Meanwhile, I was still wearing my maintenance uniform. I worked at the same company where my father was a regional director: Silvercrest Holdings. He hated being seen next to a son who cleaned floors and fixed light fixtures.
“I just want to leave this here for you and go back downstairs,” I said, trying to keep my voice steady.
My mother appeared instantly. She wore a deep red dress and a look of polished disdain.
“You made that?” she asked, staring at the cake like it offended her. “Honestly, Daniel, did you really think that belongs on this table?”
I didn’t respond. My brother laughed from the doorway.
“He always shows up at the worst time,” he said, raising his glass. “Like a stain that never quite goes away.”
My parents laughed with him.
It wasn’t new. In that house, I was everything they wanted to hide. My father was embarrassed by my job. My mother compared me to Ethan like I had chosen to be invisible. And Ethan… he lived off appearances—deep in debt, gambling, chasing fake business deals—while everyone praised him as the successful son.
What they didn’t know was that I had been watching them quietly for three years.