My Vampire Brother Faked Dying—Mine Was Real Chapter 01
After the Veyron family declared bankruptcy, my brother was diagnosed with Blood Withering.
For vampires, it was the cruelest terminal illness: the blood dried inside the veins, the limbs stiffened, and in the end, the patient became a living shell.
I dropped out of the Academy. The mountain of debts, and whatever was left of Alaric’s life, landed squarely on my shoulders.
Five years bled away.
Debt collectors beat me up until I coughed blood, and I still couldn’t bring myself to buy painkillers.
I worked back-to-back double shifts until my body nearly gave out, and I still couldn’t bring myself to take a sick day.
Every drop of blood, every dollar I earned, went toward keeping Alaric alive.
Then I picked up a delivery shift at the Crimson Club and saw him — the brother who was supposed to be trapped at home in a wheelchair, waiting for me.
He was wearing a tailored suit, silver hair swept back, laughing over drinks as if he’d never been sick a day in his life.
“Come on, Alaric. Five years of faking Blood Withering? Selene’s practically drained herself dry buying your medicine. Isn’t that enough?”
The corner of Alaric’s mouth curled into a smirk.
“Should be. If Selene hadn’t hurt Evelina badly enough to drive her out of the States, I wouldn’t have dragged this out so long.”
“Evelina’s had five good years in Europe. She’s finally in a better place, and she’s even agreed to forgive Selene. When the time is right, I’ll have the coven healers fake my recovery.”
“Five years of punishment. That’s her penance.”
His friend hesitated. “But Blood Withering’s terminal. Nobody comes back from that. You really think she’ll buy it?”
Alaric’s smile didn’t waver.
“That girl has believed every word I’ve ever told her since the day she was born.”
“After five years, she should’ve learned her lesson. Evelina’s adopted — she’s always felt like an outsider. Selene is blood. She should’ve protected Evelina, the way I did.”
“Everything I’ve done is for Selene’s own good. We’re immortal — I’ve got all the time in the world to make it up to her.”
I stood there with my head down, tears slipping down my chin before I even realized I was crying.
But Alaric.
We’re out of time.
Your terminal illness was fake.
Mine was real.
…
The corridor was freezing, and the AC vents cut straight through me.
My feet wouldn’t move. I stood there like something hollowed out.
Five years of belief, shredded in under a minute. Every word I’d just heard ripped something else loose inside me.
Alaric’s friend Tristan Hayes sighed.
“Honestly? You’re ice-cold. That’s your true-blood sister. Selene — the proudest girl in the family, top of her class at the Academy. She threw all of that away for you.”
“She’s barely in her twenties — for our kind, that’s still a child. And she already looks like she’s wasting away. Last week she was short on the payment for your crimson serum and came to me begging for a loan.”
Alaric’s expression hardened. “Did you give it to her?”
Tristan shook his head.
“You made the rules. I wasn’t about to go against you.”
“She knelt outside my door the entire night. Passed out from anemia. I couldn’t even call a healer for her. Eventually, she picked herself up off the ground and left.”
What Tristan didn’t say was the rest of it.
That night, I would’ve signed anything. Any blood pact, any terms, no matter how degrading. I just needed the money.
Alaric had been out of crimson serum for a week. Without it, he’d only get worse.
I’d already gone through everyone I could ask.
Tristan hadn’t refused because he wanted to. He’d refused because he’d been ordered to. Or maybe because none of it mattered. Because the whole thing was a lie.
Alaric snorted.
“I’m going to say this once. Until Evelina’s back, nobody helps Selene. No help. Nothing.”
“I don’t care if she kneels, begs, cries, or crumbles to ash right in front of you. You don’t lift a finger.”
“It took me five years to convince Evelina to come home. She’s fragile. If Selene gets even one day less than she’s owed, Evelina will know, and she won’t forgive me for it.”
“And you all know what happens to anyone who upsets her.”
The room went quiet. Even they could feel how far past the line this had gone.
Someone spoke up, their voice careful. “Aren’t you worried she’ll leave when she finds out?”
Alaric laughed, sharp and full of scorn.
“You’re joking. She and I share the same blood — she couldn’t leave me even if she wanted to. That girl would let someone put a silver blade to her throat before she’d walk away from me.”
“Besides, it’s five years. For our kind, that’s nothing. A blink.”
“Evelina’s different. She’s not blood, and she’s spent her whole life paying for it. The least I can do is take care of her.”
My life. My freedom. My blood, drained to the last drop.
And that was the least he could do?
One wounded little word from Evelina Frost, and he could crush all of it without a second thought.
A phone rang inside the room. Footsteps moved toward the door.
I spun to run, but there was nowhere to go. The floor manager was already rushing toward me, and I slammed right into her.
The tray flew out of my hands. Vintage blood-wine and shattered glass exploded across the floor.
The color drained from the manager’s face. She slapped me so hard I hit the ground.
Alaric stepped out of the private room at the same moment. He walked right past me without a glance, his arms already open for Evelina as she threw herself into his embrace.
Alaric caught her smoothly. “Why didn’t you wait for me? I was going to pick you up at the airport.”
“Are you tired? I’ve got the best coven healers waiting at the estate. You’ll feel good as new by morning.”
Evelina smiled sweetly.
“I missed you. I wanted to surprise you.”
I was still on the floor, barely three feet away from them, my face hidden behind a surgical mask.
I didn’t move. I didn’t breathe.
The diamonds on Evelina’s heels flashed under the lights, so bright they stung my eyes. A single stone was worth a year’s supply of Alaric’s crimson serum.
The manager’s voice shook.
“Mr. Veyron, I’m so sorry. This clumsy, useless thing broke your vintage blood-wine.”