Chapter 3

Chapter 3

My sudden disappearance didn't cause a single ripple in that house.

It was as if I had never existed in the first place.

Kieran finally enjoyed the undivided spotlight he had always craved, right up until the day the national SAT scores were released.

Kieran and I had both taken the college entrance exams this year, though my parents never once asked about my academics.

Kieran had always been charismatic and socially active, running for student council and organizing school rallies, making him the pride of our parents.

They eagerly expected their golden child to receive an acceptance letter from an elite university.

Only I knew the truth: every single report card Kieran had ever shown them was forged, and with his actual academic level, scraping into a bottom-tier community college would be a miracle.

Sure enough, when the score portal loaded on the computer screen, the entire living room fell dead silent.

Dad slammed his fist on the desk, bellowing in disbelief, "A composite score of 720?! How is this possible?! Kieran, what the hell did you do?!"

Mom stared with her mouth wide open, completely dumbfounded. "Weren't you consistently scoring in the 1400s on all your mock tests?!"

Kieran broke down in theatrical sobs, shaking his head frantically. "I had a severe migraine during the exam! My mind went completely blank! You know what my real grades are like, this was just a freak accident!"

Seeing his tears, Mom and Dad immediately softened, but Chloe frowned by the desk. "Even with a headache, you shouldn't drop by half. Wait, what did August score?"

Her question finally made my parents realize that I hadn't been home for three full days.

Mom paused for a moment before reluctantly pulling out her phone and dialing my number.

The call went straight to voicemail, and Mom hung up with an angry curse. "Forget him! What could a useless delinquent like him possibly get? The scores are out and he's still fooling around somewhere in the streets!"

My ethereal fists clenched tightly as my spirit trembled with suppressed sorrow.

For years, I had studied by flashlight in that damp closet late into the night, hoping with everything I had that academic excellence would earn me my freedom.

I wanted to check my scores, too, but I didn't even know where my cold corpse was lying right now.

Right then, the front doorbell rang.

Mom opened the door and asked with a puzzled look, "Can I help you?"

I looked closely and gasped; standing on the porch was my high school homeroom teacher, Ms. Lewis.

"Hello, is this August's residence? I'm his homeroom teacher, Sarah Lewis."

My parents hurried over, nodding politely. "Yes, yes, please come in."

Ms. Lewis looked at my parents and let out a weary, self-deprecating sigh. "In all three years of high school, I have never once met the parents of our school's top valedictorian. It's truly a shame."

Her words struck the living room like a lightning bolt.

"Excuse me? Valedictorian?" Dad stammered, his eyes wide.

Ms. Lewis didn't bother elaborating and asked directly, "Where is August? Admissions officers from Harvard and Yale have been calling his phone non-stop, and when they couldn't reach him, they contacted the school. I spent a week tracking down your home address because we need to know his preference. Is he choosing Harvard or Yale?"

Dad stood completely frozen in place, while Mom muttered incoherently, "Ms. Lewis... are you pulling our leg? Harvard? Yale? How could someone like August ever get accepted there?"

Ms. Lewis's brow furrowed into a deep scowl. "Why on earth would I joke about such a milestone? Where is August right now?"

"He... he went out with friends a few days ago," Mom stammered, her voice shaking. "We haven't been able to reach him."

Just as she finished speaking, two uniformed police officers walked through the front gate and up the porch steps.

One of the officers presented his badge and asked solemnly, "Are you August's mother?"

Mom nodded blankly. "Yes, I am."

The officer's expression grew grim. "Three days ago, a body was discovered in an alley downtown. Based on our preliminary investigation, we believe the deceased may be your son, August. We need you to come with us to the morgue to make a formal identification."