Chapter One

"Give the Amulet to me, my girlfriend said she likes it." Ivan had his eyes glaring at Chris, from where he was standing at the door on the second floor of the Adam's mansion.

Ivan's words were like a punch to Chris's chest, to the extent he zoned out for a couple of seconds as he replayed and digested the awful request from his so-called brother.

"It's mine, I won't give it to you." Chris declined touching the Amulet around his neck.

"What could a trash like you need an Amulet for?" Ivan snickered folding his arms across his chest.

His words were sharp, leaving Chris dumbfounded. The more the words sank into Chris's brain, the more they stung with pain and made his chest bubble with amusement. 

The Amulet wasn't just any necklace, it was the only thing that was left of his mother.

Three years ago, Chris woke up to the sad news of his mother's disappearance. Not only was his father not bothered, but he got married just a month apart and brought his new wife home. 

As if that wasn't enough, he had a son with the woman. Chris stared dazedly at Ivan who was way older than him. He was lost for words, as he realized his father had been cheating on his mother all those years.

His new wife, wasn't a new wife after all but his long time mistress.

As Chris stood there, staring at Ivan, the pain from years back caused his eyes to well up, but he held back his tears.

"Give the Amulet to me!" Ivan's voice rang out jerking Chris from his torturous flashbacks.  

"No!" Chris blinked as he stiffened in his standing spot. 

When Ivan noticed he didn't budge, he took a step forward, but then, Chris took several steps backwards. 

Ivan sneered and said, "I know how to make you give it to me." 

Chris didn't respond to this, he just pursed his lips but then-

"What are you doing? What are you doing Chris?" Ivan's voice was quivering. He looked scared for a minute, but when he noticed the sudden fear in Chris's eyes, a devilish smile appeared on his face.

Chris couldn't understand the kind of stunt Ivan was pulling, but for some reasons he felt hair at the back of his neck stands up. 

"What are you doing?" Chris's nostrils flared in anger. 

"Please don't!" Ivan yelled and then nudged himself towards the stairs, lazily rolling down the staircase screaming for help.

 A loud thump almost caused the roof to fall, as Ivan pretended to have fallen from the stairs.

Frightened and scared, Chris's foot were rooted to a spot. 

He was in great shock. 

"Ivan!" 

When Chris heard the shrieking sound of his step mother's voice, he regained his senses and then he ran to the stairs, only to find Ivan lying on the ground. 

Chris quickly ran down the stairs, and turned Ivan over, carefully hitting him as he called in fear, "Ivan, Ivan!" 

Ivan's eyes peeled open for a moment, and then he smiled at Chris, suddenly he clenched his eyes shut again, pretending to be in coma.

"What is going on there?" Teresa yelled.

When she and her husband Morris, heard the loud thumping sound, they jolted from their bed and rushed to the second floor. 

"What is going on here?" Morris yelled seeing as Chris stood over Ivan's body on the ground.

"My baby." Teresa ran down the stairs and carried Ivan in her arms, she kept patting him but he wasn't waking up.

"What did you do to my child?" Teresa turned towards Chris with her chin jutting out defiantly.

 Her eyes clouded in desperation, she looked over at the stairway and then at Chris again as she yelled, "Did you push him down the stairs?" 

Chris was left stunned by Teresa's accusation.

"Is this true?" Morris's abrasive voice, sent shock waves through Chris's body.

"No, it's not." Chris managed to let the words out.

"You are lying!" Teresa yelled at him shooting him a death glare. "Call the ambulance." She yelled at the staff who were now gathered around and one of them quickly rushed to call the ambulance. 

"I didn't push him, I swear." 

"Enough! Stop lying, you imbecile!" Morris yelled at Chris. 

The sting of betrayal was sharp on Chris as the tears that welled in his eyes trinkled down his cheeks like a cascade. 

He watched as Teresa whimpered, holding Ivan to her chest. 

Morris casts Chris a disappointed look, and when Chris's gaze met his, Morris pulled him closer, holding his shirt, and like that, his hand struck Chris's cheek.

"You hateful dimwit. How dare you do this to your brother???" Morris grabbed Chris's hand and twisted his arm.

"I'm going to teach you an unforgettable lesson." He then dragged Chris up the staircase all the way to the attic and threw him inside. 

 "You imbecile, remain here and reflect on yourself. You are good for nothing, stay locked up here until we get back from the hospital. Use that time to reflect on your unforgivable behavior." Morris twirled the key in the door and was about shutting it when Chris cried out.

"I swear dad, I didn't push him." Chris's voice was shaking. 

A quick snort from Morris made his body tremble. He pursed his lips as he watched his father lock the door from outside. 

Painful moans escaped Chris's lips as he sobbed profusely. No matter what Ivan did, Chris was always the bad one. He never got a break from the torture and Ill-treatment since Teresa and his son moved into the house.

For the past three years, he has been living in such misery.

He was treated worse than the helpers, as if they were doing him a favor by keeping him around. Not even his father could stand up for him. 

"Mum..." Chris sobbed as he stared at the door. 

He couldn't help but kept thinking, maybe if his mother was still here, his life would have been different.

He held the Amulet around his neck as tears kept falling from his eyes like a cascade.

A few minutes turned to hours, and one hour turned to twenty four hours.

They weren't back.

Chris was thirsty, and starving. He could hear his stomach growling and could feel his insides shredding apart as if his intestines were feeding on other organs.

After the second day, Chris couldn't move around and was lying on a spot with lips opened wide. 

He was looking haggard. He tried to keep his eyes on the door but no one was forth coming. And just like that, it was another day. 

The third!

On the third day, his eyes could no longer stay open and his vision was blurry.

He tried to keep his hands on the Amulet as he felt death would soon come to take him away but then-

The doors opened, and a bright light shone on his face. He saw a silhouette walked through the door, he tried to look closer and immediately a smile appeared on his face as he recognized the figure.

"Mum..." He felt relieved. His lips tried to widened but the smile soon faded from face. He was weak, and slowly becoming lifeless. 

His weak hand could no longer hold on to the Amulet, and his eyes suddenly closed to darkness.