Red or Black, No Luck for Me
On GoingZachary was the real heir who was switched at birth. At the age of thirteen, he was taken back to the Thorne family, only to be told that everything in the family would be decided by a red-and-black roulette wheel—red meant he could make a request, while black meant he had to obey unconditionally. For three whole years, Zachary never landed on red; all the favor and good things went to Alex, the adopted son who had been switched with him. He endured indifference and neglect, and even had to give in to Alex when he was sick. On New Year's Eve, burning with a forty-degree fever and coughing up blood, Zachary begged his mother to take him to the hospital, but still had to follow the roulette rules. He secretly cheated to land on red, but was beaten and kicked by his sisters, and his finger was broken. Finally, he died miserably. After his death, Zachary's soul floated, watching his family still dote on Alex and even ignore his body. It was not until Marcus, his second sister's fiancé, came to visit and found his body that the truth gradually came to light—the roulette wheel had long been rigged with a magnet by his mother and Alex, and the so-called "absolute fairness" was just a scam targeting him. With the police investigation, the Thornes' indifference and lies were exposed to the public, and the family collapsed. In the end, Zachary's soul was relieved when the roulette wheel landed on red for the first time truly, and he left to go to his grandmother who raised him.