Chapter 6
When I woke up, Dad was watching over me, his eyes red.
I instinctively shrank back.
There was a needle in my hand.
My arm felt ice cold.
Subconsciously, I should have made a sound, but I seemed to suddenly forget how to speak.
Dad asked me, “Feeling better?”
I nodded. I couldn’t feel the pain anymore.
“Are you hungry?”
Dad wanted to touch my hand.
I instinctively pulled back. I stared at Dad, a little afraid he might reach out and hit me.
Dad froze and pulled his hand back.
“Claire didn’t steal anything, right?”
I grabbed the silver locket around my neck–it was heart–shaped with tiny engravings around the edges.
I thought of Mom saying she didn’t want me anymore.
She didn’t want me anymore.
If Katie liked it, she could have it.
I quietly took off the locket and handed it to Dad.
Dad looked at me in disbelief.
“I asked your mother. She did give it to you.”
“Daddy was wrong.”
“I didn’t investigate properly before believing someone else,”
Looking at Dad’s trembling eyes, I felt nothing inside.
It was different from before–back then when Dad misunderstood
me,
my heart hurt like a kitten scratching at it.
“Can you forgive Daddy?”
I stared at him, not knowing what to say.
Not knowing how to express myself either.
For a long, long time.
Dad’s towering figure seemed to shrink a little.
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Chapter 6
He turned to the door and said, “Come in, all of you.”
My brothers walked in carrying piles of snacks and toys.
“Claire, this is the newest Transformer. I already put it together for you. Do you like it?”
Marcus’s cheerful face was right in front of me.
But I felt nothing.
Mom didn’t want us anymore.
It wasn’t because I wasn’t good.
They just didn’t like me.
Ryan picked up some snacks. “Good little sister, do you like these? They’re delicious.”
“Didn’t you say before that you wanted us to comfort you?”
I shook my head.
I handed him the locket from my hand.
Ryan asked, “For Katie?”
I nodded.
Ryan couldn’t smile anymore.
“We asked around. It really was Mom who gave it to you.”
I didn’t want to listen anymore. I quietly lay down, pulled the blanket tight, and turned to look out the window.
When the IV finished, I needed to use the bathroom.
As I got out of bed, I heard people talking by the door.
“How could such a small child drink hot pepper water? And then she drank cold water–you didn’t even notice she had non–stop diarrhea.”
“Plus a fever of 102 degrees, unconscious for several days. The fact that she’s awake now is already very fortunate.”
“Did you say she won’t speak?”
“It’s possible it’s trauma–induced. I suggest doing an assessment this afternoon.”
“Also, I recommend keeping her for observation to see if the high fever caused any intellectual damage.”
Dad stammered, then finally asked the doctor, “Why is the child suddenly not close to me?”
The doctor smiled, “Well… it might be trauma, Her system hasn’t processed it yet. Give her time to adjust.”
That afternoon at the psychology department, when the doctor asked me to draw, I drew.
When they asked me questions, I answered.
When Dad got the report, his hands couldn’t stop trembling.
I didn’t know why. Dad was acting so strange.
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Chapter G
He turned to the door and said, “Come in, all of you.”
My brothers walked in carrying piles of snacks and toys.
“Claire, this is the newest Transformer. I already put it together for you. Do you like it?”
Marcus’s cheerful face was right in front of me.
But I felt nothing.
Mom didn’t want us anymore.
It wasn’t because I wasn’t good.
They just didn’t like me.
Ryan picked up some snacks. “Good little sister, do you like these? They’re delicious.”
“Didn’t you say before that you wanted us to comfort you?”
I shook my head.
I handed him the locket from my hand.
Ryan asked, “For Katie?”
I nodded.
Ryan couldn’t smile anymore.
“We asked around. It really was Mom who gave it to you.”
I didn’t want to listen anymore. I quietly lay down, pulled the blanket tight, and turned to look out the window.
When the IV finished, I needed to use the bathroom.
As I got out of bed, I heard people talking by the door.
“How could such a small child drink hot pepper water? And then she drank cold water–you didn’t even notice she had non–stop diarrhea.”
“Plus a fever of 102 degrees, unconscious for several days. The fact that she’s awake now is already very fortunate.”
“Did you say she won’t speak?”
“It’s possible it’s trauma–induced. I suggest doing an assessment this afternoon.”
“Also, I recommend keeping her for observation to see if the high fever caused any intellectual damage.”
Dad stammered, then finally asked the doctor, “Why is the child suddenly not close to me?”
The doctor smiled, “Well… it might be trauma, Her system hasn’t processed it yet. Give her time to adjust.”
That afternoon at the psychology department, when the doctor asked me to draw, I drew.
When they asked me questions, I answered.
When Dad got the report, his hands couldn’t stop trembling.
I didn’t know why. Dad was acting so strange,
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Chapter 6
The day we left the hospital, my brothers sat in the car, all smiling at me.
But I just felt cold all over.
I turned to walk away.
Ryan stepped forward to stop me.
“Claire, get in the car.”
Before, they had blocked the car door and wouldn’t let me in.
Today was the first time.
Dad picked me up with one hand and told them to get out.
David and Ryan slunk out of the car and got into the car behind us.
But even the brief time alone with Dad made me uncomfortable.
At dinner, I’d barely taken two bites before throwing it all up.
Dad’s brow furrowed tightly as he scheduled a nutritionist to come tomorrow.
He also hired a therapist.
That evening,
Miss Davis came to our house.
I woke up drowsily and saw my three brothers standing in the living room as punishment.
“David speaks first.”
David, usually so mature, was trembling uncontrollably.
“We were just playing with Claire.”
Dad struck David’s back with the ruler.
The sound echoed throughout the living room.
“This is how you treat your sister?”
Dad pointed at Miss Davis.
“If the teacher hadn’t brought that surveillance footage, I would still be in the dark about what you’ve been doing to your own sister–spreading rumors and giving her hell!”
“Do you deserve to be heirs to the Bennett family?”
Miss Davis tried to intervene.
Dad didn’t even glance at her.
“Butler, see her out.”
David didn’t cry out in pain, just said he knew he was wrong.
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Chapter 6
Dad asked again, “Whose idea was it to lock Claire in the basement?”
