Lahat ng Kabanata ng After the Fake Heiress Jumped into the Sea: Kabanata 1 - Kabanata 8

"Surprise! I'm home!"Chloe Carter came through the front door with a skip, dragging a hot-pink suitcase behind her, dressed in a brand-new Chanel suit.Her hair fell over her shoulders in glossy waves. Her makeup was flawless, and every inch of her glowed with youth and energy—a jarring sight in a house that had been smothered in gloom for days.The instant I heard her voice, my spirit froze above the living room.Her suicide had been a lie.I'd never imagined a ghost could such bone-deep cold, yet the hollow space in my chest seemed to be gripped and torn apart all over again.She was alive and perfectly well. Then what had all that punishment been for? What had my death been for?"Chloe!"My mother reacted first. She rushed across the room and crushed Chloe in her arms, bursting into tears."You're alive? You're really alive?"You scared me half to death! Where have you been? Do you have any idea how frantic we were?"My father and my older brother, Ethan, crowded around

Mom answered the phone. Floating beside her, I heard every word of the calm, official voice on the other end."Hello. Is this the Carter residence? This is the South Precinct. We've recovered the body of an unidentified young woman in a stretch of wasteland in the woods west of the city. Based on our preliminary findings and a comparison with missing-person records, we believe she may be your missing daughter, Grace Carter."The color drained out of Mom's face.Her hand trembled around the phone, and her eyes went straight to Chloe, who was sitting on the rug playing video games with Ethan.At the sound of my name, Chloe looked up. Something unnatural flickered through those wide, innocent eyes and vanished almost before I caught it."Mom, who is it?" she asked carelessly.Before Mom could answer, Chloe seemed to guess what had happened and let out an exaggerated laugh."It isn't one of those scammers, is it? They call all the time claiming something's happened to somebody's rel

Bennett's words hit like a bullet, tearing straight through the story Chloe had so carefully woven.They also shattered the Carters' last line of defense—the comforting fiction that none of this had anything to do with them.A criminal investigation.The phrase settled over every one of them with a crushing weight.Their faces went grayer than mine under the morgue lights. The shock in Dad's eyes gave way to fear. Mom stopped her dry, theatrical wailing and stared in disbelief. A violent shudder ran through Ethan, as though someone had emptied a bucket of ice water over his head.Chloe's pupils contracted. Her lips trembled, and for the first time a crack ran through that flawless face."That's...That's a lie!" she shrieked, her voice warping with panic. "She did it to herself! It's got nothing to do with our family!"Bennett glanced at her coldly and ignored the hysterical outburst."The autopsy also shows long-term malnutrition. Apart from traces of water and grass roots, t

The entries went on. Chloe and I got older, and her cruelty grew worse.Dad's breathing got heavier with every page. His face went from pale to livid.Mom leaned over his shoulder and read a few entries, then couldn't take any more. She covered her mouth, but a muffled sob broke out of her anyway.Ethan snatched the diary away and raced down the pages. Over and over, he found the records of how Chloe had manipulated him into misunderstanding me, humiliating me, and even hitting me.His eyes went red."No," he whispered, as if he could talk himself out of it. "This isn't true."The sharp crack of a slap cut through the room.Dad had put all his strength into into striking Chloe across the face."You monster!" He pointed at her, shaking with rage. "How did this family raise something as vicious as you? You had us all fooled!""Chloe!" Mom broke down and threw herself at her, clawing at her clothes. "Why would you do that to her? She was your sister! How could you be so cruel?"