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Chapter 4

Author: Lucy Grove
Mom answered with obvious impatience.

"Hello? Who is this?"

"Lillian, where the hell are you?" Dad roared through a neighbor's landline. "Sophie is dead because of you!"

Mom went quiet for a second.

Then she let out a soft, mocking laugh.

"George, you saw the security footage too? Then listen to me for once. Stop helping her put on another show like you always do."

Her voice stayed calm, almost dismissive.

"I just reviewed the camera feed and analyzed her micro-expressions. Darting eyes. Rigid body language. Classic stress responses tied to lying. She's putting on a sob story to make me give in."

"You... You..."

Dad shook so hard with rage he couldn't get another word out.

He hung up, then immediately called an ambulance and the police.

***

Sirens soon ripped through the quiet upscale neighborhood.

Neighbors leaned out their windows as police, paramedics, and the forensic examiner rushed into my house. Crime scene tape went up around the property.

Meanwhile, Mom was happily paying for her bags at the luxury mall.

Then she looked up.

Breaking news flashed across the giant screen over the atrium.

"A teenage girl has been found dead inside her home in the upscale Chandler Grove neighborhood. The cause of death is under investigation."

The neighborhood entrance flashed on-screen.

Mom's expression shifted.

Only for a second.

Then she used the expertise she was so proud of to talk herself out of it.

I could almost hear her thoughts.

She must've still been in denial.

She had to be thinking the reactions on the security footage were clearly staged. The girl on the news had to be someone else.

Just a coincidence.

The panic vanished from Mom's face, replaced by cold irritation.

"Hmph."

She took Maya's hand and smiled. "George's really committing to the act. Once I called him out, he stopped calling. Faking a life-or-death emergency... he's getting more ridiculous every day.

"Come on, Maya. Smile for the camera."

Instead of going home, Mom took Maya straight to the most expensive children's photo studio in the city.

She seemed determined to show off her carefree afternoon on social media, like she had something to prove to Dad and me.

The photographer snapped away, capturing warm mother-and-daughter portraits.

Mom immediately posted her favorite with a carefully crafted caption.

[Not letting lies control my day. Honesty is the greatest strength in any relationship. #QualityFamilyTime]

Below it was a grid of smiling photos of her and Maya in matching dresses.

The post blew up with likes and comments almost instantly.

[Professor Doyle is so right!]

[I'm jealous. She raised her daughter so well!]

[Princess Maya is adorable!]

Mom stared at her phone, her smile turning smug.

Then the studio door opened.

Three uniformed cops walked in, faces grim.

The whole place went silent.

Everyone turned to stare.

The lead officer scanned the room, then stopped in front of Mom.

"Are you Lillian Doyle?"

She froze for a split second.

Then she straightened up, slipping back into her usual cool, superior composure.

"I am. Officer, how can I help you?"

"We're with the Hawthorne Police Department."

The lead officer held up his badge.

"We need to ask you about the death of your daughter, Sophie Schneider."

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  • The Last Smile She Misread   Chapter 11

    Mom had nothing left.She sold the house, the one packed with proof of her sins, transferred every cent to Dad, and moved into a damp basement apartment with no sunlight.It became the prison she built for herself.The peeling walls were covered in photos of me—from my toddler years to the awkward-smiling teenager I became.Between them, she taped printed security screenshots of every expression she'd misread.Then her guilt turned almost insane.To understand my pain, she hurt her own face in front of the mirror, following medical diagrams and forcing herself through the same unnatural expressions I'd struggled to make.When it got unbearable, she kept going.She wanted pain to drown out guilt.Her whole world became me.Outside, though, the damage she'd created kept spreading.After transferring schools, Maya was iced out.Everyone knew her as the girl who killed her sister.Dad buried himself in work and had no idea how to fix a kid already twisted inside.So Maya foun

  • The Last Smile She Misread   Chapter 10

    The chaos at my funeral blew up online.[Micro-Expression Expert Watches Daughter Die on Security Camera] shot to the top of every trending list.Overnight, Mom went from a respected professor to the most hated woman on the internet.Her university rushed out a statement firing her.The bestselling books once praised as must-reads for reading people disappeared from every major platform.Her sold-out lectures and courses were canceled, and organizers demanded full refunds.In a single night, she fell from the top to rock bottom.Her reputation was gone.People expected her to hire a PR team, fight back, or vanish from the public eye.She did none of it.On the third day of the online firestorm, she uploaded a PDF over ten thousand words long to her verified account.The title read:[A Forensic Analysis of My Misinterpretation of My Daughter Sophie Schneider's Final Micro-Expressions and Death]She didn't defend herself.She turned herself into a warning.Using the academ

  • The Last Smile She Misread   Chapter 9

    My funeral was small, but more people showed up than anyone expected.Relatives stood with red, tear-stained eyes. So did many of Mom's former students. Their faces were a mix of sympathy, curiosity, and morbid fascination.Mom was dressed in black.She looked pale. Hollow.Her trembling hand reached toward my memorial photo at the front of the room.Dad shoved her back.Right in front of everyone, he pulled a thick stack of papers from his bag and hurled them into the air.My medical records.Screenshots of Maya switching the cookies.Photos of me writhing on the floor before I died."Look at them!" Dad's voice cracked. "Look at how this so-called micro-expression expert killed her own daughter, one step at a time!"She mistook her daughter's medical symptoms for lies! She watched her daughter suffocate on the security cameras while she was out enjoying a concert and a fancy dinner!"And look at the daughter she raised! A ten-year-old who figured out how to kill without le

  • The Last Smile She Misread   Chapter 8

    Because Maya was a minor, and no one could prove she knew a peanut allergy could be deadly, the case was ruled an accident.Mom was another story. Her choices had helped lead to my death, so she was released on bail while she waited for trial.Dad brought her home from the station.The second they walked in, the smell from my final moments was still there.The scuff marks from my struggle still scarred the living room floor.But the worst part was the blood under the panic button.My fingernail marks, carved into the tile.My last, desperate cry for help.Mom dropped to the floor with a thud.Her shaking fingers brushed over the dried blood."Ah... Ahhh..."Then she broke.A raw, ugly sob ripped out of her.My spirit hovered nearby, watching her without a trace of sympathy.Mom... isn't it a little late to cry now?Where were you when I needed you most?You were at the concert hall, soaking up everyone's admiration.You were at a restaurant, teaching Maya about sinceri

  • The Last Smile She Misread   Chapter 7

    "Officer, I didn't know. I really didn't know Sophie couldn't eat those cookies..."In another interview room, Maya sobbed in Dad's arms, her small body trembling.Her face was a textbook picture of fear and innocence.Wet lashes. Wide, terrified eyes. The corners of her mouth drooping just enough.If I hadn't known the truth, I might've felt sorry for her too.Mom had been moved to the observation room next door. Watching through the one-way mirror, she suddenly stepped forward like she wanted to rush in and protect her precious Maya.She probably thought it was real emotion.Pure. Flawless."Officer, don't scare her. She's just a kid!"Dad's eyes were bloodshot as he glared at the officer questioning her.The officer didn't react."Maya, think carefully. Were Sophie's usual cookies packaged differently from the ones on the table that day?""I... I don't remember..."Maya lowered her head even more, crying harder.Just then, the interview room door opened.Another offic

  • The Last Smile She Misread   Chapter 6

    The screen showed our living room.The HD security footage was brutally clear.In the video, I sat on the rug, opened a package of cookies, and took one bite.Seconds later, my face changed. I grabbed my throat, my expression twisting in unbearable pain.I coughed hard.Then I collapsed onto the floor, rolling, struggling, gasping for air.Mom stared at the screen, instinctively retreating into her theories."L-Look at her hands..." Her voice shook, but she kept going. "They're exaggerated. Classic attention-seeking behav—"Bang!The interrogating officer slammed his hand on the table so hard the water cup jumped."That's what someone looks like when they're suffocating to death! Do you have any common sense at all?"His chest heaved with anger.The footage kept rolling.On the screen, I crawled toward the panic button.Its wires had been cut.With the last of my strength, I slammed the red button.Nothing.The despair on my face...It was absolute.Slowly, I turned

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