Chapter 1

In a household where everyone was a genius, I—the one who always ranked dead last in school—served as the living teaching material my parents used to "educate" my brother Lance and my sister Raven.

To test my spatial awareness, Lance once locked me inside an abandoned factory shaped like a maze for an entire day and night.

When I collapsed from dehydration, Mom's eyes turned red—as she gently dabbed the sweat off Lance's forehead.

"Next time, you need to control the duration, sweetheart. Shelly's body is fragile. She can't handle this much stress."

To study my emotional thresholds, Raven cut my diploma into tiny shreds.

I hid in my room, shaking. Dad knocked softly on the door.

"Raven is teaching you how to break free from the chains of standardized education. You need to appreciate her good intentions."

Later, for their research project—"Placebo-Based Physiological Intervention in Low-Cognition Individuals"—they replaced my asthma inhaler with saline solution.

I stared at the empty bottle. I didn't call for help.

I just lay there quietly, feeling the air being stolen from my lungs, breath by breath.

I finally understood. My biggest mistake was being born into this brilliant family.