Chapter 1The kidnapper's knife went in. I couldn't scream—the kidnapper had already cut out my tongue.
Blood pooled. My phone rang.
The kidnapper answered it. "Well, well. Daddy's calling."
"Riley! Drop everything and get to Chloe's match right now! Your sister needs us!"
Your sister. Never me.
The kidnapper stared at the phone, then at me. "Wait... they don't even notice you're gone?"
The kidnapper laughed. "I grabbed the wrong kid. Wanted the one they'd actually care about."
Hours later. Crime scene.
Mom knelt by my body. "Female victim. Twenties. Tongue removed."
Dad nodded. "We'll catch this guy."
They worked for an hour. Never looked at my face.
"Come on." Mom checked her watch. "Chloe's finals started."
They left.
Their real daughter lay dead.
And they went to cheer for the one they loved.
--
Construction workers found me in some old building. One guy threw up. Another called the cops.
Mom and Dad showed up an hour later. Still wearing their tennis outfits from Chloe's big win.
A forensics guy handed them masks. "You'll need these."
My father, Detective Lucas Kane, was supposed to be Seattle's best. My mother, Dr. Sara Reid, ran the crime lab. They'd seen hundreds of dead bodies.
But when they walked in, they froze.
It was summer. Hot. My body was swollen. Face destroyed. Bruises covering everything. My head barely hanging on.
The smell was horrible.
Mom closed her eyes. Breathed in deep. Put on gloves.
She started checking the body. Cold. Professional.
Then she saw the ring.
I'd made four of them. One for everyone in the family. Took me weeks.
But when I gave Chloe hers, it didn't fit. And they lost it.
"You did this on purpose, right? Trying to make her look bad?"
"Riley, yeah, you're blood. But Chloe's been our daughter for 18 years. She matters more."
I thought... maybe the ring would make them realize. Make them see it was me.
Mom looked at it for maybe three seconds.
"Put it in a bag," she told her assistant.
That was it.
My brother Charles told me once they only got Chloe because they'd stopped looking for me after I got kidnapped as a kid. Said deep down, I was still their favorite.
But when I came home five years ago? They already had their perfect daughter.
I was just in the way.
Mom zipped up the body bag.
"Let's finish up," she said. "Chloe's award thing is tonight."
They walked out.
Their actual daughter. Dead.
And they had somewhere better to be.
Chapter 2
Dad turned to Mom, rubbing his temples. "So what've we got?"
Mom stripped off her gloves, looking exhausted. "Girl's about twenty. Throat slashed. And from the looks of it, she suffered. A lot."
Dad lit a cigarette and took a long drag. "Christ. This is gonna blow up in our faces if we don't close it fast. Media's gonna have a field day."
Even dead, I was still an inconvenience.
Gillian, their forensics buddy, cut in. "Hey, the guy's still out there. You two should tell your daughters to watch themselves. No going out alone after dark, okay?"
Mom's jaw tightened. "Chloe knows better. But Riley? Good luck getting that girl to listen to anything."
Gillian gave an awkward smile. Dad winced and grabbed his right shoulder.
"That shoulder still bothering you?" Gillian asked.
"It's whatever. I've got that patch Riley bought me on it..." He trailed off. Froze.
The "problem child" had been looking out for him.
Gillian gave his shoulder a squeeze. "Cut Riley some slack, would you? She's your actual kid."
Dad's face went dark. "Two days back, we told her to get to Chloe's match. She calls me. I pick up. Then she just... says nothing. Chloe was crushed her sister bailed. Only took third because of it."
Mom sighed. "Riley hasn't been home in days. Who the hell knows where she is anymore. You just can't connect with a kid you didn't raise from the start, you know?"
Hearing them talk like that felt like drowning in ice water.
Mom. Dad. It's not that I didn't want to come home.
I couldn't.
Your "problem daughter" died the day you chose Chloe's game over me.
I'm lying right here in front of you.
At the briefing, Mom laid out her findings. Every cop looked sick.
My face was too destroyed to ID. And the building wasn't even the murder scene—just a dump site.
Dad started barking orders, sending units to canvas the area.
"Dr. Reid, run another autopsy. Dig deeper. And get that DNA rushed to the lab yesterday." He grabbed his jacket and bolted with his team.
They cared more about this random corpse than they ever cared about me alive.
I remembered this one time—Mom was playing with Chloe's hair, going on about how forensic work "gives the dead a voice." Chloe nodded all sweet. But the second Mom turned away? Chloe made this disgusted face and brushed her hair out like Mom had contaminated her.
I smacked Chloe for it. Dad shaved my head bald as punishment.
Now Mom's gloved hand moved slowly across my back. Almost gentle.
The burn scars were everywhere. Souvenirs from when I got kidnapped as a kid.
When I first came home, I was changing shirts once. Mom saw them. Her face twisted up. "What the hell happened to your back? That's nasty. Keep that covered around Chloe. Don't want to freak her out."
Would she recognize these scars now?
Would she finally see me?
Chapter 3
I felt frozen, like ice was filling up my chest. Sweat dripped down my destroyed face.
Mom barely glanced at my scars.
"Old burns," she said, flat and detached.
Her assistant jumped. "Dr. Reid! There's paper in her stomach!"
Mom's eyes went wide as she pulled it out carefully.
"Acid destroyed most of it. Send it to the lab."
Then a phone rang. Chloe's favorite song.
Mom ripped off her gloves and walked into the hall. Her voice changed instantly.
"Hey sweetie, what's wrong? I'm still working."
Chloe's voice came through all sweet.
"Tomorrow? Baby, we'll definitely be there. Charles is away for work, but me and Dad will be front row."
"Love you so much, Mom! I just wish Riley could come too. She's like my good luck charm."
My chest hurt. Or would have, if I could still feel anything.
"But it's okay if she doesn't want to. She probably hates me. I've had you guys this whole time. That must hurt her feelings."
Chloe's hated me since day one. Always setting traps. But around them? Perfect angel.
I knew what was coming.
Mom's voice went hard.
"You're our baby. Riley's nobody. She steals from us and treats you like trash. She's not my daughter."
"I'll break her legs myself and wheel her to your game if I have to."
Chloe giggled.
"Dad told me to be safe earlier. Maybe remind Riley too when you get a chance?"
"Just focus on yourself. Forget Riley. I'll be happy if she doesn't die on our doorstep. Whatever gutter she's in, she can stay there."
When Mom said my name, her voice went ice cold.
Maybe that's what happens when you grow up away from home. You're just an embarrassment.
They wouldn't even let me use their last name.
To them, Chloe was their only real daughter.
They worried about Chloe's safety.
Their actual daughter was rotting on a table twenty feet away.
I wondered how they'd react if they knew the truth.
Especially since Chloe's why I'm dead.
Mom's voice softened again.
"Get some rest, honey."
She called another number.
"Charles, when are you back? Chloe needs you at her tournament!"
I remembered the day they brought me home. Mom and Dad were wrapped around Chloe while she cried.
Charles was the only one who took my hand.
"You're safe now," he whispered.
He was the only one who ever cared.
Silence hung on the line.
"Wait, Riley's math competition? That's not till next month..."
Mom cut him off.
"Riley? Chloe is your real sister. How many times do I have to say it? Riley grew up somewhere else. She's got bad blood. She doesn't belong in this family."
Every word felt like a punch.
