Chapter 3

Charles pointed at the suitcase Wanda was dragging toward the door.

"Wanda, where are you taking that suitcase? What's in there?" he asked.

Violet quickly looped her arm through his.

"Charles, it's just some rotten ham. It smells awful, so I asked Wanda to toss it out right away," she said.

"Why pack the ham in a suitcase?" Charles asked, looking puzzled.

"It's way too heavy, so it's just easier to roll it in a suitcase." Violet pouted, clinging to his arm and giving it a little shake. "Come on, Charles, don't sweat the small stuff."

Just then, Erica glanced around the room.

"Where's Summer? I haven't seen her at all," Erica asked.

Charles's face instantly darkened.

He said, "She ran away. Ever since she came back, all she's done is frame Violet, bully her, stick needles in Violet's bed, snatch her dresses, and even shove her down the stairs.

"Is this the kind of 'good kid' your orphanage produces?"

Erica shook her head, looking utterly shocked.

She said, "Summer was always the most mature kid at the orphanage. How could she suddenly change like this? Mr. Hughes, when did she run away? Did you even try to find her?

"Did you call the cops? She's just eleven. A girl that young out there by herself is way too dangerous!"

Charles let out a cold laugh. "Drop the act. She just ran back to your orphanage, didn't she? She was too embarrassed to come home, so you two teamed up to trick me?"

Erica was shaking with anger. "You... How could you, as her own brother, be so heartless? She's been waiting for you all these years, wishing every single day that her family would finally come and bring her home..."

Charles suddenly burst out in fury. "Do you have any idea how my parents died? They got into that car crash on their way to bring her back home. If it weren't for bringing her home, they'd still be alive!"

I hovered above, weightless. His words had ripped right through my soul.

So that was the reason. All this time, Charles hated me because of this.

Violet chimed in right on cue, "Don't be upset, Charles. This isn't on you. Some people are just born bad. No matter how you raise them, you can't change what's in their bones."

Erica locked eyes with him, her gaze unwavering.

She said, "Mr. Hughes, ask yourself. Do you really believe it was Summer who caused your parents' death?

"You came to the orphanage so many times, always promising to take her home, but every single time, you found a reason to delay.

"Deep down, weren't you just worried that bringing her back would make things harder for Violet, the sister who isn't even related to you by blood?"

Charles's face went ghostly pale.

Erica pressed him further, her tone unyielding. "Don't you think it's downright hypocritical to put all the blame on a kid?

"I'm calling the police to help find Summer. If your family won't have her, then I'll take her myself. There's no way I'm letting a child run away from home and just be ignored."

With that, Erica stormed out, her anger palpable.

Violet nestled against Charles, offering comfort.

She said, "Charles, don't pay any attention to what she said. You're the best brother in the world. If you treat me so well, I can only imagine how good you'd be to your own sister. It's just... Summer really lets everyone down."

Watching them so tight, like nothing could come between them, I suddenly felt that all the hurt, the resentment, and the longing inside me just vanished in that moment.

Now, all I was worried about was my corpse.

I didn't know what they'd do to it at the recycling center.

The next morning, the piercing doorbell broke the weekend silence.

Two police officers stood at the door, looking grim.

"Mr. Charles Hughes? We found a body at the city's west-side recycling center. We need you to come with us to the morgue to identify it," one of them said.

Violet was in shock, and her glass of milk hit the floor with a loud crash.

Charles froze in place, disbelief written all over his face. "What... body?"

The officer said, "It was found at the recycling center. According to the surveillance footage, the garbage truck picked it up from a dump near your house. The estimated time of death is about ten days ago.

"Don't worry, the other two families in the neighborhood will also be coming in to identify the body. Also, has anyone gone missing from your family?"

"Missing person..." Charles repeated under his breath, his gaze flickering with disbelief and uncertainty.

Violet quickly jumped in, "No, it's just Charles and me at home. Summer's staying with Erica right now."

Charles came back to his senses and quickly agreed, "No one's missing."

The two officers exchanged glances, frowning. "We need you to come with us and go through the identification process.

"The body was crushed at the recycling center, so we need to see if you recognize the victim and help us confirm who it was."