Chapter 4

Mom quickly gave up on searching for me and went back to spoiling Chloe.

Chloe messed up on a test and brought home a 90%.

Mom barely even frowned.

Instead, she immediately hired a private, live-in tutor.

Chloe's bedroom door was finally kept open.

Only then did I realize what had been hidden behind that closed door.

The packed study schedule was filled with expensive tutors Mom had hired.

Every time the tutors arrived, Mom would find some excuse to kick me out of the house.

She would say the sunroom needed airing out.

I couldn't hold back my tears anymore.

Chloe was never a natural-born genius.

And I was never stupid.

I had worked so hard to get that 100%, but I died before I could even taste a slice of birthday cake.

Outside, the thunder roared, echoing my silent cries.

Suddenly, I really wanted Mom and Dad to find me.

I wanted to see if they would cry for me.

Only then would I know if I was ever loved.

I rushed in front of them, pushing them with all my might, but my hands passed right through their bodies.

They ignored me completely.

Even when Mrs. Gable called to report my absence from school, Mom remained perfectly calm.

"She probably ran off to her Aunt Valerie's place. That's the only place she could be."

Dad waved his hand in irritation. "Stop talking about her. We say two words to her and she runs away. If she's so tough, she can stay gone forever."

That was until Aunt Valerie called.

"Eleanor, Nova's phone is dead. Has something happened?"

Mom snapped, "Who are you trying to curse? Are you just mad because my daughters are doing well?"

Valerie choked back her anger but persisted. "Put Nova on the phone. Let me hear her voice, and I'll leave you alone."

Mom laughed coldly. "Didn't Nova go to you? What, is she homesick now, so she got you to play along with this little drama to make us worry?"

I didn't. It wasn't me.

But Mom couldn't hear me. Even if she did, she wouldn't believe me.

Mom slammed the phone down.

"She's getting too good at lying. When she gets back, I'm going to teach her a lesson she'll never forget."

I couldn't even force a smile anymore.

But to Mom's surprise, Aunt Valerie flew back to the country just two days later.

She stood at our door, accompanied by Mr. Henderson, and rang the doorbell furiously.

Seeing them, Mom snapped, "You complained about a weird smell in the building, and I let you check our place. You didn't find anything, yet you keep bothering us."

"First you brought the building manager, then the security guard, and now you brought my sister. What's next? Are you going to bring the police?"

Mr. Henderson shrank behind Valerie, but Valerie pushed Mom aside and stormed in.

"Nova! Nova!"

She frantically opened every door, but there was no sign of me.

Mom scoffed. "You don't have to put on such a show. Just tell Nova I forgive her. Tell her to come home."

Valerie's eyes turned bloodshot instantly.

"She is not with me! I just got off the plane!"

Mom smirked. "Impossible. She has nowhere else to go."

Valerie pulled up her phone, pointing at the digital boarding pass and flight times.

"I left the country right after our fight! Nova never contacted me. I only flew back because her phone was dead and your attitude felt wrong!"

Mom still looked skeptical.

Valerie didn't waste any more words. She pulled out her phone and dialed 911.

Mom screamed, "You're doing this on purpose just to humiliate me! All of this over a clogged drain smell?!"

Dad ran a hand through his hair, frustrated. "Let her call. If Nova isn't with Valerie, where could a twelve-year-old go? She couldn't have vanished into thin air."

"Let the police look. We searched, maybe she's just hiding really well."

"Once we find her, we are locking her down. This is ridiculous!"

The moment the police officers stepped inside, their faces paled. The unmistakable scent of decay hit them instantly.

They immediately cordoned off the area.

My parents' hearts skipped a beat.

The officers systematically searched the apartment until one of them looked out the sunroom window.

"We found a body!"