I wasn't their child. Just something they'd picked up. No wonder they never wanted me around. At least they'd put food on my plate. I should be grateful for that much.
But just as I was learning to accept it, the ugliest truth of all was laid bare.
My fist connected with Melvin's face. I tore that mask of kindness right off him.
"You put nails in my bed and now you talk about leaving? Drop the act!"
The Gilbert parents threw themselves between us, but it didn't matter. I shattered Melvin's leg. And even that didn't come close to repaying what his parents had done to me.
After that, every elite family in the city knew the same story: the Gilbert heir they'd found was a lunatic. A savage who'd maimed his own brother.
I was sent overseas. They re-broke my bones and set them straight. Gave me new corneas.
The Gilbert parents told me:
From now on, Melvin owes you nothing.
The memory dissolved. Greta's cool voice drifted up from behind me: "If you want to lose your mind, take a good look at what you are first. And besides, Melvin doesn't owe you a thing. If he ever tried anything against you, I'd be the first to put a stop to it."