A long string of snot still hung from Alaric's nose.
Sniff!
The sound echoed across the entire living room.
The tears streaming down my mother's face froze for a moment.
Alaric looked at the things in our house, his eyes wide with excitement.
"Wow! How did my family become this rich in 10 years?"
"Mom, Dad, you guys are amazing!"
"Wow, this thing looks expensive. Mom, can I give this to my mother?"
My mother's expression darkened.
The first thing he did upon returning wasn't to acknowledge his mother.
Instead, he was assessing the value of the house's contents.
Perhaps sensing my mother's displeasure.
Alaric cried out and threw himself into my mother's arms.
"Mom! You have no idea how much I've missed you these ten years!"
The snot on his nose smeared onto my mother's newly tailored dress.
Though it was only a fleeting moment, I saw a flash of disgust in my mother's eyes.
I leaned over the upstairs railing, half smiling.
Alaric's luck was truly good.
Those traffickers hadn't sold him to a wealthy family after all.
Instead, they sold him to a couple who couldn't have children.
The couple were kind people, just not very wealthy.
Alaric was furious and took it out on them.
He demanded whatever he wanted, threatening suicide if they didn't comply.
The couple had no choice but to spoil him rotten.
In the past two years, the internet has gradually become more developed.
Alaric saw a news interview with my father.
Only then did he realize that our family had become wealthy.
So he secretly ran back here.
By the time my father rushed home.
Alaric was curled up on the couch playing video games.
His shoes were kicked up onto the coffee table.
He was swearing loudly at the screen.
"You idiot! Attack already!"
When he saw my father, he just said casually.
"Oh hey, Dad. You're back."
My father trembled with anger. He wanted to scold him, but held it in.
After all, it was his first day back, not exactly the best time to bring it up.
That night, my parents whispered in their bedroom.
"How did Alaric turn out like this? He has no manners at all."
"Must've been spoiled. That couple didn't seem like bad people."
"Sigh. Let's get him into school as soon as possible. He needs some proper discipline. We can't let this go on."
My parents had initially planned to hold a welcome-home dinner for him the next day.
But seeing Alaric's behavior, they decided to postpone it.
Otherwise, it would be too embarrassing.
It would be a joke if my father's business partners saw him like this.
During dinner that night, Alaric sobbed and sniveled, recounting how difficult his life had been.
My mother was utterly taken aback.
It was clear that he had lived quite well.
He even rolled up his trouser leg to show my mother the scars from being whipped by his adoptive parents.
My mother frowned, wanting to say something.
I gently shook my head.
Towards the end, Alaric burst into loud cries.
Snot and tears flew everywhere, making eating the food on the table impossible.
"Mom, Dad, you have no idea how difficult and miserable it was when I returned. That family chased after me, hitting me. It was so hard to finally escape."
"If that family comes looking for me in the future, you must beat them out!"
"Huff, during the years I lived there, I developed severe depression and anxiety. Mom, Dad, I really missed you so much."
"Waah, if I hadn't been kidnapped when I was a child, I would be a rich man like my sister now."
When it came to being kidnapped.
My parents' hearts softened again. They sighed and coaxed a few words.
Alaric had secretly returned on his own.
He didn't know that my parents had already found his former adoptive parents and given them a large sum of money.
Which was enough for them to live comfortably for the rest of their lives.
Besides, Alaric's current demeanor didn't show any signs of depression.
At night, my mother pulled me aside.
"Thalia, do you think Alaric is lying, or are his adoptive parents the ones being dishonest?"
I smiled.
"Mom, if he was really abused and ate rotten food, he must have a lot of health problems."
"Let the doctor check it out tomorrow."
