Chapter 2

2

I often wondered that myself. Why wasn't it me?

If I had died, I would still be their precious little girl in their memories, not a cursed parasite.

Captain Vance sighed. "Logan is gone, Arthur. Do you really want to wait until something happens to Lyra to regret this?"

I looked at my father, waiting for his answer just as eagerly as Vance.

"It would be better if something did happen to her."

The last flicker of light in my ghost-eyes went out.

I'm dead now, Dad. Will you finally be happy when you find out?

Just then, an officer brought in a blood-stained phone charm.

It was a soft, finger-sized white lamb.

My father glanced at it and waved his assistant over. "Just a cheap trinket. Send it to the lab to see if the blood belongs to the victim."

I stared at him in shock.

He had completely forgotten. He was the one who gave me that charm for protection years ago.

Back then, my father's job had made us many enemies.

Once, a pair of men on a motorcycle tried to kidnap my mother and me.

My mother was dragged for yards holding onto their bike. My father was stabbed in the chest saving me.

After he got out of the hospital, he gave me that plush lamb.

Hidden inside was a tiny, high-voltage stun device.

Back then, he patiently taught me how to use it. He stroked my hair and told me that even if he wasn't there, I could protect myself.

Now, the man who gave me that gift dismissed it as a worthless piece of junk.

Oh, Dad. You just missed the only chance to identify me.

After finishing his shift, my father checked his phone. He saw my SOS texts.

He called my mother. I thought they had finally realized something was wrong.

But he opened his mouth only to bash me. "She's playing the 'I'm being followed' card again. Lyra has been pulling this crap for years. Tell her to stay at Logan's grave for a few more days until she learns her lesson!"

I didn't lie! Dad, I was really in trouble! The body you just stitched together is me! Please, believe me just once!

His brow remained tightly knit in irritation.

I hoped my mother would worry. I hoped she would notice the pattern was different this time.

After eight years of being ignored, I had stopped sending those kinds of messages. This was a real emergency.

My mother comforted him first, telling him not to let his blood pressure rise. Then she spoke with cold, sharp venom.

"I got those annoying texts too. She never lets us have a moment of peace. I already told that brat she's not allowed home for the next few days. Just looking at her makes me sick."

I listened to them trade insults about me. My father reminded her to lock the doors and set the alarm for their own safety.

Not once did they wonder if I was safe out in the dark.

I slumped into a corner of the room. My chest felt hollow. No one cared that I was gone.

"I need to file a report!" A familiar voice echoed from the lobby.

"My friend Lyra Miller is missing! She's been gone for two days!"

It was Piper Bennett, my only true friend and deskmate. She was frantic.

She told the officers I wasn't answering my phone. I had missed our planned meeting.

Seeing her eyes red from crying made my spirit ache.

I tried to wipe her tears, but my hand passed straight through her face. I laughed and cried at the same time.

Thank you for trying to save me, Piper.

As the officer asked for my parents' contact info, my father walked into the lobby. He looked down at Piper with disdain.

"Don't bother," he told the officer. "I'm her father. She isn't missing. She's just being punished and isn't allowed to hang out with her low-life friends."

He spat the words 'low-life friends.' I saw the color drain from Piper's face as she hung her head in shame.

Piper isn't a low-life!

She was the one who draped her jacket over my head when I was hiding and crying. She was the one who shared her lunch with me when I had nothing to eat.