Chapter 3

"I'm not making this up. My brother was born deaf and mute, so I learned some sign language growing up. She really did sign 'I didn't,'" the girl said.

Kamryn pushed up his glasses, his tone skeptical.

"Are you sure? This isn't something you can joke about," he said.

The girl looked up, her eyes steady and determined.

"Sign language gestures are fixed. I know what I saw. And everyone knows Yasmin has never said a single word at school," she said.

The office fell silent. My parents' expressions shifted.

My mom looked at me, her lips parted as if she wanted to say something, a hint of guilt flashed in her eyes.

But right then, Holly let out a few choked sobs.

She wiped her tears as she quietly spoke, "Yasmin, even if you don't have the courage to admit it, you can't just get someone to help you play along and act mute."

Her sobs were like a sharp knife, instantly slicing through the faint guilt my mom felt.

My dad's face darkened in a flash. He spun around to glare at me, his eyes blazing with fury, like he could set me on fire with just a look.

"Yasmin, you've really outdone yourself! Making up lies just to dodge punishment? And dragging someone in to help you fake it? Your scheming knows no bounds!" he shouted.

My hands shook as I pulled the neatly folded disability certificate from my school uniform pocket, hoping to show it to them.

But just as I reached for the paper, my dad snatched it away.

Without even looking at it, he ripped the thin sheet to shreds with both hands.

I stared at him, stunned, and finally couldn't hold back my tears any longer. They spilled down my face.

"Go on, keep faking!" my dad barked.

His voice was dripping with undisguised disgust.

"Looks like you need to be taught a lesson. Since you love playing pretend so much, I'll get someone to send you off to juvie. Let's see how you handle the real tough kids in there! Let's see if you still want to play mute then!" he shouted.

My mom's expression twisted suddenly. She wrapped her arms around Holly, her gaze dripping with disdain.

"Yasmin, we really got you wrong. I never thought you'd resort to such dirty tricks just to dodge responsibility. You've really disappointed us!" she said.

Holly nestled into my mom's embrace, a barely-there smirk flickering at the corner of her mouth, even as she kept up the act, tears streaming down her face.

"Dad, Mom, please don't be so harsh on Yasmin. Maybe she just got confused for a moment. She didn't mean any harm..." Holly said.

"A moment of confusion?" Dad let out a cold, mocking laugh.

"She'll never change. It's just in her nature! Someone this messed up inside will only bring disaster to the Cannon family if we let her stay! I'm calling Jensen Cooke from the reform school right now. He can come and drag her out of here!" he snapped.

Kamryn stood off to the side, his expression conflicted and uncertain.

He glanced at me, then at my parents, finally sighing as he gestured for the girl at the door to leave.

"You can head back now. We'll take care of things here," he said.

The girl opened her mouth, as if she had more to say, but Kamryn's look stopped her.

She gave me a long, sympathetic look, her eyes filled with sympathy and resignation, then turned and left the office.

I stood there, staring at the scraps of paper scattered across the floor, and a bitter laugh slipped out.

So all the effort I poured into proving my innocence was nothing but a ridiculous performance in their eyes.

Turned out, I never had any meaning in this family at all.

I knelt down slowly, gathering up the torn pieces of paper one at a time.

The sharp edges sliced my fingertips open, but I didn't even register the pain.

Compared to the ache inside, this was nothing.

When the reform school van pulled up downstairs, the atmosphere in the whole office turned to ice.

Two men in uniforms pushed the door open, their faces showing the kind of detached look one would get from dealing with troubled teens for years.

My dad immediately stepped forward, his tone friendly, like he was talking to an old acquaintance.

"Jensen, thanks for coming out. This girl's got a bad attitude. She'll only cause trouble if she stays. She's all yours now. Make sure you straighten her out," he said.

Jensen gave me a cold, hard smile, the corners of his mouth twisting with a ruthless smirk.

"Rest easy, Mr. Cannon. No matter how stubborn they are, once they're at our facility, they'll fall right in line," he said.

Holly nestled into my mom's arms, her eyes shining with barely concealed triumph.

She gently tugged at my mom's sleeve, her voice gentle as a whisper, but every word stabbed right into my heart.

"Dad, Mom, please don't be too harsh on Yasmin. Maybe she just got confused for a moment. She might come to her senses once she's at the reform school," Holly said.

My dad let out a cold, mocking laugh. "Some people just can't change who they are! Someone like her needs to be taught a real lesson!"

Jensen stepped right up to me, looming over with a harsh, oppressive glare.

"So it's you? Pretending to be mute just to bully others?" he spat.

I stayed silent, gripping the edge of my shirt tightly, my fingers numb with cold.