Chapter 5 A Chilling Conspiracy

• Back home, it was still as dark and dingy as I remembered with small windows and a dim living room. This place housed too many memories that I never wished to recall to the point where a mere thought still sent chills to my core.
• Master Campbell was right. Even though I had learned a lot in the past few years, the flaws in my personality, the low self-esteem, and the timidness within me brought on by my family were not something that I could get rid of just by studying.
• It was like a malignant tumor that I could not get rid of no matter how hard I tried, and it slowly swallowed my personality and confidence whole.
• At dinner, my parents brought up my brother's wedding again with me listening attentively for anything about the bride. Right then, my heart was beating wildly, as I would lose my mind if the pretty girl turned out to be my future sister-in-law.
• Due to my insignificant position in the family, I did not dare to interrupt, only to hear that the girl was in the cohort with my brother. Hearing this, my mind was instantly at peace, because the pretty girl was supposed to be his senior.
• Late that night, I could not sleep, so I took a book out from under the bed. It was just a normal textbook, but it was the piece of paper inside that made it so special to me!
• The paper was given to me by the girl back then, so I did not dare to use it even after so many years had passed.
• Where are you, my angel? Will we ever meet again in this life? Do you know that because of that single sentence and action from you, it changed my life forever? It gave me the strength to live on!
• Feeling melancholy, I then hugged the book tightly, imagining that I was hugging her, the girl of my dreams.
• Even later that night, I heard a commotion outside, as my brother and parents gathered in the living room.
• "Hubby, did you get the money?" my mother asked in a hurry.
• "I already asked around the village and managed to borrow 80 thousand," said my father while drinking water.
• "You two are the most useless parents I've ever seen!" Angry, my brother continued, "The deposit is 160 thousand, so how are we going to get the remaining 80 thousand from?"
• Seeing this, my mother then quickly said, "Hush! Don't wake your brother up!"
• With a low tone, my father then stated, "The village just so happens to want our land for building a factory. I've already negotiated with them and the final price was 20 thousand for one acre. If we successfully sell everything off, then we'll have 80 thousand in hand. If we go forward with this plan, wouldn't we have the money for the deposit then?"
• Lying in my small room, I felt like I was suffocating due to his words, as my parents were even willing to shoulder an enormous debt just to help my brother afford a house. They were actually going as far as to sell off the land that they use to sustain themself! When would they ever stop and think about me? I was their flesh and blood too. When would they start caring for me like this?
• Thereafter, what transpired next made my heart grow even colder, as my father asked, "Did you manage to settle everything on your brother's side?"
• Hearing that, I thought that they were about to discuss the job my brother had lined up for me, but my mother quickly interrupted, "Quiet! Let's go inside the room to talk so that Annon doesn't hear about this!"
• Then, I heard them all enter my brother's room and even closed the door which only made me wonder. Aren't they just discussing my job? Why are they being so secretive about it? It's not like they are doing something illegal.
• If it were the old me, I would not have dared to eavesdrop on them, but I was different now. Even though I was still timid and cowardly, I at least understood now that I had to take control of my own life and not let someone steer the course of my fate.
• Barefooted, I tiptoed across the living room, sticking my ears to the door of my brother's room before overhearing the most insidious plan I had ever stumbled upon!
• In the room, I overheard my brother saying excitedly, "It's all done now. It's a coal mine in Seaview run by the mafia. Once he gets in, he'll never see the light of day ever again."
• "Annon is your son too. How could you guys…" My mother then sighed, making my icy heart somewhat thaw. But, in the next moment, my mother asked, "How much did they propose?"
• "Eight thousand a month. It will be transferred straight to my account." My brother smiled evilly.
• "Oh, that's alright. Then, you'll have the money to pay the loan off." Sighing, my mother then followed up, "Annon won't try to escape once he gets there, right?"
• Frustrated, my brother then retorted, "Why are you being such a nag? I told you that the coal mine is being run by a very influential mafia there! Any worker that dared to stage an escape would get beaten to death before getting buried inside the mine itself. It's a place where the security is even more extreme than jail!"
• Listening to their conversation made my mind numb. My own family. My own kin is going to sell me off just because of money!
• Relieved, my mother then said, "That's good. With how we tricked him back then, Annon must still hate us inside! We should quickly throw this time bomb away for the better. Otherwise, he might seek revenge upon us once he makes something of himself."
• I did think of getting even back then, but blood is thicker than water in the end. Since you guys are my family, I had gotten over the incident long ago. But how dare you plot against me like this! At that moment, I felt my heart shattering. I truly held no more hope in this family any longer…
• "Oh, right. Mom, find my degree certificate for me. The housing people need a copy of it," my brother ordered my mother.
• Hearing this, my mother then went off to search busily while my father said, "Remember that you're Annon now. Don't slip up on who you really are in the future. I've heard rumors spreading about how your brother took the fall for you in the village."
• "Don't worry. I've already used this name for five years. I won't let anything slip." Saying this smugly, my brother then yawned before continuing, "It's getting quite late. You guys should go back to sleep."
• "You sleep first. I'm going to keep watch in the living room tonight so that your brother doesn't escape in the middle of the night. I can only rest easy once he gets sent into the coal mine in Seaview," while saying that, my father then seemed to light a cigarette.
• Hearing my father's footsteps, I quickly ran back to my room. Lying on the bed, I stared at the ceiling, wide-eyed. If not for the piece of paper in my arms that made me think of the girl, I might really go insane right there and then!
• Even though I had heard every word of their evil plot, I still find it hard to believe with my own ears!
• How could they be so heartless? And what did I do wrong to deserve all this?!
• Early next morning, I came out to a very kind pair of parents, who had prepared a table full of food. I had never been treated like this all my life.
• My father even took out alcohol and wanted me to drink with him. While drinking, he actually cried, apologizing for what they did back then, saying that they destroyed my future, hoping that I would find it in my heart to forgive them. He even promised that once my brother bought that house, they would buy one for me too, and they would do everything in their power to find a wife for me.
• If not for the chilling conspiracy I heard yesterday night, I might have really been moved, since my brother and father were acting very sincerely at this moment. Was this not what I had hoped for all these years? A family that would treat me just a bit better?
• With a heart full of despair, I decided to play along with their spiel of a happy family. Before I left, my mother even miraculously gave me 2000, telling me to treat myself better out there.
• If it were the old, naive and stupid me, I really would be oblivious to the fact of getting sold off, but I was not who I was a long time since.
• Master Campbell had said that the only way to overcome the flaws in my personality was to 'resist'!
• The more you feared something, the more you had to resist it. It was only by facing something head-on that you can overcome the fear in your heart.
• My family. It was you all who forced my hand. Even though I might be an honest man, I, Annon Hushton, am still capable of anything even if backed into a corner!