Chapter 4

Mom stared at him in disbelief. “Patrick, all this because Charlie spit out a cherry he’s allergic to? You won’t let it go? He’s your son!”

Dad waved a hand dismissively. “I don’t have a son like that. A kid who’d endanger someone’s life! When I find him, he’s getting the punishment of a lifetime!”

I shouted, “I didn’t do anything wrong!”

Even though I was young, I knew bad people hurt others, and I wasn’t a bad person!

But Dad couldn’t hear me.

Mom was so angry, she wanted to strike him. “What nonsense are you talking about? Charlie’s too young to hurt anyone!”

Dad, as if struck by a sudden thought, pointed at her. “That’s right! You must have put him up to it. A kid like Charlie couldn’t get acid on his own. It had to be you who told him to throw it at Caroline!”

Mom, furious, grabbed a decorative vase by the door. “Throw acid? When? Where? Do you have proof? If you dare accuse my son, I swear we’ll go down together!”

“Yesterday morning. Caroline was at Riverside Mall when a kid fitting Charlie’s description splashed acid on her. The security footage caught the whole thing!”

Dad pulled out his phone, opened a video, and tossed it to Mom.

I stood on tiptoe to look with her. The footage matched Dad’s claims.

But I had died days ago—how could it have been me?

Dad saw Mom’s silence as confirmation that she recognized me in the video.

He crossed his arms, speaking with a condescending tone. “It’s undeniable, right? Charlie is my son. I wouldn’t mistake him. Hand him over, and I’ll take him to apologize to Caroline. With my relationship with her, she’ll forgive him. That way, the Central Police Department can close the case quietly. If the police come, it’ll be a whole different story.”

“It’s not me! That’s not me, bad Dad! My shirt had a tear on the pocket, and Mom patched it with a pink pig sticker. The kid in the video doesn’t have that.”

I reached out to hit Dad, but my fist just passed through him, hitting nothing but air.

Mom, however, smiled coldly, eyes full of mockery. “Fine. Let’s wait for the police.”

Dad’s face darkened. “Helen, don’t push your luck.”