Chapter 3

As she gently told Chloe to rest, my mom received a call from Julian.

"Julian, when does your business trip end?" she rushed to ask before he could even respond. "Your sister is waiting for you to watch her match!"

The day I was brought home, Mom and Dad had stayed close to a sobbing Chloe. Only Julian had held my hand, led me inside, and told me not to be afraid. He was the only source of warmth I ever felt in that house.

On the other end of the line, Julian paused in surprise. "Is it Sophie’s math competition? Isn’t that next month?"

Mom cut him off, her tone sharp. "Oh, please, not Sophie again! Chloe is the sister you've known for years. How many times do I have to tell you? Sophie was raised on the outside and picked up terrible habits. She doesn’t deserve to be part of the Vance family."

I could hear Julian sigh, as if he couldn't grasp Mom’s deep-seated hostility toward me. "Mom, you shouldn’t always believe everything Chloe says. Sophie is kind and hardworking. If you just paid a little more attention to her, you’d see that.

"I just tried calling Sophie, but she didn’t answer. She hasn’t responded to the texts I sent a few days ago, either. Isn’t she home?"

Mom scoffed coldly. "She comes and goes as she pleases. I’m not going to keep her on a leash, am I? She’s probably out causing trouble again. Tomorrow is Chloe’s tennis match. If you can’t make it, that’s fine."

After a brief pause, she added harshly, "Tell Sophie that if she doesn’t show up for Chloe’s match tomorrow, she shouldn't bother coming home at all. Honestly, it’s better when she’s not around."

Julian tried to defend me, but she hung up on him without another word.

Dad walked in just as she was fuming. Seeing her frustration, he asked, "Is it the case? Is the body giving you trouble?"

Mom shook her head and complained, "It’s not the body. It’s Sophie again. She probably called Julian to complain, and now he’s playing along with her little disappearing act."

Dad let out a heavy breath. "She knows we’re busy, yet she still pulls these stunts. It's so irresponsible. I’ll call her and straighten this out right now."

But every time he called, it went straight to voicemail.

"Ungrateful girl," Dad muttered. "We would’ve been better off never finding her. All she does is bring trouble!"

Standing nearby, Arthur had overheard the entire exchange. He sighed and said, "Back when Sophie was kidnapped, the two of you took a year off work to find her. Now that she’s back, you treat her like the enemy."

I bit my lip, a bitter taste filling my mouth.

The girl they had finally brought home wasn't the one they had imagined. I was shy, awkward, and completely lacking in social grace.

When I was fifteen and finally reunited with them, my parents had sat in their grand living room, patiently comforting a sobbing Chloe.

I had stood there in patched-up clothes, staring down at my worn rubber shoes with a toe poking through.

Chloe had stopped crying the moment she saw me. Feigning innocence, she asked, "Who’s this little beggar?"

My parents’ expressions had darkened—not because of what Chloe said, but because of me. Their disappointing daughter simply didn't meet their expectations.

"Mr. Vance, Dr. Keller, I checked the records, and there haven’t been any missing persons reports filed in the last couple of days," a police officer said as he approached with a file in hand.

"Could the family really not notice their daughter is missing? Maybe things aren’t great at home?"

"Can you believe some parents wouldn’t even care about their child going missing?"

Hearing the whispers around me, a crushing wave of sadness washed over me. It was so heavy I could barely breathe.

My parents were worried about the victim’s family for failing to file a report, feeling genuine sympathy for them.

Yet they never once stopped to wonder if I was safe during the days I had been missing.

Back when I was kidnapped, they were willing to abandon their careers to search for me. But now, they just assumed my disappearance was a cheap ploy for attention.

Maybe I never should have returned to the Vance family after they found me.

This was Chloe’s home, not mine.

The years when they cared most about me had long been claimed by Chloe.

The love and affection that should have been mine would never come my way again.