INICIAR SESIÓNWhen Mom and Dad finally came out of the basement, they were behaving like madmen, driving straight home to their villa.I soon discovered that I could finally leave Katrina's side and float back with Mom and Dad instead.As soon as I entered the villa, I saw Jayson sitting on the couch playing games on his PS5. Upon seeing that Mom and Dad were home, a sweet, cloying smile appeared on his face as he greeted them and said, "You're back! So, did you deal with that criminal? I told you that…"A resounding slap landed hard on his face.Dad put all his strength into that slap, knocking Jayson down onto the couch as blood began trickling from the corner of his mouth."Dad! Did you just hit me?" Jayson exclaimed, covering his face, his expression incredulous."Hit you? I wish I could kill you instead!"Dad's hand trembled as he flung the shattered phone against Jayson's. "Listen to this! Listen carefully to the audio and tell me what you mean by this!"The vicious recording was playe
This time, Mom and Dad could no longer deceive themselves. They felt as if their spines had been ripped out, and they could only follow Katrina back to the dark, damp basement, feeling utterly dejected and defeated.Stepping back in, the musty smell no longer seemed to nauseate them. Instead, it transformed into a suffocating sense of guilt.Mom fell to her knees before the makeshift shrine with a thud, clutching the black-and-white portrait of me, weeping uncontrollably."Joshua… My Joshua… I was wrong. I was so, so wrong…"Dad stood to the side, his face buried in his hands, suppressed sobs escaping through his fingers.Meanwhile, Katrina remained seated in her wheelchair, coldly observing my parents' belated display of affection."What's the use of crying?" she asked in a hoarse voice, retrieving a shattered phone from her pocket. "This was what he left behind at the scene of the crime."Katrina's fingers gently traced the screen, her eyes tender yet sorrowful."This phone h
"Call the police! Call the police now!"Dad was completely enraged by Katrina's words and actions.He pulled out his phone, glaring fiercely at Katrina. "Since you won't hand Joshua over, we'll let the police talk to you! I don't believe you can still be as stubborn as you are now when the police are here!"Mom chimed in, her voice shrill and hysterical. "Yes! Charge her with kidnapping! Charge her with extortion! Let her rot in jail! Let's see how long that brat Joshua can hide from us!"They were convinced this was all a charade that Katrina and I put together just to get back at them. They were certain that once the police arrived, all the lies would crumble, and I would obediently come out and beg for their forgiveness on my knees.Jayson, however, panicked when he heard that. "Mom, Dad, maybe we should just let it slide."However, Katrina sat defiantly in her wheelchair and said, "Go ahead and drag me there if you will."…Half an hour later, Katrina was taken to the polic
The regret in Dad's eyes vanished instantly, replaced by a furious rage at being played for a fool."Wonderful. Brilliant. Just brilliant," he gritted through his teeth as he straightened up and pointed at Katrina. "I can't believe that I almost fell for your tricks! Jayson is a very kind-hearted soul! He would never have done anything of the sort!"Meanwhile, Jayson just hid behind Dad and gave Katrina a provocative smirk.Katrina's hand slowly reached for her twisted, deformed left leg."Do you know how my leg was broken?"Dad's eyes flickered, instinctively avoiding looking at the leg.Mom frowned and took a step back. "What does your broken leg have to do with us? Don't you dare try to blame us for it!"Katrina laughed bitterly. The laughter echoed in the cold basement like fingernails scraping a blackboard, sending chills down everyone's spine.She stared blankly at a point in the void, her eyes vacant, as if she were back in that despairing, starry night."On the night o
Mom instinctively tried to push the diary away. However, the moment her gaze fell on the words in my diary, she still took it from Katrina and began to read."May 30th. It's Mom's birthday today. I used the pocket money I saved up for a month to buy colored paper and folded a thousand origami cranes, wanting to surprise her."I secretly put the gift by the door and peeked from the corner of the stairs. But... I saw Jayson throw the origami cranes into the trash can afterward and even told the dog to chew on them."Jayson said Mom hated cheap things. I didn't believe him, so I went to ask Mom. But she didn't even look at me and said that I was being silly and that I had to let Jayson be because I was older than him."I just felt like I didn't belong anywhere when she said that. I was their biological son, but I feel like a thief in my own house."Mom's breathing quickened, and her face instantly turned deathly pale.She remembered that birthday.That day, she did see a huge pile
Dad snatched the document from Mom's hand, his movements so rough he almost tore the fragile paper apart."You even forged a report? Wow, Katrina, you really went to great lengths for this little bit of money," Dad said with a sneer, his gaze casually sweeping over the report."Deceased's Name: Joshua Norman."Cause of Death: Severe traumatic brain injury with multiple organ rupture and hemorrhage caused by a car accident."External Characteristics: The deceased was run over and dragged by a heavy vehicle, and his facial features are completely disfigured and unrecognizable. The left ribcage collapsed, with multiple rib fractures and severed ribs piercing the lungs and heart. Both lower limbs suffered comminuted fractures, with exposed rib ends and avulsed skin…"I floated mid-air, reading the report and suddenly feeling the excruciating pain of that night that seemed to resurface deep within my soul.The day I died was precisely a week after Sally's death.After handling her fu







