Chapter 3

3

I watched him in total despair. He was on the phone with our father, talking about me again.

"Chloe is doing the same old thing. She's probably out partying with some low-life boyfriend!"

"She has no remorse! If she dies, she deserves it! Let's see how long she can keep up this act!"

My father's last words hit me like a physical blow. A familiar chill ran down my ghostly cheeks.

Even if I was dead, they didn't care. The police investigation stalled, and I followed Quinn back home.

The next morning, my school counselor called. She was a kind woman who had always worried I would drop out because of my family issues.

"Hello? Is this Chloe's brother? I heard she hasn't been in class for a while. Is everything okay?"

Hearing her concerned voice made me burst into tears. She was the only person left in the world who cared.

I wanted to thank her for remembering me. But I would never get the chance.

"Heh, counselor? Or are you just one of the punks she's hanging out with?" Quinn spat into the phone. "Is she standing next to you, telling you what to say? Tell her to stop the drama."

"No, you don't understand―"

"Save it! Tell her to get her butt down to the river and keep kneeling. If she keeps acting out, I'm disowning her!"

"And you! Helping a murderer like her? Aren't you afraid she'll ruin your life too? She didn't even spare her own mother!"

Quinn hung up before she could say another word. His face was still twisted with lingering rage.

My father walked out of his room, frowning. "Was that Chloe?"

"Don't worry about her. If she doesn't want to come home, fine. I'm tired of her ruining my sleep. I just posted a public notice online that we're cutting her off."

"She's not part of this family anymore."

I stared at my father, frozen. My heart sank into a bottomless pit of pain.

I curled up on the floor and hugged myself, wishing I could disappear. Quinn's number was only in the school files because of an emergency contact form.

The counselor had told me they would eventually come around. She said men could be cold on the outside but warm on the inside.

She even told me she saw Quinn lingering near the school gate sometimes. I had let myself believe her. I had hoped for a reconciliation.

Now I realized she was just trying to comfort me. Quinn didn't care. He never came to see me.

The emergency contact finally served its purpose today, but it only led to more hatred. It made my father officially cast me out.

Dad, do you really hate me that much? Enough to break our last bond?

The tears wouldn't stop. The pressure in my chest was so heavy I felt like I was suffocating.

Suddenly, there was a loud knock on the door.

"Arthur! Chloe! Quinn! Open up! I'm back from my mission!"