เรื่องสั้นและนิยายในฉากMind-Bending Family Emotions

I give my grandmother a gift she'll never forget on her 60th birthday. My husband and I get into a fight on the highway back to my hometown. He pulls over in the emergency lane and chases me out of the car. He then drives off, leaving me stranded on the highway. He later gets into a major accident on the highway. His car is totaled, and he dies. It's actually not an accident—it's homicide. I'm the murderer.

My daughter was violated and killed, yet her death was ruled a suicide. After seven failed appeals, I kidnapped the chief prosecutor’s daughter. I tied the chief prosecutor’s daughter to an autopsy table and publicly addressed the prosecutor’s office in a live stream. “I performed the autopsy myself. My daughter didn’t kill herself. She was murdered. “I’ll give you seven chances. Release the actual evidence and name the murderer publicly. Each time a chance runs out, I’ll remove one of her body parts.” The chief prosecutor and his wife knelt on the floor. They begged me desperately to spare their daughter. “The evidence proves your daughter took her own life. Stop this madness now and let my daughter go. She’s innocent.” Viewers in the live stream called me insane. They said I had lost my mind with grief and was taking it out on an innocent person. I ignored their contempt. With a sneer, I picked up a scalpel and pressed it against the judge’s daughter’s abdomen. “The clock is ticking. Hurry up and reveal the true murderer now.” I knew perfectly well the real murderer was watching the stream at that very moment.

Over Memorial Day weekend, my parents took my younger brother Max Blair on a hiking trip. I wasn't in the mood to go, so I stayed home and spent the day on the couch. By the time night fell, I still hadn't heard from them. None of them answered their phones, and a growing sense of dread settled over me. Around midnight, an emergency alert from a local news station flashed across my screen. [A landslide struck the Mount Highmoor area earlier this evening. Search and rescue crews have confirmed that three hikers were killed. Authorities are still working to verify their identities.] The victims shown in the report were my parents and Max. I was still trying to process the news when someone suddenly knocked on the front door. "Adam, open the door! We're back from our hike!"

Before our wedding, my girlfriend asks me, "If your mom and I both fell into a river and you could only save one of us, who would you choose?" In my first life, I choose my mom. My girlfriend drowns, taking our unborn child with her. She is only three months pregnant. In my second life, I choose my girlfriend. My mom drowns on her way to bring me chicken soup. In my third life, I refuse to answer. They both die. I open my eyes, and I'm reborn once again. My girlfriend folds her arms and asks me, "If your mom and I both fell into a river and you could only save one of us, who would you choose?"

I finally get a ticket to return home a few days before New Year's. But when the door opens, an unfamiliar man appears in front of me and asks, "Who are you?" I frown. "This is my house. I'm back for the holidays." His expression is cold. "You're in the wrong house. This is my place." I look at the apartment number. It is Building 3, Unit 901. I'm in the right place. I want to head inside, but he blocks my way. "Hey, don't go crazy right now." I notice the cardboard box by the door and point at it. "You're the crazy one. That's the gift I sent." The man grabs me and makes me look closer. "Take a good look!" The tracking number matches the one on my phone, but the sender's name says Steven Lowe, not mine. "Steven, who's at the door?" My mom, Dahlia Jones, steps out of the kitchen. I call out to her excitedly. "Mom, I'm home!" But the next moment, what she says made my blood run cold. "Who are you? Don't call me that. I'm not your mom."

When Dad learned I placed second on a practice college entrance exam, he shouted at me. "Second again? Can't you beat whoever came first?" "How did I end up with such a useless son?" I promised I'd take down the top student on the next exam. That night, I dreamed about the girl who came first. In the dream, I pushed her from the twenty-third floor. The sound of her hitting the ground made my stomach turn. I woke from the nightmare to a flood of messages in the class group chat. The first message made my blood run cold. [Zara Henson jumped from the twenty-third floor. She died on the spot.] [Zara's mother insists it wasn't suicide. She says someone pushed her.] [Can you hear the police sirens?]