Chapter 8
Three days after Kellie’s disappearance, the elders of the Kimbere and Hacith families were overwhelmed with worry and rushed to the villa to demand answers.
Upon entering, they discovered that the bedroom had been transformed into a mourning space. Portraits were scattered everywhere, with red threads crisscrossing the room. The girl in the pictures beamed under the sun, yet the red threads draping each corner were chilling, resembling strands stained with blood.
Adam lay on the bed, clutching an urn tightly. Blood seeped from his wrist, trailing down to his fingertips before dripping into a basin filled with cotton threads. His face carried a mix of menace and tenderness as he softly spoke, “Sophia, why won’t you come to me?
“It’s all my fault. I always trusted you, but I couldn’t trust myself. I was too frightened to face the truth. What if… what if you really didn’t love me anymore? What if you turned down my proposal? Sophia, I could never be lenient with you. I feared… feared that I’d forgive you too easily, that your desperate tears would compel me to let you go.
“I foolishly used the guilt from mom and dad’s death–which was pinned on you–to bind you to me. I just wanted you close, even if it was because of guilt. I was small–minded and couldn’t stand seeing you with other men. Jealousy overtook me. I intentionally flirted with other women, hoping to make you envious, wishing you’d confront front of everyone.
me
e in
and claim me
- and that’s how we
“Sophia, my pride prevented me from seeking the truth,
ended up here. You hold resentment towards me, which is why you avoid visiting me in dreams. Please, show mercy. Let me see you!”
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Chapter 8
At the sight, Mary grasped her heart and fell to the floor, shaking. “Adam! What are you doing?”
Howard scowled, pulling him off the bed and striking his formerly proud son in the face. “Where’s Kellie? And where is Sophia?”
Henry and Olivia momentarily set aside everything else at these questions. “Yes, Adam. Where is Kellie? She’s always been attached to you. Why hasn’t she reached out to us? We’ve been extremely worried!”
Adam glanced at the worried elders, covered his face with his hands, and let out a soft laugh that turned into a sob. “Mom, Sophia doesn’t want me anymore. She’s gone.”
Mary looked at the urn on the bed and saw her son’s devastated face. The most unthinkable yet unavoidable truth struck her.
She began to breathe heavily, tears streaming down. “No, it’s impossible. Sophia was always strong. She would never do something so drastic!
“I warned you not to go through with this! How could a person handle such overwhelming guilt? Was it necessary to push her to this point? What did she ever do to deserve this?”
Olivia’s heart raced as she quickly cut in, “Adam, don’t be deceived by her. Someone like her wouldn’t just give up her life. She’s likely staging her own death for attention! Our main focus should be on finding Kellie. She’s never disappeared on us like this, and I’m extremely worried.”
Adam chuckled abruptly, glancing at Henry and Olivia, “Kellie, innocent? You truly don’t know your daughter.”
The secretary carefully compiled all the gathered evidence and emailed it to Henry at work.
It outlined Kellie’s past–from faking illnesses and blaming others as a
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Chapter 8
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child, to stealing Olivia’s jewelry and stirring up bullying at school, to her adult schemes of bribing private investigators, sleeping with married men, and embezzling money for luxury goods.
Olivia fell to the floor, shaking her head over and over. She couldn’t accept that the daughter she had cherished for more than 20 years could behave so cruelly, but deep inside, she knew the Hacith family didn’t err in their investigations.
Memories of her eldest daughter as a well–behaved child flooded her mind. Her first roll, her first “mommy,” sitting on the steps with her face in her hands, eagerly waiting for them to return home, using her small hands to sincerely massage her.
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