Chapter 6

Over the next few days, a strange, eerie peace settled over the house.

A long-lost smile returned to Victoria's face.

She hummed tunes while gardening and happily researched new recipes.

She never mentioned my name, as if I had never existed.

Only in the dead of night would she hold Lily’s photo album, stroking the pages and whispering, "Lily, look. Without that nuisance here, isn't our home so much happier?"

David, on the other hand, became even more silent.

He went to work on time, ate dinner with Victoria, and watched TV. But his mind was always elsewhere. He would often stare blankly out the window for hours.

I knew what he was looking at. He was looking at the maple tree in the backyard.

The place where my bones were buried.

Guilt was like a weed, silently wrapping around his heart in the dark.

But this artificial peace was shattered on the third day.

The doorbell rang.

It was my teacher.

She was a gentle woman, and beside Lily, she was the only person who had ever shown me any kindness in this world.

She was the one who noticed when I forgot my lunch and would secretly slide a sandwich into my desk.

She was the one who saw the bruises on my wrists, pulled me into her office to apply ointment, and gently tried to ask about my home life.

But I had been too terrified to say anything.

I was afraid that if I spoke, Victoria would lock me in the closet for even longer.

"Mr. and Mrs. Miller, hello," Ms. Gable stood at the door, a polite but worried smile on her face. "I'm here for a home visit. Chloe hasn't been to school for three days, and my calls went unanswered. I was getting worried."

Hearing my name, the smile on Victoria’s face instantly vanished.

She shot Ms. Gable a cold, sharp look. "What could possibly be wrong with her? She's probably throwing a tantrum and hiding somewhere. Just ignore her."

David quickly stepped forward to smooth things over. "Ms. Gable, I'm so sorry. Chloe... we sent her to her grandmother's cabin upstate. We’re planning to transfer her to a school up there. It was a rushed decision, so we forgot to notify the school."

It was a lie full of holes.

My grandmother had passed away five years ago.

Ms. Gable clearly knew this. Her smile faded, and her eyes grew sharp and serious.

"Really? Because I spoke with her grandmother—your mother—just yesterday, and she knew nothing about this."

David’s face turned paper-white.

"And..." Ms. Gable stared dead into David's eyes, "some of Chloe's classmates mentioned that on the night of the party, she was beaten by Mrs. Miller and locked up."

"Is that true, Mr. Miller?"