Chapter 1

Kelly Fincher's POV

After kneeling on the cold floor for less than five minutes, my damaged knee was already burning. I must have gone pale from the pain. I knew my parents could see it.

In the past, they would have rushed to pull me up and driven me straight to the hospital. But now, Dad's hand stayed on my shoulder, holding me in place.

Mom's expression remained cold. Her eyes slid past my knee to the wall clock.

"Five minutes, and you're already acting like you can't take it?" she said, looking at me. "Kelly, haven't we played along with your drama enough?"

I wanted to tell Mom it really hurt, but humiliation tightened around my throat, choking back the words. I could only try my best to steady my shaking body.

Just as I was about to collapse, Mom's phone rang. She answered, and her face immediately lit up with joy and relief. "You found both of them? Okay, okay. We're coming right now."

We all rushed to the police station.

My brother, Noah Fincher, and sister, Amanda Fincher, had been gone for three days. The twins looked a little dirty, and a trace of resentment showed in their eyes.

The officer shook his head at my parents. "Are you their parents? Do you know they would've fallen for the scam if we'd been half an hour late? They would've gone overseas, lured by the promise of a huge salary."

As soon as Mom heard this, she pulled them into her arms and burst into tears.

Dad was frantic with worry. The same hand that had stayed firmly on my shoulder shot up as if to hit them, then hung in the air, trembling.

Amanda pulled away from Mom's arms. "Save the act. We almost got scammed because we were trying to make quick money to pay Kelly back!"

Noah added flatly, "Just name a price. How much do we have to give her to make things even?"

The officer couldn't stand listening to it anymore. "You're their parents. Even if you love your youngest daughter, you can't force your two older kids to go out and earn money for her."

Mom cried even harder. "It's all our fault. Don't pay her back anymore. Neither of you owes her a thing."

Dad comforted them gently, his eyes full of regret and remorse.

I stood awkwardly outside the police station, watching the four of them together, comforting one another like one big happy family.

I didn't even have the courage to walk inside. I clutched my jacket while the cold air crept through the thin fabric and seeped into my skin.

Just then, Mom's phone rang again. It was the hospital, calling about my physical therapy session.

She had it on speaker. The moment the doctor, Peter Bullock's voice came through, they looked over at me standing by the entrance.

Amanda let out a cold laugh, while Noah brushed Dad's hand off his shoulder.

For the first time, I felt like my very existence was in the way.

I forced a smile. Before I could say anything, Mom spoke to Dr. Bullock on the phone. "Kelly won't be needing physical therapy anymore."

Without waiting for the doctor to respond, Mom hung up right away.

I knew what Dr. Bullock wanted to say. Just a week ago, he'd warned me that the complications from my burns were getting worse. If I stopped therapy, there was a very real chance I could lose the use of my leg.

Mom and Dad were smiling warmly at Noah and Amanda. I watched them in silence and suddenly realized that it had been a very long time since they'd smiled at me like that.