"Your son's a genius, sir. Although I would love to teach him, I am not qualified. He doesn't just have a photographic memory. He can internalize the information at an incredible speed. He needs a tutor who can teach him on the college level."
The man speaking gestured toward a young boy sitting at a low table in the next room. If one observed closely, they would notice that the drawing wasn't the usual scribbling of a child his age. Although they weren't on the level of a professional, the quality would leave many people stunned.
While the two men carried on talking, the boy's mother walked in carrying a baby. Smiling, she walked up to the father.
"Matt, Kane's time for tutoring is up."
The man nodded to his wife and waved toward the boy as she took him away while holding his hand. She led the boy down the hall and sat him down at the table.
"Would you like to hold your sister?"
Kane nodded vigorously, causing his mother to chuckle.
"Alright, make sure to hold her tightly. I'll get you a snack."
As his mother left, Kane looked at the baby's in his arms and gave a radiant smile.
Five years later...
Kane ran up to his mother, hugging her through her coat.
"Stay safe, mom!"
Behind Kane ran his sister.
"Mommy!"
Seeing them, she bent down to hug them both.
"Don't worry, you two. I'll be back soon."
Honk!
"Well, that's your father. I left food inside the fridge. Make sure you ask Maggy to warm it up for you."
she said while looking at the old woman in the corner. As the old woman nodded confirmation, she stood up and waved to the kids.
"Goodbye, kids! I'll be home before you even notice!"
Kane watched his mom leave and waved goodbye until he couldn't see the car anymore.
One week later...
Kane adjusted his suit and stood up. The lighting in the room was dim, but he could see his sister sitting next to his father two rows over with her head down. Breathing in, Kane walked past the rows of people and onto the lit stage. Walking up to the podium, he took a deep breath before speaking.
"My mother was a great person. She was everything to me. Even though she was always busy, she somehow managed to carve out time to take care of my sister and me. I still remember the day she left. She said that she'd be home before we'd even notice..."
Kane looked at the cards in his hands. His hands were shaking. Suddenly, an enormous sense of rage came over him. He dashed the cards across the floor and rushed out of the room.
One year later...
"Kane! Why do you keep skipping your tutoring sessions? Do you know how much money I spend for you to get the best teachers!?"
Kane lowered his gaze.
"Don't you have anything to say for yourself?"
He remained silent under his father's judging gaze.
"SAY SOMETHING!! Honestly, your mother would be ashamed to have a son like you!"
Kane shot to his feet, knocking the chair over. Pushing the chair out of the way, Kane stormed out of the room. As he burst through the door, he was surprised to see his sister eavesdropping outside. She gave Kane a sheepish look. However, before he could say anything, a shout came from behind him.
"GET BACK HERE, YOUNG MAN OR--!"
Kane slammed the door and rushed to his room, locking the door behind him.
One year later...
Kane slammed his hand on his father's desk.
"I'm leaving."
His father looked down to see the papers on his desk.
"What is this?"
"I'm moving out with the money I made from trading stock. It was difficult getting all of the legal papers, but everything is easier when you have a father who doesn't care about your personal life."
Kane's father was stunned.
"Wait, what? You're only sixteen!"
Seeing the confused look on his father's face, he grinned.
"Goodbye, dad."
His father could only watch as Kane walked out of the room.
Three years later...
Kane had been living like a normal person for the past three years. During this time, he experienced the most freedom he had ever felt in his life. He went to a normal school, made friends, and learned about web novels and video games.
However, his past was now staring him in the face.
"Zoe? What are you doing here?"
His sister sighed.
"I'll get to that later; for now, let's get some food. I'm starving!"
Before Kane knew it, he was sitting at a burger joint, watching his sister eat with gusto.
"I really don't get it. Why did you find me?"
Zoe held up her finger. She swallowed before sipping on her drink.
"Ahh, that was good. Anyways, to answer your question, dad wants you to come back."
Kane was stunned. That spiteful old man wanted him to come back? Three whole years had passed, and Kane hadn't heard so much as a peep from the man. Now he wanted him to come back? No way!
"You know me better than that, Zoe. Why would you even bring this up when you know the answer?"
Zoe shook her head.
"No, Kane, this is different. He doesn't just want you to come back; he wants you to take over the company!"
Kane was stunned.
"Me?"
Zoe chuckled.
"Yeah, you. Who else? You're the genius that got away! The one and only beneficiary of the inheritance! "
"No."
Zoe froze.
"What did you say?"
"I said no. There's no way I'm accepting the inheritance from that old man. He just wants me to live the life he set for me. He didn't even care that mom died. All he cares about is if his 'genius son' takes over the company."
Kane was about to say more, but he realized that Zoe was giving him a cold look.
"So I take it that this means you refuse?"
Kane nodded, not wanting to say more. Seeing this, Zoe stood up.
"In that case, my work here is done."
In the following months, Zoe came multiple times to try and convince Kane that he should accept the inheritance, but eventually, she stopped.
One year later...
Kane yawned in tiredness as he stood up from his desk. Even though he didn't need to try hard in his classes, college was still fun. Although he could go to parties, Kane tended to like staying in his room reading novels and playing games.
Only the occasional study session was necessary for him to get perfect grades, so this lifestyle was natural for him. Yawning again, he rummaged through the fridge in search of food only to find nothing.
Checking his watch, he realized that it was already 1:00 am.
"Shoot! Everything's closed!"
Donning his jacket, Kane walked out of his apartment. After exiting the building, Kane walked out into the chilly air. Even though he had a car, he liked walking anyway. It made him feel more human that way. Especially on days with a full moon like this one.
"I guess I'll have to go to the 24-hour store."
he thought aloud. Blowing on his hands, he set off in the direction of the store. He actually liked going to this store because of this cool little shortcut he'd found on his first day of college. If you go down the alleyway, there was a large blockade of wooden boxes. If you wanted to get past them, you would have to climb up the boxes like huge wooden stairs.
As Kane turned down the alleyway of mention, he noticed that something was wrong. Looking down the alley, he could see that the door on one of the buildings leading to the alley was cracked open. Although this normally wouldn't be a problem, Kane had a strange feeling about the alley tonight.
He was about to turn back and head down the longer route when his stomach grumbled.
"Damn, I'm hungry!"
Peering down the alleyway, he once again confirmed it was empty.
[It's probably just me, right? I should be fine as long as I hurry.]
Coming to this conclusion, Kane dashed to the alley and started climbing the boxes. Unfortunately for him, however, the moment he started climbing, the door behind him burst open. Kane glanced behind him to see a burly man whose look absolutely screamed thug.
"Sh**! I should've known! The number one rule is that it's never just you!"
Speeding up, Kane climbed to the top of the boxes. Right when he jumped to the other side of the alley, more thugs walked in from the other side.
"Well sh**!"
Before he could even react, another thug came bursting out from the door next to him, stabbing him in the chest. For a moment, Kane just stood there staring at the thug. It took him a moment to realize that a warm liquid was running down his chest.
Kane tried touching his chest and his hands came back red. He tried to breathe in but with each breath, he seemed to lose more air than he gained.
[This is bad! he punctured my lung!]
Collapsing to his knees, he watched as the thug returned to the ranks of his companions. Strangely, they all looked at the door where the thug had come out from. Turning his head, Kane looked to the right, only to see a familiar figure. His eyes widened as he collapsed to the ground.
Coughing up blood Kane looked up.
"Why?"
he asked the figure veiled in darkness. The figure chuckled and stepped out of the light. It was Zoe. "You know why."
She said coldly. Kane grimaced, holding the stab wound on his chest.
"Humor me."
Zoe shrugged,
"You and I both know he loved you the most. You, despite pushing him away time and time again."
Kane tried to smile, but he knew that it probably looked like a hyena snarling.
"Are you serious? You're killing me because of daddy issues? I already told you I didn't want the company."
At those words, Zoe's face changed to that of a vicious spirit snarling at its victims.
"That's exactly what pisses me off about you! The genius who chooses to be average and never wants to achieve anything. Father gave you my life's dream, and you dare turn it down!"
In an instant, her face turned calm. Kane tried to say something, but he had no more air left. Instead, blood bubbled to the surface of his throat, choking him. Seeing this, Zoe smiled with the same warm smile Kane had seen for years.
"Listen to me. You died from a street robbery. They wanted your wallet. You resisted, end of story."
Zoe then turned and walked off into the darkness. After watching their boss disappear, the hired thugs quickly finished Kane off with a stab to the stomach.
With eyes blurry, Kane stared at the place his sister had left. [In the end, I was too naive. I knew something was off about her, but I never suspected... If I ever meet her in the next life, I'll definitely-], But he never finished his thought as he sank into a deep slumber.