Corrupt

While Corrupt primarily focuses on the love story between Rika and Michael, it also focuses on the love—and hate—between both figurative and literal brothers. The Four Horsemen—comprised of Michael, Kai, Will, and Damon—function much more as a family than a friend group. Their closeness is one reason Michael resists his attraction for Rika for so long. He views her as the person who broke up his family and destroyed his brothers by sending them to prison: “My friends—my brothers—were dead on the inside, and the more I thought about what she’d done to them—to us—the more I wanted to rip her apart. I only hoped what we were about to do would bring them back, though” (198). Kai reveals that Michael was the one who came up with the idea of seeking revenge against Rika and that the promise of retribution sustained Will, Damon, and Kai through their prison sentences. Even when it is clear that Rika is innocent and the plan breaks apart, Michael still goes to great lengths to protect his found family. When Trevor tries to kill his friends, Michael has no trouble acting: “Something fell behind my eyes, and I didn’t blink. I might not have been able to choose between Rika’s life and the lives of my friends, but I had no trouble choosing between them and my brother” (426).