15 years ago, the body of a victim who had been tortured and murdered appeared in my room. My parents chose justice over family and accused me of murder. My twin brother, Calum West, cried as he tried to convince me to turn myself in. My wife, Wendy Fisher, who was a company CEO, immediately wanted to divorce me. I was sentenced to prison. The victim's family members paid other inmates to make me lose my voice and break my limbs. The torture followed me through every one of those fifteen years. On the day of my release, my ex-wife and brother came to pick me up wearing wedding rings. Calum said emotionally, "Welcome back, James. Now that you've done your time, we'll take care of you from now on." The prison guard next to me said earnestly, "Look at how well your brother and his wife are treating you. This is your chance to turn over a new leaf." I sneered. "But I'm not the murderer from 15 years ago. It was my twin brother, Calum West," I said inwardly. *** The journalists who came with my brother, Calum West, surrounded me. Cameras of all sizes were aimed at me. "Mr. West, you murdered someone ruthlessly and also tortured the victim's body, but were only sentenced to prison for 15 years. Is this because of your sister-in-law, Ms. Fisher's wealth and power?" "What do you have to say about the victim's family members saying that they want to kill you?" "Did you ever regret what you did during the past 15 years?" They got so close to me that their microphones were practically in my face. The journalists crowding around me immediately reminded me of the living hell that I had been through over the past 15 years in prison. I subconsciously put my hands on my head and started backing away. But my crippled leg caused me to trip and fall over. "Please... please don't hit me..." Amid the commotion, my ex-wife, Wendy Fisher, pushed through the crowd and stood between those journalists and me. "What my husband's brother committed was not intentional murder, and he's done his time. There were no under-the-table dealings. If you keep on harassing James, then my lawyer will be in touch with every single one of you!" shouted Wendy. Only after hearing her threat did the journalist disperse. Only then did Calum rush forward. He reached out his hand with a concerned look on his face. "Are you alright, James? It was a good thing that I asked Wendy to come along. I'm really sorry. I didn't know the journalists would be here as well." Wendy wrapped her arms around Calum's other hand and said softly, "It wasn't your fault. There's no need for you to feel sorry." I swatted his hand away and struggled to climb off the ground. I tried my best to straighten my back, which had been curved by years of submission. "Drop the act already." Calum was the only person that I didn't want to show my weak side to. I dragged my cripple leg and walked stubbornly towards the car. Calum quickly got into the backseat as well. He deliberately showed me the wedding ring on his finger. He sounded apologetic, but he still couldn't hide the proud look in his eyes. "James, Wendy and I got married 15 years ago. Back when you committed murder and were sentenced to prison, I had poor health. So in order to take care of me, she proposed to me." With that said, he pretended to be surprised and gasped. Then he smiled apologetically. "Don't worry, James. Wendy and I have already talked about it. You'll still be living in the villa. After all, you've been behind bars for 15 years. Even if you are a talented person, it'll still be quite hard for you to survive by yourself." "Calum!" Wendy interrupted Calum's nonstop ranting. She looked at me from the rearview mirror, and her voice softened. "James only just got out of prison. Let him get some rest." Calum nodded sulkily. I turned and looked at the scenery that was speeding past outside the window. My thoughts seemed to have drifted to what happened 15 years ago. Back then, I was a top venture capitalist in the industry. Countless investors would line up outside my office, money in hand, all eager for a seat at my table. The money Wendy used to start her company, along with all the follow-up funding, was provided by me. She once grabbed my hand tightly with a grateful look in her eyes and promised me that she would protect me for as long as she lived. Neither would she let me suffer any grievance. But 15 years of imprisonment caused my talent to wither away. It just numbed me. The world I once belonged to no longer had a place for me. After the car came to a halt, I looked at the building in front of me in a little bit of a daze. The house that Calum was talking about just now was actually the house that Wendy and I lived in after we got married. Our parents walked over to greet us, but all their attention was on Calum. I stood at the side and watched as the three of them interacted warmly with each other. It was as if I were just an outsider. Wendy walked over with my luggage in her hand. "Mom, Dad. James's back." The smile on their faces disappeared. When they turned to look at me, both of them frowned almost at the same time. My father's face became disgusted. "Wendy, I thought I already told you not to bring a freak who tortures other people's bodies back home!" My mother nodded in agreement. "You're dad's right, Wendy. His presence is only making the air in the house foul." My heart ached at those words. Ever since I was born, my parents had always favored my brother. I always thought that they loved me as well, but realization dawned on me 15 years ago. It seemed that everything had only been my imagination. Calum grabbed our parents and said, "Mom, Dad, James has been in prison for 15 years. Can't you be nicer to him for my sake?" Our parents snorted and didn't say any more. The dinner finished very quickly. I was arranged to stay in a storage room. I remained silent when I saw the so-called bed, which was only a plank of wood with no mattress. In the middle of the night, I lay on the plank of wood and didn't feel sleepy at all. In prison, the other inmates took shifts keeping watch over me, making sure I never slept. The moment I closed my eyes, the beating started. Knock. Knock. Knock. The sudden knocking made me jump. It took me a while to realize that I was no longer in prison. Listening to the knocking of the door, I slowly got out of bed. I clenched my fists when I saw who was standing at the door. "What are you doing here?"
Wendy looked worried. "I came to check on you. After all, you only just got out of prison." "Get lost! I don't need you to pretend that you care about me!" I said in a cold voice. She looked at me helplessly. There was a flash of indulgence in her eyes. It was the exact same look from 16 years ago. Back then, I saw Calum lying on her bed naked. The sight almost drove me crazy. But all she did was pull Calum behind her and allowed me to vent my anger however I pleased. Only when I became tired did she speak up. "Calum and I were just drunk. Nothing happened between us. It's not what you think." That face in my memories slowly overlapped with the look on her face right now. She reached out, grabbed my wrist, and slowly rubbed my skin. Her touch gave me goosebumps. "Don't touch me!" I struggled to break free but couldn't. "James, you're the one that I've always loved. The only reason I married Calum is help you take care of your family. Calum and I aren't really a thing..." I sneered and interrupted. "What? Are you taking care of my family in bed? Calum did say before dinner that you had an abortion for him." Wendy desperately wanted to pull me into her arms. "It's not what you think, James! I've always been waiting for you over the past 15 years. I said I'll always protect you." I pushed her away forcefully and took a couple of steps back. "Don't you find my current state disgusting? Are you planning on dating both Calum and me?" Wendy looked hurt. "James..." "What are you doing?" Calum's sharp voice echoed in the corridor. He looked infuriated. Our parents stood by him and looked at me with eyes full of disgust. Wendy quickly walked over and wrapped her arms around his to comfort him. Calum suddenly walked up to me and slapped me hard across the face. "James, I've brought you home out of kindness. But you start flirting with Wendy as soon as you come back? She's my wife now! Have you no shame?" I swallowed the blood in my mouth and snorted. "I didn't do anything." Seeing that he didn't believe me, I curved my lips and said meaningfully, "Even if I did do something, I got that from you." "Back when I first brought Wendy home, didn't you sneak into her room wearing my pajamas?" Calum loved to take things that I liked ever since we were little. He even tried to flirt with Wendy openly back when I first brought her home. Back then, Wendy chose me and turned him down. Even when our parents were pretending nothing had happened, Wendy still stood firmly by my side. However, it was a pity that Wendy gradually began to favor Calum as well during the three years that we were married. My father slapped me hard across the face. "Why are you still talking about such nonsense? Even Wendy said that it was a misunderstanding. Why do you keep bringing it up?" My mother hugged Calum to comfort him. She then complained to Wendy, "He's a murderer. Can't you just give him some money and send him off? Why did you have to bring him home and cause all this chaos?" I covered my face and chuckled. My voice was hoarse. "Murderer? But I'm not the one who's murdered someone."
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