Their Forgotten Daughter

Chapter 3

Mom’s voice was soft but firm as she spoke to Isabella. “You should rest, darling. Tomorrow’s important for you.”

Then, her phone rang. It was Daniel. “When are you coming back? Your sister’s waiting for you to watch her match!”

I’d never forget the day I returned after being found. My parents were too busy consoling a weeping Isabella, but Daniel was the one who held my hand and guided me through it. He was the only warmth I ever knew in this house.

Daniel sounded confused on the other end. “Wait, isn’t Evelyn’s math competition next month? Why tomorrow?”

Before he could finish, Mom cut him off sharply. “Evelyn, Evelyn… Listen, Isabella has been with us for years. How many times do I have to tell you? Evelyn is nothing but trouble. She doesn’t belong here.”

Daniel exhaled, frustration tightening his voice. “Mom, that’s not fair. You can’t just take Isabella’s word over everything. Evelyn is kind. She works hard. If you’d just look at her—”

“I called Evelyn,” Mom snapped. “No answer. No reply on WhatsApp either. Where is she? Is she even home?”

Her tone turned icy. “She has legs, doesn’t she? I’m not her keeper. She’s probably out causing problems again. Tomorrow is Isabella’s tennis match. If Evelyn can’t be bothered to show up, that’s her choice.”

A pause. Then, colder: “Tell Evelyn if she doesn’t come tomorrow, she might as well stay gone. This house is better off without her.”

Daniel tried to argue, but Mom hung up before he could get another word in.

Dad walked in just then, frowning at Mom’s expression. “What’s wrong? Case trouble?”

Mom scoffed. “Evelyn again. She must’ve run to Daniel, and now he’s playing the hero.”

Dad’s face darkened. “We’re swamped with work, and she’s still pulling this? I’ll call her.”

But no matter how many times he dialed, the phone just kept ringing.

“Ungrateful,” he muttered. “Maybe we should stop looking. She’s nothing but a headache.”

A forensic expert nearby overheard and spoke up. “You both took a year off to search for Evelyn when she was taken. Now look at how things turned out. What happened?”

The question struck me like a blow. The truth? They didn’t bring me back. They brought home a stranger.

When I was fifteen and returned to the Carter family, I stood in that lavish living room, a ghost in tattered clothes. Isabella was sobbing, and my parents were too busy comforting her to even glance my way.

When she saw me, Isabella stopped crying and smirked. “Who’s this stray?”

It wasn’t the words—it was the look on my parents’ faces that cut deep. Disappointment. Because I wasn’t the daughter they’d imagined.

An officer’s voice snapped me back to reality. “Captain Carter, Dr. Carter, I’ve checked the records. No recent missing persons reports.”

Their own daughter was gone, and they hadn’t even noticed? Did they truly not care?

The murmurs around me made my chest ache.

It felt like a weight pressing down, suffocating.

They pitied other parents who hadn’t reported their children missing, but not once did they ask how I was. Not once did they wonder if I was okay.

When I was taken, they dropped everything to find me. Now? They acted like my disappearance was just another tantrum.

Maybe I should’ve stayed lost.

This house was never my home.

The love I’d known as a child had been stolen by Isabella. Every bit of affection, every scrap of attention—everything that should’ve been mine—she took.

And now that I was gone, nothing would change.