Chapter 4
Chapter 4
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When my parents arrived at the hospital, the doctor seemed repulsed by them.
“Grace was incredibly strong. Even with such a severe illness, she never cried out in pain in front of us. When it was still early, I told her to start chemotherapy. But she said she couldn’t afford it and left without a word.”
“Chemotherapy? What chemotherapy? Don’t talk nonsense. My daughter is perfectly healthy!” My father rushed forward, ready to strike him.
The doctor stepped back several paces, his eyes full of disdain.
“I’ve never seen parents like you. Your child has been dead for so long, and you actually didn’t know?”
My parents went mad, grabbing the doctor’s clothes desperately.
“Where’s Grace? Where is she? You say she’s dead, but I don’t believe it! My daughter couldn’t just vanish like that. You must be lying to me. I’ll sue your hospital!”
Patients kept walking by, whispering among themselves.
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“Aren’t those Yolana’s parents? What are they doing here? Did something happen to Ms. Bowen?”
“Who’s Grace? Isn’t Yolana their only daughter?”
The doctor turned and walked away, while the nurse who had looked after me walked into a room as I followed.
“This is the room we had arranged for her. But she said she didn’t have the money for treatment, so she left.”
“Left? Grace.didn’t come home! She hasn’t been home in over a year. You’re lying to me. You’re all in on this together!”
The nurse showed them my medical records. “Look for yourself. The date shows she came in the same day Yolana had a cold.”
“Is this… really true? So where is my daughter now?”
When my mother heard this, she collapsed to the floor, sobbing uncontrollably. “How could this be? Today is Grace’s eighteenth birthday. We bought her a cake and planned to call her home for dinner. Grace, my dear Grace…”
11
My father tried to help my mother up, but she was crying too hard to breathe. “You’re telling me my daughter is dead, but I don’t believe it!”
“We always thought she was poor, but aren’t you the richest family in the country? How
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Chapter 4
could you not afford to get her treatment? We begged her to get treatment, but she kept saying she had no money. Parents like you… Sometimes it’s better if you never had children.”
My parents went crazy, using every bit of influence they had to search for me. My photo was posted everywhere on the streets.
But they were photos from when I was a little girl–my parents hadn’t taken any pictures of me since I grew up. In the photo, I was seven, holding a doll and smiling happily. My parents stood beside me.
The entire country was shocked. No one knew the Bowens had another daughter. The Bowens made a public announcement, saying they would do whatever it took to find their daughter.
Watching my parents lose their minds, I couldn’t help but smile bitterly. If they had shown even the slightest concern for me while I was alive, maybe I wouldn’t have died.
The nation was talking about the missing daughter of the richest family in the country.
In the end, it was a school janitor who provided the clue.
She said she often saw me living in the school’s storage room and thought I was an orphan. She’d watch me dig through the school’s trash cans looking for food, and she felt so sorry for me. That was why she remembered me so well.
My parents rushed to the school, kicking open the door to the storage room.
Though, they didn’t really need to kick it open; the door had already been broken. I had spent many sleepless nights in there, afraid someone would break in.
When they saw the inside, they were stunned.
The room was pitch–black, and nothing was visible. There wasn’t even a light. The teacher explained that it had been abandoned for years and the school used it as a trash dump.
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Chapter 5
