Rebirth of a Rose

69. Target

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"But before she could leave, my mother killed herself. She jumped from the second-floor balcony of her room. We were busy in our rooms and didn't even know about it until a maid passed by her dea....'' Philip closed his eyes and took a deep breath. ''Dead body...'' His voice broke as his mind recalled the memories of the cold winter night.

Philip was silent for a minute before he continued, ''The same week after she passed away, my father sent me and my elder brothers to Canada. It was cruel, but he said it was in our best interests.'' His hands curled into a fist, his knuckles turned white due to pressure.

''It's okay if you don't want to continue,'' Daniel spoke breaking the awkward silence. The man was certainly uncomfortable speaking about his mother's death.

Philip shot his eyes at the two, "No, you have to know whom you are dealing with. My mother's death was very suspicious, but it never occurred to us at that time. While we were in Canada, I tried to keep in contact with Yang. He was always so shy, innocent and had a fragile heart. But my second brother alerted me that he was a sweet poison that could kill anyone."

"I didn't believe him, nor did my elder brother, just like you two kids. We couldn't reach him for the whole two years and were very worried. My dad told me that he was doing fine and was busy studying. Two years later, my father asked us to return back to London. When we arrived, Yang was there and so was his mother. She became the new madam of the house with a new target, that was my second brother."

"The pair of mother and son tried to get him in trouble, but he wasn't easy to fall for any of their tricks. After high school, he moved out of the mansion. He rented an apartment near his university. Before leaving, he advised me to be careful of them. My eldest brother got busy helping dad at the company and rarely came home.''

"Yang was ten at that time and I used to be alone at home most of the time. My dad found some new bitch to fuck and Yang's mother found her old toys. Days went by and I treated Yang with care and affection, he was still a kid. Without mother and father at home, he needed someone by his side."

"Later, Yang started coming home with bruises every day, torn cloths, blood on them, wounds. I thought that he was getting bullied at school."

Daniel's eyebrows raised, "That's not true, he came with  the bruises from home. He told us it was you who bullied him."

Philip chuckled and rolled his eyes, "That's what he wanted everyone to believe. For you and the others at school to think that he was a victim. I confronted him, to tell the truth, but he was always maintained silence. I even fought with your principal asking if my brother was facing any problems at school. He thought I was an asshole who was pretending to be a good brother."

"I was worried, but I never received clear answers from Yang. So, I decided to throw a children's party for him and his classmates. I thought I could get some answers from his friends. I wanted to see how many would attend the party. How they treated him. That day I found out that he was close to you two. You protected him like he was your baby."

"All his classmates looked at me like I was some kind of a monster. Everyone treated him nicely. I couldn't understand the reason behind all those bruises. However, a girl told me the truth. She told me the reason everyone looked at me like I was a criminal. It was because Yang characterized me to be one. He gained everyone's sympathy by lying about how he was bullied and beaten at home. After which I understood the kind of person Yang was. He liked to gain attention. He wanted everything to have their eyes on him. For him, it was a sport. He loved stealing things from others, be it love or care.''