Chapter 2

"Don't worry, even if it costs me my life, I'll cure you so you can keep developing new software."

I stared at her impeccable acting with a numb expression and said weakly, "Sis, will I really get better?"

"You will, I promise."

She spoke loudly, but her eyes darted away, unable to meet mine.

She knew full well that the knife she had plunged into me herself would never allow me to draw another breath.

To pave the way for Alec, this "caring sister" who once swore on our parents' graves to cherish me for life had personally sent me to my doom.

And my ride-or-die brother, in the end, chose to stab me in the back for that adopted son who drove us apart.

At this moment, I couldn't even tell who was truly the blood brother my sister grew up with, or who was the best friend Dane had been inseparable from for twelve years.

I had even played matchmaker for their marriage.

Yet they chose to torture me with lies and deception.

My heart turned to ashes, and I fell silent.

The doctor approached with disinfectant, looking at my horrific lower body and twisted limbs with a pained expression. "Young Master Winters, the specialists haven't arrived yet. We can only disinfect your wounds for now. Try to bear with it."The searing pain cut through even the strongest anesthetics, causing me to bite down so hard my gums bled, filling my mouth with the taste of iron.

Yet the physical agony paled in comparison to the anguish in my heart.

Dane watched the scene unfold, his fists clenched so tight the veins bulged, his eyes rimmed with red.

My sister stumbled out of the room, her body shaking with each unsteady step.

Their concern seemed so genuine, but I could no longer feel even a shred of warmth from it.

When I regained consciousness the next day, I could hear my sister and Dane talking outside the hospital room.

"Darling, Damien's condition is already so serious. Are we still going to have reporters come to the hospital today to expose his twisted sexual orientation and promiscuous behavior with men?"

My sister hesitated for a moment before responding decisively.

"Yes! Damien's reputation is already ruined, what's a little more mud? Those software competition judges are most wary of character flaws. It's also a good opportunity to temper his personality. I'm doing this for his own good."

She then added carefully, "Make sure those specialists are ready. As soon as the reporters leave, they need to start treating Damien immediately."

Dane nodded repeatedly in agreement.

I lay numbly in the hospital bed, staring blankly at the ceiling.

Silent tears streamed down my face, scalding hot and relentless.Sister knew full well that I had been switched at birth, endured countless hardships, and put in countless times more effort and hard work than others to become a software developer.

With one careless remark, she destroyed half a lifetime of blood, sweat and tears.

If I had known that returning to my birth family would be a fate worse than death, I would have rather been beaten to death by my adoptive father back then.

An hour later, a group of reporters from who knows where suddenly burst through the door.

They barged in wielding cameras and microphones, men and women alike, swarming around me like bloodthirsty vampires.

I was paralyzed with fear, my face turning deathly pale.

"Young Master Winters, we hear you're into men, and you specifically go for big burly types who land you in the hospital. Would you call this karma? Care to share how you're feeling now?"

"Young Master Winters, with your promiscuous lifestyle, did you become a software developer by using your 'special skills' to please investors?"

"Young Master Winters, are you completely immobilized now? Have you become totally disabled? Do you suffer from incontinence?"

As the reporter fired off questions, they suddenly yanked away the thin blanket covering my body.

My injuries were so severe that I couldn't wear any clothes.