Five years ago, my father owed a staggering debt of six million and was driven to despair by debt collectors.
In the end, he signed a contract with the creditors, agreeing to send his adopted son, Lucian Anderson, into their family as a live-in son-in-law to care for their paralyzed daughter in exchange for clearing the debt.
But later, my father changed the name on the contract to mine.
He promised it was only a temporary compromise—that once I married into the Winslow family, he would find a way to get me out as soon as possible.
I believed him and took Lucian’s place, marrying Juliette Winslow, the creditor’s daughter.
I endured five long years, but my father never came to save me.
Five years later, the Winslow family grew utterly weary of my presence and kicked me out.
When I returned home, my father was presiding over Lucian’s grand wedding to Rosalind Everly.
She was my childhood sweetheart—the woman I loved most.
My father refused to let me in.
"Daniel Anderson, you’ve just come back from the Winslow family, reeking of bad luck. Don’t ruin your brother’s big day."
Inside the hall, Lucian was on one knee, tenderly kissing Rosalind’s hand.
My heart shattered, and I turned to leave.
Dazed, I wandered the streets until, at a crossroads, a truck slammed into me without warning.
Blood bloomed around me like a crimson sea. I died with my eyes wide open, unable to rest in peace.
I don’t know how much time passed before I heard my father’s whisper in my ear.
"Daniel, you have to make this sacrifice… for the sake of the family."
Then I snapped back to reality—I had been reborn.
I stared blankly at my father.
"The family owes so much money. You’re a grown man now; you need to learn to share your father’s burdens."
I lowered my voice. "But the contract was supposed to be for Lucian. I’m your real son—he’s just your adopted one. Why have you always favored him over me?"
My father sighed deeply.
"Precisely because you’re my real son that I can’t show favoritism. Lucian’s birth father died for me—how could I ever mistreat his child?"
Every time I protested the unfairness, he gave me the same speech: Lucian’s father was his sworn brother who died saving him, and he couldn’t betray his friend’s spirit in the afterlife.
So, ever since we were kids, I had to yield to Lucian in everything.
For over a decade, I never got new clothes—only Lucian’s hand-me-downs.
All the good things in the house went to him first. Even during holidays, when we had stewed chicken, both drumsticks were always his.
But the truth was, I’d known for a long time that the family’s debt wasn’t due to my father’s failed business—it was because Lucian had borrowed from loan sharks to fuel his gambling addiction.
Yet my father shouldered that debt as his own and now used his real son to pay it off.
I muttered, "I wish I weren’t your real son either."
"What nonsense are you spouting?" he snapped. "Do you think it doesn’t pain me to send you into the Winslow family to take care of that useless girl? If I weren’t too old, I’d throw myself into that hellhole instead!"
"Besides, this is only temporary. I’ll find a way to get you out soon—don’t you trust your own father?"
I smiled faintly.
"I trust you. Of course I do."
"That’s my good boy."
Some things were already clear to me, but I couldn’t help asking, "Father… how’s your business? Now that the six million is paid off, can you keep it running?"
He froze for a moment before forcing a smile. "Of course! Once the business picks up and I make a fortune, I’ll never let you boys suffer again."
I sighed inwardly. As long as Lucian keeps gambling, is there really any hope for this family? You can cover for him now, but can you do it forever?
I didn’t expect any promises from him. When I got into university, he hadn’t even wanted to pay my tuition—shattering my future.
