Nothing like Family

My half-brother, Jim Sullivan, pushed me down a snowy mountain, leaving me with a fractured spine. My mom, Doris Moore, and my wife, Julia Stone, rushed me to the hospital in a panic. Later, they learned that I might be permanently paralyzed. To put my mind at ease, Julia held up a ring and swore that she would take care of me for the rest of my life. Mom also cut ties with Jim, saying she would make him pay for what he had done. They told me Jim fell off a cliff while trying to escape, and they never found his body. I believed them. That was until three years into my marriage, a friend sent me a video. In the footage, Jim, who was supposed to be dead, was holding a child in his left arm and had his right arm around Julia. "Julia, thank goodness you helped me fake my death. Otherwise, I'd be in prison right now!" Jim said. "Has Mom said when we can get the inheritance Joshua's dad left him? "I really can't stand living in hiding like this anymore!" "Jim, I know these past few years haven't been easy for you," Julia said. "If it weren't for that inheritance, I wouldn't have married that cripple. "As soon as we get that money, the three of us can be together again!" It turned out that what I thought was my salvation was just another terrible betrayal. The two women who mattered most to me had never truly cared about me. If that was the case, I wouldn't show them any mercy. Chapter 1 My friend, Taylor, sent me a photo. It was a family portrait without me. In it, my mom, my wife, and Jim Sullivan were all smiling happily. My heart ached so badly that I could barely breathe. My wife, Julia Stone, who had sworn to love me for the rest of her life, had a child with Jim, who was responsible for what happened to me. And my biological mom, Doris Moore, had only treated me well because of the inheritance my dad, Tom Sullivan, left me. They must have had such a hard time. Anger slowly rose inside me. I curled my trembling hands into fists and slammed them hard against my numb legs. Mom had just gotten home when the loud pounding caught her attention. She hurried over to me, her eyes full of concern. "Joshua, what on earth are you doing? Why are you hitting yourself?" Hearing the concern in her voice made my emotions even harder to control. "Why did this have to happen to me? I don't want to spend the rest of my life in a wheelchair!" I shouted. Seeing me break down, Mom quickly pulled me into her arms. "It's okay, Joshua. No matter what happens, I'll always be by your side. "And Julia will be there too. We'll always take care of you." Whenever she said that in the past, I felt lucky to have the best mom and wife in the world. But now, when I looked at her, all I could see was how pretentious she was. I looked up and asked a question I already knew the answer to, "Mom, where did Julia go?" Mom's expression stiffened. Her eyes darted around as she quickly made up an excuse that Julia had gone to buy me some peaches. I smiled lightly and didn't expose her lie. Instead, I pulled out my phone and said softly, "I'll call Julia." The moment the call connected, Mom reached over to snatch my phone and hang up. "Joshua, go back to your room and rest," she said. "I'll call Julia later. When you wake up, she'll be back, okay? Her gentle coaxing made me realize what was really going on. She was clearly trying to buy time so Julia and Jim could spend more time together. Ever since I became paralyzed, Julia had often gone out while I was asleep. Every time she came home, she would bring me a little gift. I naively thought she cared about me and went out to buy them while I was resting. Now I knew she had been using the time while I was asleep to see Jim. Pain and grief hit me all at once, and the complicated mix of emotions made it hard to breathe. Jim nearly killed me, yet everyone was covering for him! I bit down hard on the tip of my tongue. The taste of blood filled my mouth, and only then did I calm down. After all their betrayal, I was done giving them chances. I saved the video and photos, then asked Taylor for Julia and Jim's address. Chapter 2 Taylor sent me the address of a photo studio. I took a deep breath and put on a smile. "Mom, I'm not tired," I said. "I just realized that we haven't taken a family photo since Dad died. "When Julia gets back, let's go take one together. I know a photo studio with good reviews." Mom's gentle expression fell a little, and she grew visibly nervous. "Joshua, how do you know about this photo studio? Do you know someone who works there?" The suspicion in her eyes hurt me deeply. I even had the urge to confront her right then and there. Jim and I were both her sons. Why would she help him to hurt me like this? But even if I knew the answer, what would it change? The moment I decided to leave, I stopped caring. "No. I just came across it online and thought it looked good," I replied. Mom studied me closely. Once she was sure I was acting normally, she breathed a sigh of relief. She tucked the blanket around my legs and looked at me affectionately. "Go get some rest. The doctor said you need plenty of sleep to recover. "As for the family photo, we'll go once Julia comes back." Mom took great care of me, but I could no longer feel any love from her. I was taken back to my bedroom, but I didn't go to sleep. Time passed slowly, and Julia didn't come home until nightfall. I moved myself into my wheelchair and reached out to open the door a crack. Mom and Julia lowered their voices, but I could still hear them. "Julia, Joshua suddenly brought up taking a family photo today," Mom said. "I'm worried he may have discovered something. Also, it's time for Jim and Bobby to come back and be with our family." Julia pressed her lips together and thought for a moment. "Joshua can't possibly know. But we really do need to move up our plans. "Bobby should be starting school by now, and we still haven't gotten his birth certificate. We can't keep this up. "But how do we get Joshua to willingly give us Tom's inheritance?" Mom said nothing. After a long silence, her eyes lit up. "We deliberately didn't get Joshua fully treated back then." She continued, "One reason was to keep him from causing trouble for Jim, and the other was so we'd have this to use when we needed it." Julia smiled too. "You're right. We'll just tell Joshua we found a good doctor who can treat him, but it'll cost a lot of money. "Whether it works or not will depend on his luck. If it doesn't, we can just take care of him for the rest of his life. Hearing Julia's knowing laugh, I felt a chill run down my spine. So there was actually a cure for me. They just planned to use my health as blackmail. They even planned to keep me disabled after they got what they wanted, so they could control me however they pleased. But they didn't know that I had already found out about their schemes. I wasn't going to let them take advantage of me anymore! After they finished discussing their plan, Julia opened the door and placed some strawberries on my nightstand. "Honey, are you awake?" she asked. "I brought your favorite strawberries. Get up and have some." Her voice was gentle, and her eyes were full of affection. She looked just like the woman who once promised to love me for the rest of my life. If I hadn't seen the four of them together as a family and heard their plans with my own ears, I would've felt touched and grateful. Right now, her smile only seemed fake to me. She was my wife, yet the man she truly loved was Jim, my older half-brother on my mom's side. For Jim and the inheritance Dad left me, Julia was willing to stay married to a disabled man like me just to keep me tied to her. Julia helped me into my wheelchair, put the strawberries in my hand, and pushed me to the dining room. Mom was busy bringing the food to the table. When she saw the strawberries in my hand, a hint of nostalgia appeared in her eyes. "You and Jim both had a sweet tooth as kids. Julia would buy you different treats almost every day." Chapter 3 As Mom spoke, she lowered her head and wiped away her tears. Julia glanced at me. She only spoke after she was sure I didn't seem angry. "Doris, it's all in the past," she said. "Jim made a mistake, but he paid the price. I know you must miss him. Let's go see him on the anniversary of his death in three days." I forced a bitter smile when I heard that. My birthday was in three days. But ever since Jim faked his death, they had ignored my birthday every year on purpose. I was about to refuse, but Mom spoke first as she wiped away her tears. "No. Have you forgotten? It's Joshua's birthday in three days. We need to be with him." I froze, overwhelmed by mixed emotions. They had already been plotting against me. Why pretend to care now? Julia soon gave me the answer. She slapped her forehead and scolded herself. "What was I thinking? I even got Joshua a birthday gift!" Then she crouched down, took my hand, and looked at me with hope in her eyes. "Joshua, there's hope for your back. The specialist I found will be here in three days," she said. "Your birthday will be the start of your new life." I was mocking her in my mind, but I had to pretend I was really surprised. "Really?" Mom quickly came over. "Of course it's true! But the surgery is very difficult, and it'll cost a lot of money…" Before she could finish, I cut her off. "I have the money. I haven't touched the inheritance Dad left me." Finally, I had brought up what they really wanted to discuss. Mom and Julia both started to get excited. "Joshua, you're going to get better!" I laughed quietly. Of course I'd get better. I was going to get healthy and live a good, long life. The three of us finished dinner, each hiding our own intentions. After clearing the table, Julia pushed me outside for a walk, just like she always did. It was windy today. Worried I'd catch a chill, she patiently put another layer on me and made sure I had my hat on. She had always been this thoughtful since we were kids. I used to think it was because she loved me, but now I finally understood. She only married me because she had something to gain. While she was pushing me around outside, Julia got a call. When she saw who was calling, she hurriedly held the phone against her chest and told me it was a coworker. I gave her a knowing look and told her to take the call. Once she was far away enough, I took out my phone and messaged Taylor. "I'm having surgery in three days. Can the doctor you found perform the surgery?" While we were out for some fresh air, my lawyer, Arthur Towne, messaged me to say the contract was ready. Behind me, Julia's eyes lit up when she saw it. "Is it about Tom's inheritance?" I nodded and turned off my screen. "On the day of my surgery, I'll transfer the inheritance to you. Remember to pay for my surgery." She quickly agreed. "Of course, honey. You can leave it to me." My phone screen lit up again, and a digital copy of the divorce agreement appeared in the chat. Julia was too caught up in her dreams of getting rich to notice that I had already signed it. - The next three days passed without a hitch. Early that morning, Arthur knocked on my front door. At my signal, he turned the agreement to the final blank page. My electronic signature was already there. Julia seemed certain I wouldn't lie to her, so she signed her name without looking through the papers. Mom couldn't hide her smile as she pushed me outside. "Today is a good day. Once you come out of surgery, you'll be able to walk again." I gave a slight nod and went to the hospital with them. Even though they had already decided they wouldn't let me recover, I still had to go through all the usual pre-surgery tests. I had just finished having my blood drawn, with a cotton swab pressed against the needle mark, when a child's clear voice called out from behind me. "Mommy!" Julia stiffened and glanced at me. I turned around and saw Jim standing nearby, holding the hand of a little boy.