I Let Them Take My Brother Chapter 2

Ten years dissolved in the blink of an eye.

We were at the county fair, the air thick with the smell of popcorn and cotton candy, when someone bumped hard into our group and snatched Liam’s phone.

I knew him instantly. The thief was my biological brother.

He was nothing like the boy from my memories. He was rail-thin and grimy, dressed in clothes that looked like they’d been pulled from a dumpster. He walked with a pronounced limp. It was painfully clear that his life had been anything but easy.

A memory from my past life surfaced. My brother—the real one, the one who grew up as Liam—screaming at me alongside his friends, calling me a monster. I had confronted him, my voice shaking with rage. I look like this because I saved you.

He’d just sneered. I never asked you to save me. A person like me would have been fine anywhere, even with a killer for a dad. Stop trying to guilt-trip me.

Now, seeing him thriving like this… I could finally breathe easy.

My parents started to give chase, but I chose that exact moment to feign a fall, crying out as my knee hit the pavement.

It was a calculated risk. My real brother was the spitting image of my father. If Dad got a good look at him, he’d start asking questions.

In this life, without the scars, with my excellent grades, I was an asset. My image-conscious parents valued me.

Just as I’d hoped, they abandoned the chase and rushed to my side. “Sadie, honey, are you okay?”

My eyes followed my brother as he vanished into the crowd. I let out a breath I didn’t realize I was holding. “I’m okay,” I said, looking up at them. “Just scraped my hand. It stings a little.”

Meanwhile Liam, furious about his brand-new phone, was cursing a blue streak. “That little piece of trash. If I ever see him again, I swear I’ll kill him.”

I lowered my eyes, a quiet thought forming. This world was smaller than you’d think. I needed to do something.