Chapter 20: Hero or Threat?

Eleven-year-old Mark, wearing a red shirt and jeans, squatted in the elementary school backyard just in front of the playground. His legs drawn close to his chest, he watched other kids with dark circles around his eyes play around and have fun, the smiles on their faces contrasting with his somber expression.

Why were they so happy? Why did they always seem so bright? Why did they always have smiles on their faces, while he didn't? Instead, he bore scars, reminders of the abuse he endured from his elder Halfbrother. And he carried pain in his lower body.

It wasn't that he didn't want to join in and play. He simply couldn't, the pain wouldn't allow him.

What was worse was that he had no one to tell, no one to trust. After all, he was just the son of a dead prostitute, and his politician father was forced to take care of him to maintain a good public image.

Mark's stepmother despised him, treating him like absolute trash. His father hated him; he never wanted him in his house. The h