Chapter 1

My birth was a mistake.

The day I came into this world, my brother was killed in a car accident.

My parents adopted a boy the same age as my late brother, and showered him with all their love.

And I was left drifting, like a kite cut loose from its string.

My foster brother, Viggo Crane, once told me that kites were born to never belong anywhere.

So he set me up for stealing and locked me outside, and what I got was just my parents beating and yelling at me, again and again.

Later, it hit me that my parents just wanted someone to carry the blame for them.

But when I really turned into that kite with no place to go, just like they wanted, my parents started to freak out.

I waited at the school gate with Viggo's backpack in my arms until it was really late.

An old man, Theron Black, stepped out for a smoke, saw me still waiting, and frowned.

"Kid, it's not safe out here at night. Why aren't you heading home?" he asked.

Theron told me to come inside and warm up, but I just shook my head.

"My brother told me to wait for him here. He'll be here any minute," I said.

"But you've been here for four hours already. He's probably forgotten all about you by now," Theron said.

Seeing he couldn't talk me into leaving, Theron just shook his head helplessly.

Another hour went by, and my hands were nearly numb from the cold when the butler, Zachary Fox, finally came running over, sweating and out of breath.

"Casimir, why are you still here? I've been searching for you all afternoon!" he said.

He grabbed my hand, his eyes teary. "Your hands are ice-cold. Why didn't you just go home?"

I hugged the backpack even tighter and shook my head. "Viggo hasn't come out yet. I can't leave him behind."

Zachary let out a sigh and gently led me to the car.

"Viggo went home ages ago..." he said, sounding a little helpless.

He stared at me for a while, then patted my head.

"Casimir, when we get there, don't say anything. Let me do the talking, alright?"

I nodded obediently, thinking to myself that Viggo probably just forgot to bring me along.

Before we even stepped inside, I could already hear Viggo crying and throwing a fit.

"I just asked Casimir to grab my backpack for me, but the next thing I know, he's gone!" Viggo wailed.

"My backpack has the art project we got today. Everyone gets one, and if it's missing, the teacher's going to yell at me!"

Mom sounded really annoyed.

"He's just getting more and more troublesome lately," Mom complained.

I burst through the door, totally forgetting what Zachary told me.

"Viggo, I brought your backpack!" I called out.

"I was super good! I waited for you at the school gate all night, but you never came," I said.

I looked at him, full of hope, but Viggo just shook his head and turned to Mom and Dad.

"I didn't ask him to wait for me," Viggo said.

Mom and Dad glanced between us, about to say something, when Viggo suddenly started crying.

Viggo sobbed, "Casimir, why are you lying?"

I frantically waved my hands. "Viggo, I'm not lying! Look, my hands are frozen!"

I stretched out my hands for Mom and Dad to see, the skin raw and swollen from the cold wind.

Zachary chimed in, too.

"Casimir was waiting at the school gate the whole time. The security guard said he'd been out there for four or five hours. It's freezing. He might end up sick," Zachary said.

Mom's expression was icy, and Dad pulled Viggo over, his tone serious.

"Is what Casimir said true?" Dad asked.

Viggo just stood there, silent, his eyes brimming with tears. It took him ages before he finally spoke.

"Uncle, I know you don't like me. It's because I'm not Mom and Dad's real son," Viggo said, his voice trembling.

As soon as Dad heard that, he pulled Viggo into his arms, putting on a show of anger.

"Don't ever say that," Dad snapped.

Then he shot Zachary a disapproving look.

"If Viggo hadn't spoken up, I never would've guessed you were secretly favoring Casimir, even helping him make up stories!" Dad said.

Zachary rushed to apologize, insisting he'd never thought that way.

But Dad was still annoyed and dragged Zachary off for a private talk that lasted quite a while.

Before leaving, Zachary looked at me with tears in his eyes, then reached out and brushed my cheek.

"Casimir, you need to take care of yourself. Don't let Viggo bully you," he said softly.

I nodded obediently. "See you tomorrow, Uncle."

He hesitated for a second, then walked off without a backward glance.

When I turned around, Dad was standing there with a stormy expression, holding Viggo's backpack and pulling out a mess of crumpled, colorful paper scraps.

"So not only are you lying, but you're jealous of Viggo too? Did you mess up his art project on purpose?" Dad accused.