Having reached a shaky agreement, Noah let out a heavy sigh, the sound thick with weariness, and pushed himself out of Naya's sports car. Naya quickly followed, her posture straight and determined. Noah walked through the small gate of their property and into the compound.
As he reached the front door, he paused, sighing once more. He felt utterly depleted, but a sliver of hope still lingered. He still believed, foolishly perhaps, that his parents would never support his brother's monstrous actions.
He turned to Naya. "Let's enter."
Naya nodded, her expression grim. "Sure, let's go."
Noah opened the door, the sight he saw made him squeeze his brows in worry. His parents, Leo and Celine, were sitting in the living room, and Nick was there too. All three of them were looking directly at the entrance, as if they had been waiting, gathered in judgment.
Noah's suspicion hardened into certainty: Nick had beaten him home and had certainly spun a web of lies.
His father, Leo, who reserved his smiles only for Nick, leveled the familiar, hostile frown at Noah. Without acknowledging Naya's presence, he spoke, his voice heavy with accusation. "Where exactly are you coming from?"
The question, the immediate assumption of guilt, coupled with the memory of the trauma he had just endured, sent Noah's anger past the breaking point. His fury, long suppressed, was now ready to explode. His reply was sharp, stripped of any deference.
"Instead of asking me that, why don't you ask my brother Nick here where I am coming from? I'm sure you two are fully aware we left the house together yesterday."
When Celine, Noah's mother, heard his tone, she stood up, pointing an enraged finger at him. "How dare you speak to your father like that! You have no respect whatsoever! Your father asks you a simple question, and you answer with insolence, you disrespectful child!"
Noah's hands clenched into fists at his sides. What truly fueled his rage was Nick, who sat there watching the scene unfold, a smug smirk playing on his lips.
"I'm sorry, Mother, that I can't be bothered to be respectful at the moment," Noah said, his voice trembling with the force of his emotion.
He furrowed his brows, addressing the room. "Did you know that your 'good son,' Nick, stole my university tuition fee and did God knows what with it? I simply asked him for the money back. He took me to a hotel and then, unbelievably, he sold me to two disgusting middle-aged men and one young boy for cash! I only wanted my money back! What did I do wrong? We're brothers, and Nick dared to sell me like some object! I know he must have come home first and fed you some lie, but you have to believe me, that's really—"
Noah couldn't finish the sentence. His father, Leo, cut him off with a chilling finality.
"I know that already," Leo stated simply. "Nick already told us. What I am asking you is where did you go next."
The words shattered Noah's world. He staggered back, his mind reeling. He couldn't have heard right. He asked again, his voice barely a whisper. "You said you guys already know about this?"
Leo and Celine both nodded. Celine even stepped forward, her expression not one of sympathy, but annoyance.
"Yes, we do," she confirmed. "Now, we're asking you where you went after you escaped. Do you know those people, after you ran, called your brother and threatened him? They said if Nick isn't able to produce you within three days, they will break one of his legs, and his third leg as well! How could you run away? Your brother only did this because they offered a large sum of money, money that can help our family, money that can even help you go to school without working so hard. So how could you possibly escape?"
Hearing his mother's cold explanation, the last vestiges of Noah's strength evaporated. He sank onto the floor, his legs giving way, his mouth open, his lips trembling uncontrollably.
Tears welled up in his eyes and began to stream down his face. He was utterly heartbroken. He couldn't comprehend that his own parents were not only aware of the sale but were actively complicit and angry at him for escaping.
His father, Leo, crushed the last shards of his dignity. "It doesn't matter where you've been," Leo continued, trampling his son's already broken heart. "You just have to go back with your brother. Nick will take you to them, and you will satisfy them to the best of your ability. That money will change our lives forever. It's only once. You can still marry well after doing that. No one will ever need to know what you did."
Noah couldn't speak. He simply sat there, weeping silently, staring at his family. The look in their eyes was devoid of parental love; they looked at him as a mere transaction, a means to achieve a better life.
Naya, who had stood silent witness to the entire, horrifying exchange, could no longer restrain herself. She reneged on her promise to Noah, stepping forward to position herself protectively in front of his slumped, crying form. She pointed a furious finger at the entire Walker family.
"You all are shameless! Utterly shameless!" she shouted. "Is Noah not your son, too? What is the meaning of this? Your elder son chooses to sell your younger son, and when your younger son escapes, should you not be beating Nick half to death for even daring to conceive of such a thing? But you didn't. Instead, you want to send Noah back to those men! How can your hearts be so wicked? How can you bear to do this to your own child?"
She turned her gaze to Nick. "You're worried that if those people don't receive the payment they made, they will break Nick's leg. So, Noah just has to suffer this grave injustice because you all want a better life? Are you even sure you are Noah's parents? How can you inflict this on your own flesh and blood? Even a lion doesn't eat its cub! What kind of parents are you, exactly?"
Celine, infuriated that a stranger, an Omega, was meddling in their family affairs, pointed her hand directly at Naya. "Who are you, and how is this any of your business what we do within our family? Noah is my son. Of course, he has to do whatever it takes to ensure his parents have a better life! We brought him into this world, so he has to repay us somehow!"
Naya had never encountered such callous wickedness. She argued back, feeling profound pity for Noah. "Noah should repay you? For what? What exactly do you expect him to repay you for? You think I don't know? You've treated Noah like a servant his entire life! He's always worked to earn his own keep and feed himself! He never had it easy, and even the little money he earned, you forced him to give some of it to your useless elder son! And you dare demand he repay you now? You are an absolutely shameless family of villains!"
Leo could tolerate no more. A stranger, an Omega no less, was standing in his house, pointing fingers at him. He stood up, towering over Naya. "I don't know you, and I don't want to know who you are! I just want you to leave my house this instant! What I choose to do in my own house is none of your business!"