Chapter 23

When the Parkers went to such lengths to find me, I thought I was finally returning to my family. I was full of hope and eagerly awaited a new life. But they ended up telling me that Dad had kidney issues, and I was the only match. Hayden wasn't compatible. What I had thought was a reunion with my family turned out to be a nightmare. Out of youthful longing for a family, I naively believed that helping him would make us a harmonious family, but I realized it was all just a foolish dream in the end. Dad's face turned dark at my words. I was the reason he had managed to survive, after all. Even if there was no affection between us, he couldn't help feeling morally challenged. He sat in silence for a long moment before speaking again, "You didn't come back just for a visit, did you?" He had heard from Hayden that I had returned poor and destitute. Hayden had spun a web of lies that I had squandered money, worked odd jobs, and even leached off wealthy women at bars. Everything he s