All Chapters of My Daughter Vanished on Exam Day: Chapter 1 - Chapter 10

I watched the security officer’s lips move, but I couldn’t make sense of his words.What did he mean there was no student named Ivy Young taking the college entrance exam at this school?I had personally dropped my daughter off at those gates two and a half hours ago.I could still picture her smiling and waving at me before she disappeared through the entrance.I even had a screenshot of her registration details on my phone. Her name, date of birth, test date, and test center were all clearly listed.Under the officer’s suspicious stare, I patiently explained.“Sir, look. My daughter’s registration clearly says she’s taking the college entrance exam here. Why would I fake something like this?”His expression darkened further.“So you’re admitting this registration is fake? You came here to mess with me?”He tapped his phone awake and thrust it in front of me.“I checked every room roster,” he said. “There’s no Ivy Young registered at this test center.”I stared at the two p

“Ms. Leedon!”I shouted to a woman passing the security office.She was Ivy’s homeroom teacher. She had to know where Ivy had been assigned.“I’m Ivy Young’s father. She went into the school this morning, but she still hasn’t come out. The security officer says she isn’t even on the roster. Do you know what’s going on?”The words tumbled out of me, my voice almost pleading.Ms. Leedon seemed startled. She took a full step back.She studied my face for a long moment before speaking hesitantly.“Mr. Young, I haven’t worked at Jefferson High in almost two years. Didn’t you know?”She pointed to the proctor badge clipped to her chest.“I transferred to Westbridge Academy before Ivy started junior year. That’s why I was assigned here as an outside proctor today.”My eyes dropped to her badge.The realization hit me like a blow to the head.She was right.The proctors had been brought in from other schools to avoid conflicts of interest. A teacher currently teaching seniors at J

“The security footage is fake!”I pointed at the computer screen and shouted with absolute certainty.Officer Williams’s face darkened as he straightened.“Mr. Young, did you not understand me?“You have a serious psychiatric condition. Call your wife and have her come get you now, or I’ll have no choice but to send you in for an emergency psychiatric evaluation.”“I’m not sick!” I cut him off desperately. “Look right here!”He followed my finger to a spot on the screen.“What am I supposed to be looking at?”His voice abruptly died.His pupils contracted.Then he looked down at my feet, and his expression changed completely.In the footage, I was wearing dark gray sneakers.Right now, I had on black dress shoes.The difference wasn’t obvious at first glance, but once you looked closely, there was no mistaking it.The security officer noticed it too. A sheen of sweat instantly appeared on his forehead.“That’s impossible!”He rubbed his eyes, stumbling over his words.

Claire’s eyes flickered away for the briefest moment.That one tiny reaction erased every last doubt in my mind.The fog cleared instantly.I finally understood exactly what kind of trap I’d fallen into.“Honey, can we talk about this at home? You’re disrupting the college entrance exam!”She stumbled over her words as she grabbed my sleeve and tried to drag me toward the car.I gave a cold laugh and brushed her hand away.“Go home? You’ll take me straight to a psychiatric hospital!“You put that pill bottle in my pocket, didn’t you? And I’m guessing you’ve been putting something in the milk I drink every night before bed.”Before Claire married me, she’d worked as a pediatric nurse.We’d met when Ivy was hospitalized with a fever.That was why I wasn’t surprised she could produce hospital records so quickly. Instead, they made me think of the sedatives that had mysteriously appeared in my pocket and the dizziness and headaches I’d been having lately.Who else but Claire ha

Ivy had hesitated before getting out of the car that morning.She’d looked at me with a complicated expression, opened her mouth as if she wanted to say something, then handed me a flash drive instead.“Dad, there’s a secret I want to tell you after the college entrance exam. Can you hold on to this for me until then?”I laughed and ruffled her hair.“Of course. Now stop worrying about everything else and focus on your test.”Ever since she was little, Ivy had loved sharing her secrets with me.She’d tell me which classmate had a crush on whom, or who was always tattling to the teachers.She was observant and always noticed the smallest details. Then she’d share them with me like funny little stories.I’d assumed this time was no different.But after everything that had happened, I would’ve truly been insane if I still hadn’t remembered the flash drive she’d placed in my hand.Mr. Harris’s reaction only confirmed it.Every bizarre thing that had happened was connected to the