mention me.
They lost another chance to quickly ID me, and my hope faded again.
Mom saw me take the pills, she saw me coughing up blood.
What did she say then?
“Your brother’s anniversary is coming up, and you’re starting again? If you really have to cough blood, go do it outside. Don’t mess up the house.”
They sat down at the table and set a place for my brother, as always.
Then Mom seemed to finally remember me and said impatiently, “I saw that message from Cody today. What’s he up to now? Running away for two days? Then saying he’s been kidnapped?”
“He’s a grown man, but he’s acting so immature. He should just stay at the arcade, he’s faking all this.”
I was shocked. They’d forgotten the watch, the pills.
But they remembered the one time I ran away.
Dad was impassive, picking at his food.
“He sent me one, too. Don’t know what game he’s playing, but this can’t be taken lightly.”
“We shouldn’t have brought him back.”
Dad’s face was filled with agitation.
I stared in disbelief. I couldn’t believe a cop would say that.
They were crying like crazy that day that they brought me home.
I was almost starting to wonder if I was intentionally abandoned.
I thought: I didn’t lie. Something happened to me.
You both convicted me, and I laughed at myself.
I thought it would be better that I was not brought back.
This way, they can have a happy beautiful family.
While I may be in a bad spot, I wouldn’t lose my life.
With a sigh, I huddled against the wall.
Mom and Dad ate in silence. For a moment, I thought I saw a flicker of the good old days.
Our family of four at the dinner table, everyone piling food on my plate.
They smiled, their gentle gaze warm and comforting.
Those were the most fleeting, happiest three years of my life.
Later, I wasn’t allowed at the table, and I had to eat what the stray cats left.
The silence was broken by a phone call.
Mom answered impatiently, “You finally decided to call?”
She paused.
It was a relative calling, “Hi, Cindy, did you hear about the college entrance exam results? How did Cody do? My daughter got into a great school. Cody’s such a hard worker. He shouldn’t do too badly compared to John, right?”
Even though they knew about our situation, some relatives still couldn’t resist showing off.
Hearing my name made their faces darken.
She didn’t defend me.
“Please, he doesn’t have the brains. No news, he’s out partying. How could he ever compare to his brother?”
The person on the other end wanted to say something.
Mom hung up, looking furious.
“He’s a fool. How can he get into college?”
This phone call ruined Mom’s appetite. She went back to her room.
Dad was sitting there looking dark, and I don’t know what to think.
Mom was right. I was a fool because I had after effects from the fever.
One time, towards the end of my junior year, it rained really hard.
Everyone else was picked up by their parents.
I decided to wait until the rain stopped.
But the rain grew even harder.
I called mom and dad.
Before I could even ask, I was rejected.
I had a fever all night.
I was dizzy but asked mom and dad to take me to the hospital.
Mom was furious, “you have a fever? What does that have to do with me! What can you do about it! You are not a child and you shouldn’t be so melodramatic. Do you think you will die.”
“You are already doing this because it is raining, or do you think we mistreat you?” Dad cut me off.
“Your brother wasn’t like you, we didn’t have to worry about anything like that.”
I could not say anything.
That day, they will commemorate my brother.
I lay in bed, hoping that cooling down can stop the fever.
I heard my mom and dad leave.
“He knows that we will go to see his brother and will put on a show. Zheng wants to eat braised ribs that day.”
That time, I immediately woke up.
The bed was sweaty and hot.
At that time, I didn’t want to die, so I left.
I wandered along the street.
I passed out.
I woke up in the hospital.
When I woke up, I knew what would happen.
Mom and dad would be angry if I was sent to the hospital.
The doctor came in and said that I had a stomach ulcer and should be hospitalized or it would become cancerous.
I cannot express how I was feeling at the time.
If mom and dad knew, would they care about me.
My mom and dad rushed to the hospital.
“Mom and dad, I wasn’t lying to you, I am really sick.”
Mom tore the document and said “you are so capable. This is all your fault. You made us lose face and embarrassed us.”
“You fainted on the street, who are you pretending to be pitiful for!”
She tugged at my collar and dragged me out of bed.
“Why are you not dying!”
“You murdered your brother. You should die!”
The people in the hospital were looking at me with disgust.
Because I had a fever, there are after effects.
My memory is bad.
Because of this, my grades suffered.
Mom and dad were mad and stopped my allowance.
He wanted to be an aviator.
Mom and dad said that I will never be able to keep up with my brother.
I was extremely excited on the day that the result came out.
However, I told mom and dad that I could not do this.
If I did, they will think of my brother and would be sad.
On the next afternoon, there was still a bountiful dinner. I was not a part of it.
My mom sent me a voice text that said “If you don’t come back today, never come back again.”
I laughed.
That is exactly what I want.
Then I replied “okay.”
Mom then smashed her phone.
She would rather I say those words instead of it not being me.
When the murderer sent the text.
A knock came and I heard a familar voice that said “Mom and dad, I am back.”
My dad started to show a crack.
My mom’s eyes widened.
She could not say a word.
“Jerry, am I dreaming? I can hear my son”
My dad then walked to the door.
At the door, there was a young man looking scared.
I immediately knew it was my brother who died 4 years ago.
