Condemned by My Sister

On my eighteenth birthday, I was arrested for assault. Nothing I said or did could prove my innocence, because the witness who testified against me in court was my own sister, Alina Beasley. "Zeke, you have a serious sleepwalking disorder. You just never knew about it! But you hurt Brett this time. I can't cover for you anymore!" Just like that, I was sent to prison and sentenced to five years. A week before my release, the inmate who ran our cell block pinned me to the floor and beat me again. My nose suddenly started bleeding, and I lost consciousness. I was rushed to the hospital. Through the haze, I heard the correctional officers talking outside. "Damn. Ms. Beasley really is ruthless. She framed her own brother and sent him to prison just so she could groom her adopted brother." "Keep your voice down! Take it to the grave and pretend you never heard anything." I opened my eyes and stared at the report in my hand. Acute leukemia. Suddenly, I laughed. I laughed until tears streamed down my face. 'Sis, you got what you wanted. Maybe I really should just die.' Chapter 1 Dr. Phillip Craig looked startled when he saw me laughing and crying at the same time. All he could do was sigh and try to comfort me. "Don't be too pessimistic. If we can find a suitable bone marrow donor, there's still a chance you could survive another five years." He moved to the other side, and a sharp sting shot through my hand. "This medication might hurt a little. Try to bear with it." I looked down without expression. Did it hurt? I couldn't even tell. Compared to the torment I'd endured these past five years, with no one to turn to and nowhere to escape, this was nothing. Dr. Craig asked, "Do you have any family? We could have them tested for a match. Relatives are more likely to..." "No," I cut him off calmly, though a dull ache spread through my chest. "I don't have any family." I paused, my voice turning hoarse. "I'm an orphan." Only then did I finally realize that from beginning to end, I'd lived like an orphan. No one loved me. Dr. Craig froze. Then he sighed again. He opened the door, and two correctional officers came in. After hearing what Dr. Craig said, they exchanged a look, both of them clearly uncomfortable, but there was nothing they could do. They had orders from Ms. Beasley, and they had to carry them out. "Once the IV is finished, you're going back. You still have a month left on your sentence." By evening, the other inmates were already asleep. I dragged my exhausted body into the cell and accidentally bumped into the bunk of the cell block's ringleader, Derrick Wiley. It creaked loudly. "You trying to get yourself killed? Watch where you're going!" Derrick shot upright and kicked me hard in the lower back. "Five years, Zeke Beasley. You're one tough asshole to kill." He was serving a life sentence. Seeing someone like me, who had only a month left before regaining his freedom, made him hate me even more. His fists came down again, one after another. Too weak to fight back, I curled up on the floor, covered my head with my arms, and silently took the beating. "What the hell is going on in there?" A correctional officer banged on the door in warning. "Keep it down, or you're all going to solitary!" Derrick finally stopped and spat at me. "I've still got a whole month to deal with you." I lay on the floor, completely drained by the medication I'd been given that day. All I could do was curl into myself like a turtle retreating into its shell, pathetic and absurd. I stumbled back to my bunk and pulled the blanket over my head. After a while, quiet sobs slipped out. The pain in my body wasn't even a fraction of the pain in my heart. Thinking about what the correctional officers had said filled me with bitter sadness. So the five years I'd spent in prison, all the suffering I'd endured, had started with nothing more than one sentence from my sister, Alina Beasley. "Brett just joined our family, Zeke. You're his older brother. Try to be more understanding." Six years ago, when Alina first adopted the orphaned Brett, I sincerely treated him like a younger brother. But over the following year, I realized Alina had changed. The dinner table was no longer filled with the foods I liked. Instead, meal after meal revolved around Brett's favorite seafood. She had forgotten that I was severely allergic to shellfish, so severely that I'd nearly died from eating it when I was a kid. I still remembered how frantic she'd been that day, blaming herself over and over. "I'm sorry, Zeke. I didn't know. I promise I'll remember from now on." But after Brett came into our lives, all she would say was, "If you're not going to eat, leave the table. Stop being so difficult." After that, whenever we sat in the living room, I was always off to the side by myself. The two people sitting close together were them. Alina stopped attending my parent-teacher conferences, yet she would clear her entire schedule to attend Brett's. Little by little, it felt as though I'd lost Alina, the sister who had once promised she would protect me for the rest of her life... I eventually cried myself to sleep. I was awakened by a correctional officer banging on the door. He looked at me. "1745. Your early-release paperwork was approved. You're getting out today." I froze. It almost felt absurd. When I walked through those iron gates and saw a sky that was no longer framed by four walls, it felt like stepping into another lifetime. "Zeke." A familiar figure approached. I looked up, my gaze sharpening. It was Alina. Chapter 2 Alina walked toward me, looking as polished and composed as ever. Standing beside her in my current state, I looked completely out of place. "You're out. I came to pick you up." I stared at her for two seconds. She felt like a stranger. She instinctively looked away, but not before I caught the flash of guilt in her eyes. "Alina, I don't have a sleepwalking disorder, do I? And I never hurt Brett." Her expression stiffened, but I continued, "Everything you did was to protect Brett. But I don't understand. I never did anything to him. What could possibly have made you go this far?" She stopped walking and pressed her lips together, refusing to meet my eyes. I gave a bitter smile. "And I'm sick." She took a deep breath and turned around, impatience filling her eyes. "Zeke, you just got out, and you're already starting this again? "First you're questioning the sleepwalking, and now you're sick. What comes next? You're going to tell me you were framed and you're dying?" I opened my mouth, wanting to say yes, but the sharp disgust in her eyes stopped the words in my throat. She forced down her temper. "Wait." I had just reached for the front passenger door when I pulled my hand back. She pressed her lips together. "The front seat is Brett's. Sit in the back." Swallowing hard, I let out a self-mocking laugh. "In your heart, is Brett Langley your real brother now?" She frowned and corrected me, "He's Brett Beasley now. I legally made him part of our family. He's your brother too." On the way home, sudden warmth rushed from my nose. I quickly tilted my head back, but the blood still came. "What's wrong?" Alina asked, frowning at me through the rearview mirror as she handed me a tissue. I endured the waves of excruciating pain tearing through my body. "Just a nosebleed." She nodded and didn't ask anything else. Returning to the home I hadn't seen in five years felt like stepping into another lifetime. "Zeke!" A young man ran toward me. "You're finally home." Looking at him, I was suddenly overwhelmed by insecurity. Over the past five years, I'd gone from confident to timid. Meanwhile, there was no trace left of the meek, nervous boy he'd once been. I brushed his hand away. "We're not that close. Drop the act." Brett froze, looking hurt. Alina's expression instantly darkened. "Looks like five years in prison still didn't teach you how to behave. Zeke, apologize." My body stiffened, but I still lowered my head to him. "I'm sorry, Brett." Once we were inside, I headed upstairs to my room. Alina followed behind me. "By the way, Brett has your old room now. You'll stay in the guest room for the time being." My fingers slowly curled into a fist. "Okay." That evening, the dinner table was once again covered with food I was allergic to, and in the living room, I once again sat off to the side, completely out of place. When I returned to my room, Brett followed me inside. This time, the fake expression on his face was gone. All that remained was malice and disgust. "You're harder to kill than I thought. I can't believe you didn't die in prison." I looked up at him, suddenly understanding. "So the guy who ran the cellblock, Derrick... You arranged that?" Brett smiled and shook his head. "Wrong. It wasn't me. It was Alina. She knew I'd been wronged, so she helped me get even. She knows that only when you're gone will people stop looking down on me. Only then can I become the real heir of the Beasley family." Suddenly, everything made sense. Those five years in prison... They were all because Alina wanted people to gradually accept Brett as part of the family. It was all part of her plan to make sure he never suffered the slightest humiliation. It was absurd. I lowered my head and laughed. Brett frowned at me. "Have you lost your mind? You..." Smack! Brett's head snapped to the side. He stared at me in shock as the sting spread across his cheek. "Are you crazy? You hit me!" I stepped forward and clamped one hand around his throat. "I'm dying anyway, Brett. You might as well come with me!" "Cough... cough! Let go!" His face slowly turned purple, his eyes beginning to roll back. Bang! The door flew open. A kick sent me crashing into the foot of the bed. "Zeke!" Alina saw the finger marks around Brett's throat and clenched her jaw in fury. "You're completely insane!" I lay on the floor and coughed up blood. It disappeared into the black carpet, so no one noticed. Still furious, Alina snapped coldly, "If you ever hurt Brett again, I'll throw you back in prison!" The door slammed shut. Bang. The sound seemed to strike straight through my heart. I lowered my eyes as blood started pouring from my nose again. It hurt so much... I bit down hard on my hand, but a pained whimper still escaped me. I closed my eyes for a moment, then dragged my suitcase downstairs. This wasn't my home. Alina saw the suitcase beside me in the foyer and frowned. "What? You hit someone, and now you're running away from home?" I said nothing. She sneered. "Then get out and stay gone. Zeke, you really are a disappointment." I looked at her. Suddenly, the room spun. My eyes rolled back, and I collapsed to the floor. "Zeke!" Chapter 3 When I woke again, I was in the hospital. Alina stood beside the bed, her expression grim. Next to her was Dr. Craig, his head lowered, and Brett, whose eyes were filled with amusement. The moment I opened my eyes, Alina stepped forward. She ripped the IV from my hand and demanded in a low voice, "So this was your plan? You wanted me to think you had leukemia? Were you trying to make me feel guilty? Or were you hoping to drive Brett out of the family one step at a time? "Zeke Beasley!" Her shout made my scalp prickle. "You're despicable!" I opened my mouth. I wanted to explain and tell her I really was sick. But Dr. Craig, who had diagnosed me with leukemia in the first place, cut me off, "I'm sorry, Mr. Beasley. I've already refunded your money to your account. As a doctor, I have professional ethics. I can't help you deceive people." My eyes widened. A buzzing filled my ears. "What did you say?" As realization struck, I instinctively looked at Brett. I saw the smugness in his eyes, the delight at my misery, and the disgust. "It was you again..." My voice came out hoarse, thick with pain. My eyes burned red. Alina frowned and immediately stepped in front of Brett, shielding him. Her expression turned dark. "You never learn! You wanted to leave home, didn't you? Fine. I'll give you what you want. Get out of the Beasley family. Now!" With that, she took Brett by the hand and walked away. As he turned, he smiled at me and silently mouthed three words: "You lost again." The room fell silent. Dr. Craig lowered his eyes, conflict written all over his face. "I'm sorry… My child needs money to study abroad. Zeke, I'm truly sorry..." I gave a faint smile, as if it didn't matter. People looked out for themselves. That was just how the world worked. Yet, tears still slipped from the corners of my eyes, one after another, falling onto the hospital bed. After being thrown out of the family home, I rented a run-down apartment. That night, I'd taken my medication and was about to go to sleep when I heard someone tampering with the lock. I immediately sat up, grabbed a bat from beside me, and cautiously approached the door. The person outside was still cursing. "Damn it. What kind of dump does this idiot live in? I can't even get the door open!" The instant I heard his voice, my entire body went rigid. It was him. Derrick, the man who had run the cell block in prison... But he'd been sentenced to life. How could he possibly be out? Before I could make sense of it, the man outside kicked the lock open. The force knocked me backward, and I crashed hard onto the floor. Derrick sneered, crouched down, snatched the bat from my hand, and tapped it against the floor again and again. Each thud drained more color from my face. I looked at him and suddenly laughed. "Brett sent you, didn't he? Starting in prison, Brett was the one who ordered you to torment me." He froze for a moment, his eyes flickering. "Who the hell is Brett? Never heard of him. Maybe I just don't like you. I struggled unsteadily to my feet. I couldn’t afford my medication anymore. The pain had started again. "In prison, you said you hated me because my sentence was shorter than yours. "But I just got out, and then you got out right after me. Do you really think I’m still going to believe something that ridiculous?" His expression turned dark and menacing. I let out a cold laugh. "Looks like Brett paid you pretty well if you were willing to spend five years in prison with me." Bang! "Shut the hell up, dirtbag!" My back slammed into the coffee table. Shattered pieces of glass instantly buried themselves in my skin. Pain. Agonizing, bone-deep pain. Suddenly, the front door opened. A confused voice came from the doorway. "What are you doing?" Chapter 4 Alina walked in with Brett, her expression grim. Derrick caught Brett's eye and immediately put on a guilty look. "We... we weren't staging anything. Wait, no..." He quickly shut his mouth and glanced silently at me. Alina closed her eyes. Then her voice dropped. "Talk." Derrick immediately began trembling. "I'm sorry, Ms. Beasley. Mr. Beasley hired me. He told me to beat him up. Then he could make it look like the young man with you was responsible." Brett's eyes widened as if he'd suffered some terrible injustice. "Zeke? How could you..." I struggled to my feet. My back was already soaked in blood, and my nose had started bleeding again. Drops splattered onto the floor. "Brett, I'm already out of the Beasley family. Why can't you just leave me alone?" Alina sneered. "Leave you alone? Zeke, you're still putting on this act?" She shook her head, and the disappointment in her eyes still managed to hurt me. "How did you become like this?" Her gaze suddenly stopped on the blood pouring from my nose. Something seemed to seize in her chest, and she frowned hard, but the next instant, she seemed to come to her senses. For some reason, it only made her angrier. "You really planned this thoroughly just to frame Brett, didn't you? Zeke, you're vicious! I can't believe I bothered coming to see you. What a waste!" With that, she turned and left with Brett. The apartment fell silent. Derrick suddenly sneered. "Looks like being the Beasley family's oldest son isn't doing you much good." He grabbed my face in one hand, his expression vicious. "Don't worry. You've got plenty more good times ahead of you." I sank to the floor. My unfocused eyes remained fixed on the closed door. Inside, I felt numb. Somehow, it didn't hurt as much anymore. A week later, I collapsed again. Maybe out of guilt, Dr. Craig paid out of his own pocket for a course of pain medication for me. "If we can't find a bone marrow donor, you may not have much time left." My fingers tightened. I simply nodded and left the hospital. Alina didn't come to see me again after that. Brett, on the other hand, showed up every so often to torment me and mock me. I lay sick and weak in bed, too drained to fight back. I could only endure whatever he chose to do to me. "Don't blame me. You had everything. I had nothing. I didn't have a choice. I had to take it from you. Alina can only have one brother, and that has to be me." That night, for the first time in ages, Alina called me. "Have you realized what you did wrong?" I fell silent and didn't answer. Sometimes I asked myself the same thing. Was I wrong? What had I done wrong? "Alina, the day after tomorrow is my birthday. Will you spend it with me? Like you did when I turned eighteen?" The other end of the line went quiet. All I could hear was Alina's slightly heavy breathing. "I'm in Iceland with Brett right now, watching the Northern Lights. I might not make it back, but… If you admit you were wrong, I'll bring you a present." I lowered my eyes. The pain in my body made the hand holding my phone tremble uncontrollably. "Really? But, Alina..." I paused, fighting back the overwhelming ache in my chest. "I don't even know what I did wrong." Her voice immediately turned sharp again. "Zeke, I never should've expected anything from you." The call ended. My hand went limp, and the phone fell heavily to the floor. Tears shimmered at the corners of my eyes in the moonlight. A gust of wind came through. It was so cold. So cold. Over the next two days, I didn't even have the strength to reach for my medication. I lay in bed, watching the clock tick away. When the final second passed, I finally accepted the truth. Alina wasn't coming back. I was so tired. My breathing grew weaker. "Happy birthday, Zeke Beasley." The words slipped from my lips. Then I took my last breath and closed my eyes for good. The next second, someone pounded on the door. Alina's muffled voice came from outside. "Zeke, open the door!"