LOGINShare
Chapter 9
Latest chapter
Starting Over at Four Chapter 9
From that day on, Candy always wanted me to hold her hand. During meals, while watching cartoons, and whenever we went downstairs to play. Sometimes, she would fall asleep with her fingers still gripping the hem of my shirt.Mom asked, "Do you think Candy's still scared?"Dad said, "Give her time."The truth was, I was scared too. I would dream about the gray van and the headlights switching on, the pink hair clip lying on the ground, me screaming until my voice gave out while Dad still could not catch up.Every time I woke up, I would climb out of bed and go check on Candy. She would be asleep in her little bed, breathing softly. I would touch her hand, and it would be warm.This time, she was still here.One night, Mom got up for water and found me standing beside Candy's bed. She crouched down in front of me. "Levi, are you scared?"I nodded.She held me. "I'm scared too."I whispered, "Mommy, you have to keep Candy safe.""I will.""Dad too.""Him too.""And
Starting Over at Four Chapter 8
I flinched. I thought she was going to ask me how I knew, or why I had said Aunt Renee was going to sell Candy, or why I had strapped the watch onto Candy's wrist.She did not ask any of that. She just reached out and pulled me into her arms. "I'm sorry."She was crying quietly, barely making a sound. "I almost didn't believe you."I did not know what to say. I just reached up and touched her face with my small hand. "Don't cry, Mommy."That only made her cry harder.Dad stood by the door, making phone calls. He took a photo of the police report receipt and sent it to the family group chat, followed by the forged documents, the train ticket, and the screenshots of the messages.At first, the relatives were still trying to smooth things over.Nana: [Maybe Renee just wasn't thinking straight? Candy didn't actually get taken, did she?]An uncle chimed in: [We're all family. Let's not blow this up.]A cousin added: [The child's safe now. The adults can work it out.]Then Dad se
Starting Over at Four Chapter 7
The scene went dead silent.Aunt Renee lunged for her phone, but Dad was faster. He pinned her wrist to the spot. "Don't touch it."The officer picked up the phone, and Aunt Renee finally panicked. "That's just a friend joking around."Another message popped up on the screen.Ray: [Already sent you the 20 grand deposit. Don't back out on me now.]Dad stared at the text. That morning, Aunt Renee had said one day of shooting paid 20,000 dollars. It had never been a modeling fee. It was a deposit for selling my sister.The officer told her to unlock the phone, but she refused. The man in the baseball cap was not looking so steady anymore either. "I don't know anything about this. I was just helping drive."The officer turned to him. "A moment ago, you said you were the photography assistant."The man opened his mouth, then closed it. He had nothing left to say.The phone was unlocked in the end. The moment the chat history opened, Aunt Renee's legs buckled.It was full of photos
Starting Over at Four Chapter 6
Mom held Candy in her arms, tears rolling down her face one after another. "Renee, tell me. Where were you really taking her?"Aunt Renee was still pretending. "Mary, I was really just taking her to the shoot."Mom stared at her. "Then why was she stuffed under the floor mat in the back seat?"Aunt Renee had nothing to say to that.The police and the ambulance arrived almost at the same time. A paramedic examined Candy and said she was not fully conscious. They needed to take her to the hospital for blood work.Mom would not let go of her, so the paramedic could only tell her, "You can ride along."Mom nodded and climbed into the ambulance with Candy in her arms. Before the doors closed, she looked back at me. "Levi, stay with Dad."I nodded. Part of me wanted desperately to go with Candy, but I knew I could not leave just yet. In my previous life, every piece of evidence had vanished.Aunt Renee had claimed Candy wandered off, and everyone had no choice but to take her at her
Starting Over at Four Chapter 5
Dad shoved me into Mom's arms and threw himself at the van, grabbing the back door with both hands.The driver had already hit the gas. The van lurched forward, and Dad stumbled, his knees nearly slamming into the pavement. His grip did not loosen."Stop the car!"His voice came out raw and cracked, like split wood. The driver swore and tried to gun it again, but the owner of the convenience store nearby heard the commotion and stuck his head out."What's going on out here?"I was crying so hard that my voice had gone ragged. I pointed at the van and screamed, "The bad man's taking my sister! Candy's in there!"Two men in security uniforms came running over as well. Aunt Renee immediately burst into tears."It's a misunderstanding! This is all a misunderstanding! That's my niece in there. The kid's just throwing a tantrum!"Mom held me against her chest, her hands shaking the entire time. She still had not fully processed what was happening, not until the tracker in my hand k
Starting Over at Four Chapter 4
Wind and car horns blared through the other end of the line. Aunt Renee let out a small laugh. "Mary, I'm on my way to the studio. The photographer's rushing me."Mom held back tears. "Turn your video on. I want to see Candy."Aunt Renee hesitated. "Candy fell asleep.""Turn it on!"There were two seconds of silence on the other end."Hello? Hello? The signal's cutting out!"Then the line went dead.Mom was standing on the side of the road. Her whole body swayed. "She's lying to me. My own sister!"Dad held the phone up for her to see. The red dot was still behind the old mall. His voice was low. "She's been lying to you."I pointed down the narrow side path. "The back entrance! Go that way!"The road behind the old mall was barely wide enough for a single car. Stacks of flattened cardboard boxes and broken signboards lined the edges. Hardly anyone ever went back there.The second Dad turned the corner, I heard a car door slam shut. The sound punched through me like somethin
You May Also Like
He Cried When I Died
Banana62.4K viewsThe Unwanted Son
Black or White18.2K viewsWho Is the Nobody Here?
Sweet Beet55.9K viewsAfter She Married My Cousin Instead
Fifty Please 16.3K viewsMy Family Celebrates When I Flunk the Exams
Warble Pop251 viewsI Gave Up My Liver Transplant, The Whole Family Went Crazy
Forest486 viewsWe Part, We Long, We Never Meet Again
The Gardener’s Robin221 viewsThe Year I Stopped Paying for Their Love
Bruce1.8K views
