Too Late To Remember のすべてのチャプター: チャプター 1 - チャプター 8

With a click, the living room lights went out.I hurriedly floated inside and saw Mommy in the bedroom's warm yellow light.She had a sheet mask on and was feeding Timmy with a bottle.I moved closer and tried to gently tug at her sleeve. "Mommy, I was wrong. I'll never get carsick again."But my hand passed right through her sleeve and grabbed nothing.After making sure Timmy had finished his milk and fallen asleep, Mom got up. She went to the window to pull back the curtain, and then she looked out into the yard.When she saw that the car was quiet and still, Mom muttered under her breath, "That brat Zoe is such a handful. I need to discipline her later."With that, she lay back down beside Timmy and turned off the small lamp in the bedroom.The whole house fell dark.I wanted to curl up in Mom's arms and fall asleep, just like I had before Timmy was born.But when I saw the stains on my clothes, I was afraid of upsetting her again.So I curled up on the rug beside the bed

Daddy opened the gate to the yard.Grandma stood outside with mud on her pant legs, messy hair, and sweat covering her face.After her phone call with Mommy, she couldn't stop worrying. She had spent six hours traveling from the countryside to get here."Where's Zoe?" Grandma was breathing hard.As soon as she entered, she searched the house. "Where's my Zoe?"Mommy held Timmy, looking annoyed. "Mom, stop pretending. Didn't you take Zoe home with you? Why are you here?""When did I ever take her?" Grandma grew frantic. "When I called to ask about Zoe, you told me she wasn't home. I got so worried that I came straight here.""Yeah, right!" Mommy curled her lip. "Who else could it have been? You just keep spoiling her. That little brat went out of her way to make me angry. She even put modeling clay in Timmy's formula. What if he had swallowed some? She's just a rotten child who wants to kill my son. I'll never let her get away with it!"Grandma's face went pale. "What did you

The police car sirens drew the attention of the whole street.Neighbors gathered in crowds, packed around the yard's gate as they tried to see what was happening inside."What happened? Did someone die?""I heard the Yarnell family's daughter died. She suffocated in the car.""Oh, what a tragedy. I've seen that girl before. She was so sweet and always greeted people.""She was so young, too. Ever since Mr. and Mrs. Yarnell had another child, I felt like they treated their daughter like she was nothing. They even sent her to live in the countryside.""Hush. Keep your voice down. They're grieving.""Grieving? Where was that concern before?"The crowd buzzed with gossip.Just as the police led Mommy and Daddy out through the gate of the yard, a young man pushed his way to the front of the crowd with his phone held up.His screen was lit up. He was livestreaming.The title read, "Heartless Parents Left Their Daughter to Die in a Hot Car. Live Footage."The chat was scrolling by

Time flew by, and soon it was the day of the trial.All this time, I still couldn't leave. It was as if something were holding me here.Maybe today was the day I could finally leave.In court, Mommy and Daddy had grown so thin they were almost unrecognizable. Most of their hair had turned gray, and they looked at least ten years older.They didn't hire lawyers to put up much of a defense.As the judge read out the cold, cruel details of the case, sobs and muffled curses rose from the gallery."Defendants Jim Yarnell and Lena Whitmore, through negligence and loss of emotional control, left their daughter, Zoe Yarnell, locked inside a closed vehicle for nearly 24 hours. This caused Zoe to die from severe heatstroke and suffocation. Defendants, do you dispute the facts of the charges brought against you?"Mommy slowly raised her head. Her eyes were terrifyingly empty of emotion. "No. I plead guilty."Daddy shook his head through his tears.The final verdict was announced. Because