Chapter 4
Miami’s wealthiest family, the Thompsons, were vacationing for a week with their son, and not once did my father call to check on me.
On their final day away, had finally remembered my existence, but my phone was already unreachable. By then, I’d arrived at the research facility in Las Vegas and begun the isolation project.
Dad stared at his phone, confused. “Why isn’t Emma answering? ||
“She’s probably working one of her three jobs,” Mom replied. “She mentioned picking up extra shifts, remember? She must be basy.“[]
Dad frowned slightly. “Are we being too hard on her? When I think about Jason, then look at Emma–they’re the same age, hut her life is so much harder.
“But Emma’s independent. She can support herself at this age without as worrying about her. You should
ll be proud” Mom o
tom countered
Dad nodded, convincing himself she was right.]
Still, when they returned home, something felt of
“Why hasn’t Emma cleaned the house? Mom asked.||
cur house near the train tracks needed daily cleaning to combat the constant dust
The tables and floor were visibly coated in a layer of grime
“It’s fine,” Dad said. “Maybe she was tired. When she gets home, we’ll tell her shout the bonus we received so she doesn’t have to work so hard.“]
“You’re getting soft on her,” Mom gave him a suspicious look.
“Of course I care–she’s my daughter too. Anyway, let’s clean up. We only tested her about leaving this time. She probably didn’t believe us, busy on Christmas is pretty ridiculous.“]
Mom shrugged dismissively.
But when she walked into my room and saw the photo on my nightstand, she froze.
“Robert! Come here now! Something’s wrong“]
Dad rushed in. One look at Jason’s photo and he understood immediately.
“When did she go to the mansion?”
“I don’t know. Call her again, quickly.“.
With my phone still unreachable, they had no choice but to call jason
since being
When he answered, he admitted everything. “She showed up a week ago. I told her you guys put effort into raising her. Why? Is she complaining to you?“]
Dad exploded. “Who told you to talk to her? She’s gone–we can’t reach bet“]
A werk. He should have realized something was wrong sooner. Before, whenever they left, rd always check in, asking when they’d be hack, if they’d
Paten
Not a single message this time. That should have been the red flag
On the other end. Jason sounded completely concerned. “It her disappearance a good thing? You raised her poor because she was my ‘evil twin.” right? With her around, I couldn’t have my best life.”
“Remember what Dr. Simpson said? You couldn’t bear to get rid of her, but now she’s gone on her own. I’m your only child now–isn’t this perfect for
프리
everyone?
Dad was furious but speechless. Mom dissolved into tears. “What do we do? Emma must have discovered everything. We lied to her for so long–she must hate us!”
Truth is, I didn’t hate them. I simply had no time to think about it []
I was in the lab analyzing data, running experiment after experiment with disappointing results]
Surrounded by test tubes and equipment day and night, I was completely unreachable
No wonder Mom couldn’t get through
