Chapter 4

Liar!

Deandre was lying!

I planted my hands on my hips and glared furiously at him.

Ever since Mom took me to the laboratory last time, I clearly felt that something in our home had changed.

Dad smiled less and less, while Mom came home later and later.

Meanwhile, Deandre started visiting our house more and more often. He would bring me toys and smile as he pinched my cheeks.

Dad watched all of this coldly. There was something in his eyes that I couldn't understand.

I only realized later that it was the look of utter despair—the look of a man watching his own family fall apart.

Then came the day Dad vanished from the world.

No one knew where he had gone. Mom went crazy, searching everywhere and asking everyone for clues about his disappearance.

Deandre arrived almost immediately. He held Mom in his arms and cried. "Don't be like this. Warren will be okay."

Back then, I thought he was genuinely upset. He must have cared a lot about Dad.

But now, thinking back on it, I felt sick.

Deandre was about to say something else, but Mom abruptly hung up.

"If that brat hadn't come along, Melina would have been mine by now."

He muttered angrily under his breath, then adjusted Roundy's pet mode to dispense only five pieces of cat food before leaving.

"Let's see how long you can last without starving!"

I watched him walk away and snorted.

My mom and dad loved each other! A nasty man like Deandre would never be able to destroy that!

The house gradually grew dark. The only light came from Roundy's blue eyes.

Before long, even those eyes went dark.

I floated around in the darkness. Whenever I got tired, I'd hide inside the closet and breathe in Dad's scent.

Unfortunately, it seemed I couldn't smell anything anymore.

...

As my consciousness began to fade, I seemed to see Mom working in the laboratory.

She and all the other adults were staring at the instruments on the screens, waiting anxiously for something to happen.

I gazed at Mom, hungry for the sight of her. I had no idea how long it had been since she'd last slept. The dark circles beneath her eyes looked as though someone had drawn them on for a cartoon.

"Professor Foster, we've finally detected your husband's energy fluctuations!"

Mom's lips moved, but no words came out.

The waveform on the screen flickered before suddenly shooting upward. Then, the man lying inside the glass chamber opened his eyes.

Dad!

It really was Dad!

I jumped up excitedly and circled around him.

"Dad, you're finally back!

"Dad, can you make me scrambled eggs? They taste best with a little sugar!

"Dad, you and Mom have to be good to each other from now on. Don't miss me too much, okay?"

Perhaps he'd heard my endless chatter.

Dad blinked and spoke the first words he'd uttered since regaining consciousness. "Where's Max?"

Mom froze. Looking at Dad, she repeated his question. "Where's Max?"

She instinctively answered, "Max is at home waiting for you."

"At home?" Dad repeated those two words, frowning. "You left him home alone?"

"Not alone." Mom hurriedly explained, "There's the caretaker robot, and Deandre... He just called me and said Max missed you."

Dad drew a deep breath. When he opened his eyes again, there wasn't a trace of warmth in them. "Take me home."

I followed behind Dad, completely oblivious to the tension between them. My mind was filled with nothing but happiness that Dad had finally returned.

Neither of them spoke during the journey. The only voice in the cramped space was mine, chattering away endlessly.

"Mom, Dad's back. Don't bring up Deandre anymore.

"Dad, Mom knows she was wrong. Please be nice to her! But if Mom hurts your feelings, I will support you in being yourself! I won't hold you back!"

Mom kept stealing glances at Dad. She seemed to want to say something, but each time she closed her mouth again. She thought that as long as they went home and saw Max, everything could return to the way it had been.

They could be the happy family they once were.

Yes. As long as they saw Max.

Mom pressed hard on the accelerator, speeding toward home.

Suddenly, Dad spoke, "Has Max grown taller?"

Mom tightened her grip on the steering wheel. "Yes, a little."

Mom was lying! Ever since Dad left, she hadn't measured my height in a long time.

"Did he cry while I was gone?"

Mom fell silent for a moment and didn't answer.

The car stopped downstairs. Mom and Dad looked up at the familiar window. It was eight in the evening. Every apartment in the building was lit up except ours.

They went upstairs, one after the other.

Mom reached out and entered the code on the digital lock.

Noticing Dad's gaze, she hurriedly explained, "I change the code every day. Deandre only comes over when I allow him to. Ever since you left, I haven't..."

"Let's go inside." Dad cut her off and walked straight into the house.

But the place was completely silent. That soft little voice that used to call him Dad was gone forever.

Dad frowned, about to call my name.

Then he caught the faintest trace of a foul, rotting smell in the air...