Killed by Dad's Criminals, Dissected by Mom

Chapter 3

Mom's voice was smooth and calm as she spoke to Sophia. “Get some rest, sweetheart. You've got a big day tomorrow.”

Then, she answered her phone. It was David. “When does your trip end? Your sister's waiting for you to come watch her match!”

I'll never forget the day I came back after being found. My parents were all wrapped up in comforting a sobbing Sophia, but it was David who held my hand and helped me through it. The only warmth I ever got at home was from him.

David sounded confused on the other end. “Wait, isn't Emily's math competition next month? Why tomorrow?”

Before he could finish, Mom was already cutting him off. “Emily, Emily... Look, Sophia's been with us for years. I've told you a hundred times, Emily's a troublemaker. She doesn't belong with our family.”

David sighed, his voice tight with frustration. “Mom, come on. You can't just believe everything Sophia says. Emily's kind and hardworking. If you'd actually paid attention, you'd see it.”

“I just called Emily,” Mom snapped. “No answer. No response on WhatsApp, either. Where is she? She even home?”

Mom's tone turned bitter. “She's got legs, doesn't she? I'm not here to babysit. She's probably out causing trouble again. Tomorrow's Sophia's tennis match, and if Emily can't be bothered to show up, that's on her.”

There was a pause before she added, her voice like ice, “Tell Emily if she doesn't show up tomorrow, she might as well stay gone. The house is better off without her.”

David tried to argue again, but Mom hung up before he could say another word.

Dad walked in just then, looking at Mom's frown. “What's wrong? Case giving you trouble?”

Mom scoffed. “It's Emily again. She probably went whining to David, and now he's acting like a knight in shining armor.”

Dad looked annoyed. “We're buried in work, and she's still pulling this nonsense? I'll call her and set her straight.”

But no matter how many times he dialed, the phone just rang and rang.

“Ungrateful little brat,” he muttered. “Maybe it's better if we stop looking for her. She's nothing but trouble when she's around.”

A trace evidence expert overheard and spoke up. “You both took a year off to search for Emily when she was kidnapped. Now, look at how things have gone. What happened?”

The question hit me hard. The truth was, they didn't bring me back. They brought some stranger home.

When I was fifteen and came back to the Johnson family, I stood there in that fancy living room, feeling like a ghost in patched-up clothes. Sophia was sobbing, and my parents were too busy comforting her to even notice I was there.

When she saw me, Sophia stopped crying and said with a sneer, “Who's this little beggar?”

It wasn't the words, but the look on my parents' faces that stung—they were disappointed because I wasn't the daughter they thought they were getting.

An officer's voice broke through my thoughts. “Captain Johnson, Dr. Brown, I've checked the records. No missing persons reports came in recently.”

A missing daughter, and they didn't even notice? Did they really not care?

The whispers around me made my heart ache.

It felt like a weight crushing my chest.

They pitied other parents who hadn't reported their kids missing, but not once did they ask how I was doing all those years. Not once did they wonder if I was okay.

When I was kidnapped, they dropped everything to find me. But now? They acted like my disappearance was just some attention-seeking stunt.

Maybe I should've stayed lost.

This house wasn't my home anymore. It never was.

The love I had when I was younger was swallowed up by Sophia. All the affection, all the attention, everything that should've been mine—she took it.

And now that I was gone, nothing would change.