All Chapters of The Child Who Wasn’t: Chapter 1 - Chapter 9

9 Chapters

Chapter 1

Phoebe Marsh, our adopted daughter, stood by the entryway and banged her ankle against the sharp corner of the shoe cabinet. Then, my daughter, Maisie Shaw, clutched her ankle and collapsed to the floor, crying her heart out. It was the same scene, the same reaction. She had been sitting obediently on her stool, playing with the Legos in front of her. When Phoebe got hurt, it was Maisie who showed the pain. The next second, Phoebe acted as if she felt nothing and continued slamming her ankle against the sharp corner until it was covered in bruises. Seeing Maisie crying loudly, my husband, Brandon Shaw, frowned and scolded her. "Maisie, this is Phoebe's first day in our home, so don't throw tantrums." When he turned and saw the bruises on Phoebe's foot, he gasped and gently carried her to the couch. He said tenderly, "This is your home now, so take some time to get familiar with everything." His tone was so gentle, and he completely ignored the fact that Maisie was still

Chapter 2

Phoebe stared at me calmly, showing not the slightest hint of discomfort. I was puzzled and wondered if I had hit Maisie too lightly for it to have any effect. However, asking me to truly hurt Maisie would be like stabbing myself in the chest. As I wrestled with the thought, Phoebe suddenly dropped to her knees with a heavy thud. Maisie instantly clutched her knees, her forehead slick with cold sweat. "Mrs. Shaw, it's my fault. I took Maisie's room and her parents' love. Please don't hurt Maisie… If you must hit someone, hit me!" Phoebe cried, crawling toward me. Her dramatic act caught me completely off guard, and I realized with dread that she was still trying to harm Maisie. I quickly helped her up and gave Maisie a look that said, "Go to your room and think about what you've done." As I led Phoebe to her room, Brandon, who was usually quiet, actually spoke up to comfort her. "Don't mind Maisie… She's too spoiled and needs to be disciplined properly." I quickly ste

Chapter 3

Maisie cried until she was exhausted and finally drifted into a deep sleep. The sound of me entering the room startled her awake. She immediately jumped up in fright, with a flash of panic in her eyes. She mumbled frantically, "Mom, I'm sorry… I wasn't throwing a tantrum… I like Phoebe, but my legs really hurt. Am I sick? Am I going to die?" The image of Maisie bleeding from all her facial orifices in my previous life immediately flashed through my mind. I rushed over in terror and held her close. My breath caught as I said in a trembling voice, "No, you won't… I will protect you." Since I could not find a solution myself and could not prevent Maisie from being hurt, I decided to confront Phoebe directly and make her tell me the truth. I used the excuse of taking Phoebe shopping for clothes and drove to a secluded area. Before she could speak, I took the offensive and demanded, "What are you trying to do? Why are you hurting Maisie?" Phoebe continued to act innocent. "Mr

Chapter 4

My mind went blank, and I could only nod frantically. "It was all nonsense! I made it up!" Phoebe finally loosened her grip on the knife. I snatched it from her and hurled it across the room. Brandon, pale with fear, stood trembling as he clutched his phone. "911, emergency…" His voice shook as he hung up, then rage overtook him. He stormed toward me, slapped me hard to the ground, and shouted, "Are you satisfied now? Maisie fakes being sick, and you spout madness… Together, you've turned this house into hell!" Without another glance at the unconscious Maisie, he scooped up the blood-soaked Phoebe and ran out the door. I crawled desperately to Maisie's side, noticing that her small face had turned completely pale. Just a few days ago, she had been bouncing around, dragging me out to go shopping. When we passed the toy store, she kept begging me for a claw machine as her birthday present. Now she could only lie limply in my arms, barely breathing. Maisie fell into a

Chapter 5

After two lifetimes, I had finally found a way to deal with Phoebe. I suppressed my inner joy and mimicked Phoebe's innocent tone, saying, "I only gave her a piece of cake." When I walked through the door that evening, I saw Phoebe kneeling stiffly in the center of the living room, her eyes full of hatred as she looked at me. Brandon was pacing back and forth impatiently. Finally, he grabbed a glass from the coffee table and smashed it hard in front of Phoebe. He roared, "You're trying to fight for attention too, now? You've ruined the entire party with your craziness!" Phoebe shot me a venomous look and pressed her knees hard onto the broken glass, crying as she tried to explain. "I didn't do it on purpose… I just suddenly felt sharp pain all over…" Brandon interrupted her harshly, "Enough! If you keep throwing unreasonable tantrums like this, I won't be able to keep you here either." Hearing that she might be sent away, Phoebe's face turned deathly pale. She frantically b

Chapter 6

Phoebe's screams terrified Maisie. It was her first day back home, and she was not used to hearing Phoebe shriek like that. Her little face was full of worry as she stared toward the bathroom door, so I had no choice but to step out and calm Phoebe myself. When I pushed the door open, she was writhing across the bed. The moment she saw me, her bloodshot eyes fixed on mine as she hissed through clenched teeth, "I'm going to kill her." The more miserable she looked, the happier I became. Since she dared to hurt Maisie, I would make her pay back a thousand times over. I wiped the cold sweat from her forehead and said, "Don't say such nonsense. We're a family, aren't we? Didn't you want to stay here forever?" Brandon came in carrying a cloth and some rope. Without hesitation, he shoved the cloth into Phoebe's mouth and tied her to the bed. When he finished, he pointed at her viciously. "If you like pretending so much, then enjoy it. This is how the psych ward treats people lik

Chapter 7

Phoebe hastily scribbled down an address, her face full of sincerity. "This is my mother's address. She's the one who did this. I don't know anything about it." I asked, "Your mother? If you can contact her, why are you living in an orphanage?" Unexpectedly, Phoebe suddenly started banging her head frantically like a madwoman. "I don't know, I really don't… Mrs. Shaw, please go find her…" Seeing my suspicion, Phoebe continued explaining. "Mrs. Shaw, you have to believe me. If this were really my doing, I would have told you how to fix it a long time ago. I wouldn't let myself suffer like this. Please, don't send me away… I just want a home." I hesitated but took the address anyway. No matter what, I needed to find out the truth. As for Phoebe, someone this cruel and deceitful could never stay with us once everything was resolved. … When I brought Maisie to the address, it turned out to be a hospital. I explained our situation to a doctor, but he simply shook his head. "Don

Chapter 8

When I opened my eyes again, I found myself tied up and unable to move. Beside me were Brandon and Maisie, both bound tightly and unconscious. Meanwhile, Phoebe sat in front of us with a vicious expression on her face. I struggled with all my might and shouted angrily at her, "Let us go! I've already investigated everything. Your so-called 'mother' is not there, so who exactly are you?" Brandon gradually regained consciousness, twisting his body and looking at Phoebe in shock. "Phoebe? What are you doing? We're your family!" Phoebe stared at us with hatred, her tone cold and indifferent. "My family? This is my home! You stole it from me, and that makes you my enemies." Brandon looked completely shocked and roared at Phoebe, "We never should have brought you home, you ungrateful little snake!" Phoebe suddenly stood up and brought a knife from the kitchen, waving it in front of Brandon. She said, "20 years ago, this was my home. If I hadn't been taken away, you never would

Chapter 9

I snorted coldly. "You believe the words of a crazy person? Anyway, let's get divorced." Ever since Phoebe came to our home, Brandon's attitude toward Maisie had shown me exactly what kind of person he was. I would raise my daughter myself, and she did not need a father in name only. He looked at me in disbelief. "What did I do wrong?" I shot back, "It's what you didn't do! You stood by while Maisie suffered, and you dismissed it as her faking for attention." The memories of that time burned through me again, each one like a knife. Had I not discovered the charm hanging from Phoebe's neck and recognized the Five Venoms symbols etched into it, Maisie would already be dead. That day in the bathroom, I realized those symbols came from Teriland, where they were used to ward off evil curses. However, why would she need protection against curses unless she feared backlash herself? So, I took Maisie straight to Teriland, where I quickly found a master. I explained that the girl I

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