Mom's joyful screams echoes through the house. She is ecstatic.
And then there is that woman Bella. She has stunning long black hair, piercing gray eyes, and pale skin.
And those maniacs.
That Ferucci guy brown eyes, the sa height as Jas, a 27-year-old monster.
Then there is Hector. Online, they called him the drug trade lord. 32 years old, towering at 190 cm built like a basketball player.
Green eyes, but his appearance had changed his buzz cut and sharp jawline made him look more like a model than a criminal.
And then there was the last one, Hans.
Out of all of them, he still seems the most normal to . Brown hair, green eyes, nothing particularly striking about him.
He is in his early 30s, around Jas's height, maybe a couple of centiters taller. There is barely any information about him, except for one thing, he is so kind of bodyguard.
And finally, Jas, my brother, the one who seems the most ordinary.
Nothing special. Short hair, brown eyes, 184 cm tall. Maybe around 80 kilos.
Not a single search result with his na. No trace of him on social dia.
He went to college, but we couldn't afford it, so he dropped out.
He was just a guy with no friends, didn't talk much, kind of like . He got a job at a coffee shop, quietly going through life.
And then everything changed.
Drastically.
The mont that old gangster died.
And that's the mont I started to hate him.
He was supposed to be my brother. A brother who cared about . Soone who talked to every day, even just a little. Soone who played with , helped with howork.
But none of that happened after he changed.
He used to be lazy, just like . The kind of person no one noticed, no friends, nothing. But then, that lazy brother turned into soone I was afraid to even look at.
Afraid to ask him questions.
Because what if he killed too?
I might just be his little brother, but I know who he is. A drug lord. A gangster who rules over our capital. A man who silences anyone who speaks against him. A murderer of governnt officials. A man whose people do whatever he commands no matter how horrific.
And I know how these things work.
I've seen movies about gangsters. Read history books. Even visited museums. I know they can even kill their own.
That's why I never asked where all the money ca from. I never asked about the ard guards, the bulletproof cars.
But then the bullying started a half a year ago.
I was the fat kid with glasses, a terrible haircut, and acne. But I never really cared about those things until my classmates started calling nas.
Then they stole my money. Slowly, it turned into daily beatings.
I hid the marks. Because I was scared.
Scared that if he saw them he asked and I told him he would kill them. Those guys would be dead within the day.
I tolerated everything. The bullying, the humiliation. They beat , spat on , and I endured it all.
I hated them with every fiber of my being. Those guys were terrible kids. But they were just kids. Maybe they would change. Maybe they never would.
But I didn't want anyone to die.
But Jas...
Jas didn't care about those things.
One day, they stopped. The bullying, the beatings, the humiliation it all just ended. Not because the world suddenly beca kind, but because they were terrified.
I didn't know what happened at first.
The ones who used to bully wouldn't even look at anymore. They avoided like I was cursed. So transferred to different schools. Others suddenly beca quiet, acting as if I never existed.
And then I heard the rumors.
One of them was found in the alley behind our school with a broken finger.
The others? So of their fathers lost their jobs or got beaten.
It didn't take much to put it together, Jas did that.
I should have been relieved. Happy, even. But all I felt was fear.
Because my brother, the brother who was once too lazy to even care about the world, had changed into sothing else.
Sothing terrifying.
He never said a word to about it. He never asked if I was okay. Never even acknowledged what he did.
He just ca ho like always, sat at the dinner table, ate his al in silence, and went to his room.
Like nothing ever happened.
And I realized then... I wasn't just scared of him.
I hated him.
Because he didn't do it for .
He didn't do it because he cared.
He did it because that's who he had beco. A monster who solved problems with fear and violence.
I wasn't soone to be feared. I was nobody. I just wanted friends—people to go to karaoke with, to go bowling with. To just exist beside them, like a normal kid.
And so, I transferred to another highschool.
But things only got worse. The bullying started on my first day.
I was sixteen, and I tried my hardest to hide it. I smiled, told funny stories, acted like everything was fine. I even told Jas how great the school was.
But every day, they beat . Humiliated . The sa thing all over again.
And then not long ago they decided it wasn't enough.
They told to jump into the river. And I did.
They didn't have to throw in.
I jumped in on my own.
Then... darkness.
When I woke up, I was in the hospital. My body felt numb, my throat burned, and I couldn't speak.
But I could hear Jas, he was crying and then he said it—the words that made my blood run cold.
"I'll deal with this."
I wanted to scream at him.
Don't do it. Don't kill them.
But my body wouldn't move. My voice wouldn't co.
A few days later, I saw the video. They jumped into the river just like I did and one of them died because of my brother.
Relief? No.
Satisfaction? No.
All I felt was a sinking, crushing weight in my chest.
One of them was dead.
Gone.
Because of my brother.
I stared at the screen, watching the video over and over. Their laughter had turned into screams. Their playful shoves beca desperate thrashing. I could hear them crying for help, just like I had.
And then silence.
I turned off my phone. My hands were shaking.
This wasn't justice.
It wasn't even revenge.
Jas didn't do this because he cared about . He did it because soone hurt sothing that belonged to him. And Jas Bellini didn't let things go.
I should've hated those guys. They bullied . They beat . They made my life hell.
But I didn't want them dead.
And yet, one of them was.
Because of .
I wanted to confront him. Scream at him. Tell him that this wasn't right.
But out of fear I could even look at his eyes.
And now, I sit in a mansion worth millions more money than I could ever imagine having to our nas.
I don't go to school anymore.
Instead, the best teachers co to , tutors paid obscene amounts of money to make sure I get the best education possible. But none of it matters.
Because I can't leave.
I can't make friends.
I can't live a normal life.
I wake up in a golden cage every day, trapped by the choices of a brother I don't even recognize anymore.
Jas thinks he's protecting .
But he isn't.
He's making sure nobody can use against him. Because that's what I am—his weakness. The one thing his enemies would love to break.
And Mom?
She's no different.
We are both prisoners in this life he built.
Jas doesn't see it that way, though. He thinks he's keeping us safe. That's the difference between him and .
He sees this house as a shield. I see it as a prison.
Or maybe...
Maybe this is all my imagination.
Maybe Jas isn't a monster.
Maybe he really is just my brother, the sa one who used to sit next to in silence, who never had friends.
Maybe I've convinced myself he's worse than he really is.
But then I hear the sound of a car pulling up outside.
Black-tinted windows. Ard n stepping out.
I don't recognize their faces, but I know what they are.
They aren't family. They aren't friends.
They're soldiers, Jas soldiers.
And suddenly, I can't breathe.
Because imagination doesn't explain this.
Imagination doesn't make people disappear.
Imagination doesn't put fear in a teacher's eyes when they say my last na.
This is real and I am trapped in it.
I hate my brother.
A man who built an empire with blood and silence. A man feared by criminals and law enforcent alike. A man whose na never appears in the news, but whose presence lingers in every dark corner of this city.
And ?
I'm weak.
Soft.
Useless.
I don't belong in his world.
Because no matter how much power he gains, no matter how feared he becos I still see him for what he really is.
A boy who was never supposed to be a king.
A liar wearing a crown made of fear.
A monster pretending to be untouchable.
I hate him.
"Is it too much?" He put down the pen, leaning back staring at the ceiling.
Then a sudden knock echoed through the room.
"Rafael, co down. We're cooking sothing special."
He quickly threw the book into a desk drawer.
"Oh, you're writing sothing?" Jas raised an eyebrow. "A diary?"
"No, just... things. You know, an aspiring writer. A story."
"Cool." Jas leaned against the doorfra. "What's it about?"
Rafael hesitated for a mont before forcing a small smile.
"About a man who doesn't realize how much he's lost."
"Oh that's good, let read it when you finish it."
"I will, give a minute and I will be down." He smiled and Jas nodded, closing the door.
No matter how much I hate him, no matter how much I tell myself I won't beco like him...
He is still my brother.
The day went on as they cooked together, making so kind of at dish and soup. For a brief mont, it felt like they were just two brothers, nothing more, nothing less. No cri, no fear, no walls between them.
Just a family sharing a al, talking, laughing, even if only for a little while.
When Charlotte finally woke up, Rafael was inford that she was now part of the family. The words shook him more than he expected.
He listened as they explained exactly why she was staying, their voices calm, as if it was the most natural thing in the world.
He wasn't sure how to feel about it.
But as he watched them, as he saw the way Jas spoke, the way Charlotte fit into this strange new reality, a thought slipped into his mind.
A small, quiet whisper to himself.
"Maybe... just maybe, I was wrong."
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