My Mom's Favorite Son Nearly Killed Me

From the back cover

For seven years, Ethan has lived on the streets, cast out by the Jacobson family after his brother Darren shoved him off a cliff on a birthday hike. The fall crushed his left leg; a rusty saw and no anesthesia took it below the knee. When his mother called, she accused him of pushing Darren and told him he was no son of hers. Now Ethan performs as a clown in an ill-fitting costume, hiding a rotting stump beneath a crude prosthetic.

At a five-star restaurant, his mother spends a million dollars on Darren's birthday while Ethan entertains the guests. She throws a two-hundred-dollar tip on the floor, calling him an embarrassment. His manager Vincent Parker then fires him over Darren's complaint, docks his pay, and kicks his wounded leg. Vincent offers one chance: perform as a clown at the Jacobson residence, where Darren has requested him.

Feverish and limping, Ethan returns to the family home, where his mother's brief sympathy hardens into contempt and Darren descends the stairs in a white suit, cradling a new puppy. No one will hear the truth he has carried for seven years.