Murdered, but My Cop Mom Thought I Ran Away

In Mom's eyes, even the victims in her cases seemed to matter more to her than I ever did.Her phone rang. When she looked at the screen, a faint warmth appeared on her face.I leaned in. It was Wendy. She was asking whether Mom would be coming home for dinner.Mom sent a voice message back. Her voice was softer than anything I had ever heard from her. “Sweetie, I’ve got a tricky case on my hands tonight. Don’t wait for me. Take care of yourself. Just tell me what you want to eat, and I’ll get it for you.”Officer Zane, who stood beside, let out a chuckle. “Moira, so you and Kara made up? I thought you were still holding a grudge against the girl. Moms and daughters are close at heart. Any conflict will soon be forgotten.”Mom pressed her red lips together and said in a low voice, “Wendy is my one and only daughter. Wesley, don’t bring up Kara again. She ran away from home this time. She’s been missing for five or six days. She didn’t even go to her father’s memorial.”I wanted t

My cousin lowered her gaze, and tears the size of pearls rolled down her face. “Mom, Kara keeps saying I’m a demon.”A sharp pain pierced my chest. There she went again, putting on that same fake, delicate act again.However, Mom always fell for it. Every time she did, I was the one who ended up getting scolded.Wendy glanced at Mom's darkening expression, and a glint of satisfaction flickered in her eyes. She had long since replaced me, becoming the only daughter in Mom's heart.Even the blood bond between Mom and me could be easily twisted apart by her.One time, Wendy led me to my deranged admirer. She knew exactly what would happen to me, yet she did it anyway. Of course, she had nothing to fear. In Mom’s eyes, she was always an innocent, kind-hearted daughter.The moment Wendy came into our home, I did not just lose Dad. I lost Mom as well.Wendy bit her lower lip. Her face was deathly pale, pitiful enough to make anyone’s heart ache. “Mom, is it because I accidentally brok

Yet, Mom had never once tried to understand what I was feeling.It always felt like we were just a step away from each other. One step away from making things right, and one step away from her realizing the victim was me.Officer Zane’s tone grew firmer. He was clearly dissatisfied with her attitude. “Moira, you fell seriously ill back then. Before you came back to work, Kara treated the entire task force to dinner just so they’d take care of you.”Mom knitted her brows together in suspicion. “Wesley, don’t joke around. You don’t need to make things up just to speak well of Kara.”“You keep saying she doesn’t care about you, but when you were hospitalized and unconscious last year, she was the one running herself to exhaustion, bringing you homemade meals every single day!” Officer Zane snapped in frustration.A trace of self-mockery flickered in my eyes. All these years, everyone could see how much I cared about Mom. However, to her, I was nothing but cold and heartless.Mom fin

Mom took a deep breath, her brows tightly furrowed. After a long pause, she continued, “When I mentioned the killer might have psychological issues, there should’ve been visible signs in daily life. It's likely he has a small build and is short-tempered. We should focus our investigation on people the victim knew who fit this profile.”Clement Geis truly was a psychopath, a devil in human skin. After Wendy lured me away, he drugged me and took me to an abandoned construction site. There, he subjected me to inhuman torment. He kept asking why I refused his confession.After he finished unleashing his violent urges, Wendy even guided him to call Mom. He made me endure the searing agony of acid burning through my organs while I listened to Mom’s reprimands on the phone.Mom finished her analysis. Her lips pressed into a tight line as the meeting room fell into heavy silence. Every officer present wore expressions of sympathy.Mom lowered her head. A teardrop fell onto the table in fro

Mom carefully took the dress, smoothing out every crease before gently placing it into a box inside the wardrobe.I stared at what lay inside the box. My eyes widened bit by bit.There was Dad's medal, as well as a leaf I had once picked for Mom as a child and a bracelet I had made for her with my own hands when I was young…Hot tears spilled from my eyes, burning as they fell. My heart felt as though it, too, was being seared.It felt as though Mom’s love for me had been locked away inside this very box for all these years.Yet Wendy still wanted to trample my name into the dust. She said nonchalantly, “Kara never remembers your birthday anyway. You shouldn’t be upset because of her.”Mom cut her off sharply, “Enough. I don’t want to hear her name again!”Wendy smiled. She raised a hand to cover it, seemingly trying to hide her smile. She tied up her hair, put on a mask, and headed for the door.“Wendy, you’re not staying for dinner?”Wendy waved off Mom’s question. “I’ll eat