Chapter 1 Family of Three

My phone screen suddenly lit up. It was a video call from my mother. I tapped to answer.

The screen filled with blinding sunlight, and the sound of waves crashed loudly in the background. My mother was wearing a wide sun hat. She angled the camera toward herself and smiled.

"Ingrid," she said, "don't be upset that we didn't bring you. The beaches in Chesroy Isles all require bikinis. Imagine scaring people with that face of yours."

My father's voice came from off-screen. "It's Nelly's 18th birthday this time, so we're letting her have her way. We'll bring you too when it's your birthday next."

I looked at the three of them huddled together on the screen. "No need. I don't plan on celebrating my birthday ever again."

There was a brief silence on the other end. The smile vanished from my mother's face. "We just went out to have some fun without telling you in advance. It's your sister's birthday. What's wrong with letting her have her way?"

My father snatched the phone. "Ingrid Scott, we spent money raising you, and now you're putting on airs?"

I stared at the finger he pointed straight at the camera.

In all 18 years of my life, they had never once spent my birthday with me. Every year, the happiest person on my birthday was my sister. They would use my birthday as an excuse to buy her whatever limited-edition bag she wanted, while I could only eat what was left of her cake.

My mother let out a cold snort beside him.

I zipped up my suitcase. "That's why I won't celebrate anymore," I said evenly.

My father suddenly burst into laughter, clapping my sister on the shoulder. "Nelly, looks like you win again. Your sister really is mad."

My mother joined in. "Nelly, you win. Later, we'll stop by the duty-free shop. I'll buy you that Chanel bag you wanted."

So they had made a bet. And I was the stake. They were betting on whether I would get angry after being left alone in the villa.

After laughing, my father's expression turned cold again as he stared into the camera. "We'll be back this afternoon."

I said nothing and hung up.

'So they haven't gone to Chesroy Isles at all. They're at a private beach in the same city, posting a fake location just to fool me.'

I stared at the now-dark screen of my phone.

When I was five, they had taken my sister, Natalie, and me to an amusement park. She said she wanted to play hide-and-seek. My mother pulled me behind a tree and blindfolded me. "Count to 100 before you open your eyes."

I obediently closed my eyes and counted to 100.

When I opened them, the park was packed with people, but they were nowhere to be found. I stood there and waited the entire day.

…

By nightfall, the park had closed, and security took me to the police station. Near midnight, my parents walked in, holding Natalie's hand as she clutched a stick of cotton candy.

When the police asked where they had gone, my mother smiled and said, "Our daughter wanted roast chicken from the south side of the city, so we went to eat and forgot our other one was still at the park."

That night, when we got home, my father beat me. "Why were you crying in front of the police? You made it look like we abused you!"

From that day on, I knew I could never wait for them to come back for me.

I turned the family photo of the three of them face-down on the table. Then, I picked up my suitcase and headed for the door.

I had just reached the entryway when the door opened. My parents walked in with Natalie, who was wearing a floral dress. Their hands were full of shopping bags.