“Sarah, I’m coming home right now! I won’t let
anything happen to you!”
“Don’t be scared. I’m here. I won’t let Amy get
away with this. She’ll have to beg for your
forgiveness.’
I was numb.
Even after all those years of abuse, I still
hoped that one day the truth would come out,
and Mom and Dad would love me again.
I studied hard, just to get good grades, so
they’d look at me for a second when someone
<
praised me.
When Mom was in the hospital, I prayed at a
temple for her.
When Dad was in a car accident, I took the
hit for him, which left me with terrible health
problems.
I was so naive.
They didn’t care.
Sarah’s illness and comfort were always more
important.
Mom immediately told the driver to head
home.
Compared to Sarah, my life meant nothing.
Г
Meanwhile, the bodyguards pried open the
coffin.
They threw their tools down in horror.
That’s when I saw my body.
My fingers were ripped apart, face covered in
blood and tears, white maggots crawled
across my skin, eating my flesh.
Shit and piss were beneath me, mixed with
the rotting flesh.
Limbs twisted, the coffin was covered in red
scratches, a reminder of my struggle.
Several men couldn’t help but vomit.
Г
Mr. Peterson fell to the ground.
He watched the car drive away and called
Mom.
“Mrs. Thompson… Miss Amy… she’s dead.
Please, come back…”
“Amy’s dead?”
Mom’s hand trembled, but then she seemed
to understand.
“Mr. Peterson, Amy likes to lie. Are you
helping her trick me? After you’ve worked for
the Thompsons for twenty years, I won’t hold
it against you.”
“Tell Amy I don’t believe her lies, and that she
needs to beg Saran for forgiveness. Or I’ll
pretend she was never my daughter!”
I laughed, but my face was wet with tears.
Mom, I’m already dead. You don’t have a
daughter anymore.
If you turned back, you could see the
daughter you tortured to death.
You’d see I wasn’t lying.
“Ma’am, I’m not lying. Miss Amy’s really
dead.”
Mr. Peterson’s voice trembled.
Mom stared out the window, annoyed.
“Do you think I’m stupid? A selfish person like
her wouldn’t die that easily. You think I’ll
believe you’re tricking me?”
“I don’t have the energy for this. Tell her to
die, or come back and apologize!”
Mom hung up.
At the hospital, the doctor said Sarah’s heart
was fine and she probably just had a bad
dream, she should rest and avoid stress.
I scoffed.
Sarah had mysteriously gotten a heart
condition after I was born, hospitals found
nothing wrong.
Sarah constantly said that her heart didn’t
Г
feel right, claiming to have a heart condition,
to get attention.
But Mom was worried. She insisted that
Sarah stay in the hospital.
“Sarah, I’m not going anywhere. I’ll stay here
with you.”
Sarah was lying in bed, her pale face looked
weak. She grabbed Mom’s hand.
“Mom, if you stay here, will Amy be sad?
Weren’t we supposed to let her out today?
Where is she?”
Mom looked at Sarah, sitting on the bed, her
voice angry.
“Amy went too far! She lied and said she was
L
dead, to get my attention. She hasn’t realized
what she did wrong.”
“Sarah, I’ll make things right. When she gets
here, don’t defend her. If murder weren’t
illegal, I wouldn’t let her come home alive!”
I laughed.
Murder is illegal, but abusing me wasn’t? And
she’d already stopped me from coming home
alive.
Mom pulled out her phone and took me off
the blocked list.
She called a few times.
It went straight to voicemail.
