My father tore up my diploma to protect the other child. He believed only one person in the family was allowed to succeed. I was silently sacrificed…
When my brother’s academic cheating was exposed, the only record that could save the family from scandal—was mine, the one they thought had long been ruined.
Chapter 1: The Collapse of a Monument
The November rain in Boston was bone-chilling, lashing against the tempered glass of the Sterling & Partners building as if to shatter its arrogance. Inside the 40th-floor office, the air was thick with the smell of expensive Scotch whiskey and raw fear.
I, Lucas Sterling, leaned against a mahogany bookshelf, watching my “Royal Family” crumble.
My father, Arthur Sterling—a renowned political strategist, a man who had never bowed to a Senator—was pacing back and forth, crumpling a copy of the Boston Globe. The front-page headline struck the viewer like a death sentence: “POLITICAL PRODIGY ETHAN STERLING ACCUSED OF LARGE-SCALE PLAGIARISM AND ACADEMIC FRAUD.”
Ethan, my brother, slumped on the leather sofa, his face buried in his hands. The “golden boy,” the pride of the family, the one recently named “Young Thinker of the Year” by Time magazine, now looked like a lost child caught stealing candy.
“How could this happen?” my father roared, turning to look at Ethan. “They say your PhD thesis is 90% identical to an anonymous study from eight years ago. You swore to me you wrote it yourself!”
“I… I consulted…” Ethan stammered, his voice trembling. “I thought no one knew the source… It’s never been officially published…”
“You idiot!” My father threw the newspaper at Ethan’s face. “Harvard University is holding a disciplinary hearing. If they strip you of your PhD, your political career is over. Your $50 million consulting contract with the Pentagon will vanish with it.”
My mother, Catherine, sat beside Ethan, tears welling up in her eyes, but still trying to defend him. “Arthur, don’t scold him anymore. We have to find a way. There has to be a way…”
Then, as if a habit ingrained in their blood for the past 30 years, all three pairs of eyes simultaneously turned toward me.
Lucas. The second son. The shadow. The failure.
“Lucas,” my father said, his voice shifting from anger to command. “You must confess.”
I raised an eyebrow, taking a sip of water. “Confess what, Father?”
“You will write a letter of confession,” he said quickly, his calculating brain beginning to work. “You will say that you were Ethan’s research assistant. That you were lazy, that you copied that document and included it in your brother’s manuscript without his knowledge. Ethan is the victim of his younger brother’s negligence.”
I laughed. A dry, cold laugh echoed through the room.
“Father wants me to sacrifice my honor once again to save Ethan’s career? Just like 10 years ago?”
Chapter 2: The Sound of Paper Tearing on Graduation Night
Memories flooded back, sharp as a scalpel.
It was my college graduation night. I had graduated Summa Cum Laude (Valedictorian) in Law from Yale, the same year Ethan graduated with a mediocre grade in Political Science from a second-tier university.
But at the family party, there was no cake for me.
Father called me into his study. On the desk were my excellent graduation certificate and an acceptance letter from a prestigious law firm in New York.
“This family only needs one star, Lucas,” my father said, his voice calm yet cruel. “Ethan has the looks, the charisma. He was born to be a leader. And you… you’re too quiet. You don’t have that quality.”
“But I’m valedictorian, Dad,” I tried to argue. “I can succeed in my own way.”
“Your success will overshadow your brother,” he shook his head. “If the press compares the two of you, they’ll see Ethan as inferior. I can’t let that happen. The Sterling brand needs focus.”
And then, he picked up my diploma. In front of me, he tore it in half. Then in quarters.
“You won’t go to New York. You’ll stay here, working in the company’s records department. You’ll be the shadow your brother shines in. You’ll never be allowed to surpass Ethan. That’s an order.”
I didn’t cry. I watched the scraps of paper fall to the floor, and with them, my love and respect for my father vanished.
I accepted the “sacrifice.” Or at least, they thought I accepted it. I retreated into the shadows, a lowly office worker living in a shabby rented apartment, while Ethan soared through the ranks thanks to his sharp speeches and brilliant strategies… all of which I secretly wrote in the night.
Chapter 3: The File of Salvation
Back to the present.
“Lucas!” My father slammed his hand on the table. “This isn’t the time for sobbing. The family’s future hangs in the balance. You have nothing to lose. You’re just an archives clerk. A small stain on your file won’t affect anything, but it’s everything to Ethan.”
“I refuse,” I said.
The room fell silent. My mother gasped. Ethan looked up, astonished. My father’s face turned crimson.
“What did you say?”
“I said no. I will not take the blame for an intellectual property thief.”
The landline phone rang, interrupting my father’s rage. He grabbed it. It was the family’s chief lawyer, Mr. Harrison.
“What? You found it?” My father listened, his expression changing.
His tension eased. “Good. Excellent. Bring it here immediately. That’s our lifeline.”
He hung up, turning to look at me with a triumphant smile.
“It’s alright if you don’t want to help, Lucas. Harrison just found a legal loophole. An old file from the university archives. It proves that the original research is actually the intellectual property of someone connected to our family, and we can legitimize Ethan’s use of it.”
“What file?” Ethan asked, a glimmer of hope in his eyes.
“A copyright registration from eight years ago,” my father said, his voice full of excitement. “It turns out that anonymous author registered the copyright under a name. All we need to do is find that person and buy back the copyright, or force them to sign the transfer papers.”
The door opened. Lawyer Harrison walked in, carrying a thick, tightly sealed file.
“Mr. Arthur, this is a copy from the U.S. Copyright Office,” Harrison placed it on the table. “The original work is titled: ‘Public Opinion Manipulation Strategies in the Digital Age.’ The author registered it under a pseudonym.”
“What’s the pseudonym?” Ethan leaned forward.
Harrison flipped to the first page. “The registered author is… L.S..”
“L.S.?” My father frowned. “Who is that? Who could it be?”
He looked around the room. And then, his gaze settled on me. Lucas Sterling.
A deathly silence fell over the room.
“It can’t be,” my mother whispered.
I walked to the table, placing my hand on the file.
“It’s me,” I said. “Eight years ago, I wrote this research. I submitted it anonymously to an international academic forum. And Ethan, you found the manuscript on my old computer, you took it, reworked it, and turned it into your doctoral dissertation.”
Ethan’s face turned pale. “You… you’re the author of the original?”
“Yes,” I nodded. “And since I legally registered the copyright three years before you submitted your dissertation, legally, you’re the thief.”
My father was stunned for a moment, then he laughed. A laugh of relief.
“Excellent! Excellent!” He clapped his hands. “So it was you! Then everything’s simple. Lucas, sign this paper right now. Transfer all copyrights to Ethan, backdating it five years. We’ll tell Harvard that this was a brotherly collaboration, but due to an administrative error, your name was omitted. Ethan gets his degree, and you… well, I’ll reward you.”
He pushed the pen toward me, as if everything was settled. He still believed I was his pawn.
I took the pen. I twirled it gently in my hand.
“You still don’t understand, do you?”
“Understand what?”
“You tore up my diploma. You dragged me through the mud so Ethan could shine. You believe that in this house, only one person is allowed to succeed.”
I looked him straight in the eye.
“You’re right. Only one person is allowed to succeed.”
I broke the pen in half. Blue ink splattered onto the white paper and my father’s expensive suit.
“And that person isn’t Ethan.”
Chapter 4: The Rise of the Sacrifice
My father recoiled, looking at me as if I were some strange monster.
“What are you doing? Are you crazy?”
“I’m not crazy,” I pulled another file from my briefcase. “I’m just… preparing thoroughly.”
I tossed my file onto the table.
“This is an invitation from the Brookings Institute and Stanford University. They’re inviting the anonymous author ‘L.S.’ to be a Senior Lecturer and Strategic Advisor. They’ve known my true identity since last month.”
I turned to Ethan.
“And here,” I pointed to another piece of paper. “This is the copyright infringement lawsuit my lawyer filed with the Federal Court this morning. The defendant is Ethan Sterling.”
“You’re suing your brother?” my mother yelled. “Do you want to destroy this family?”
“This family died the night Dad tore up my diploma, Mom,” I said coldly. “For the past 10 years, I’ve been quietly rebuilding my life in the shadows. I’m ‘L.S.,’ the speechwriter for the opposing Senators. I’m the strategic consultant behind Dad’s company’s recent failures.”
My father clutched his chest, staggering. “You… you’re the one who sabotaged the Chicago project?”
“Yes. I understand how you think better than anyone. And I know how to defeat you.”
“Why?” Ethan cried. “Why are you so cruel? We’re brothers!”
“Brothers?” I sneered. “You never considered me your younger brother. You saw me as a stepping stone. You took my grades, you took my ideas, and now you want to take my honor to salvage your lies?”
I put away my file.
“The file under Lucas Sterling’s name is the only thing that can save this family from scandal, just as Father thinks. But it will only save it if you agree to sign. And the price of that signature…”
I looked around the opulent room, at the people who had drained the life out of me.
“…is too expensive for anyone to pay.”
“What do you want?” My father whispered. “Money? Company shares? I’ll give you everything. 50% of the shares. Just save Ethan.”
I looked at him, my eyes filled with pity.
“Do you still think I need your money? I’ve earned more than that.”
“Your father’s assets are dwindling away. What I want, he can’t give me.”
“What is it?”
“Justice.”
I turned and walked towards the door.
“Lucas! Stop!” my father yelled. “If you step out the door, you’ll lose everything! I’ll destroy you!”
I stopped at the doorway, turning back to look.
“You can’t destroy someone you’ve already crushed long ago. You’ve only created someone who has nothing left to fear.”
“And by the way,” I added. “Harvard will call you in 10 minutes. I’ve emailed to confirm the authorship and refuse any compromise. Ethan will be stripped of his degree.” And Dad’s company… prepare for investigations into the tax fraud that I ‘accidentally’ leaked to the press.”
Chapter Conclusion: The New King of Boston
I stepped out of the Sterling building, taking a deep breath of the chilly Boston air.
Ten minutes later, my father’s phone rang. I could imagine his shouts echoing through the thick glass.
The next morning, the news exploded. The Sterling empire collapsed. Ethan was stripped of his degree and became the laughingstock of academia. My father was investigated and suffered a stroke, confined to a wheelchair for the rest of his life.
I didn’t look back at them.
I moved to Washington D.C., taking a position at the Brookings Institute. I published a book under my real name: Lucas Sterling. The book became a bestseller, not only for its profound knowledge, but also for the story of the rise from the ashes of a prestigious family.
In a television interview, the host… The program asked me:
“Do you regret what you did to your family?”
I looked straight into the camera, where I knew my father and brother were watching from their foreclosed home.
“My father once taught me: In a family, only one person is allowed to succeed,” I smiled faintly. “I simply proved him right.”
I was sacrificed in silence. But it was in that silence that I sharpened my sword. And when I stepped into the light, I didn’t need anyone to bestow glory upon me.
I shone on my own.
