Part 3Blood Ties and Bitter Lies.

I shook my head and knelt down to her level.

"That blade is way too sharp, Everly. Let me ask the clerk if they have a safe version that looks just like it, okay?"

Everly’s eyes were so pure, so innocent. For a second, my heart softened.

With the help of a clerk, I bought a safety version of the cutter—unsharpened and child-friendly.

Everly held her new tool and gave me a sweet smile.

"Thank you, Mommy! You’re the best!"

Maybe, I thought, it was just because I denied her what she wanted in the last life? Now that I’ve satisfied her, we can be close.

She acted perfectly normal as we walked through the mall. I started to relax.

But the moment we reached a crowded plaza, she wrenched her hand away and shrieked.

"Help! She’s a kidnapper! She’s trying to take me!"

My heart turned to ice.

I had made excuses for her. I thought maybe my mother-in-law in the countryside had scared her with stories of kidnappers to keep her from wandering.

But I had given her exactly what she wanted, and she still did it.

The crowd gathered. People looked at me with suspicion.

"She’s a kidnapper! Help me!" Everly sat on the floor, sobbing hysterically.

People started believing her. "A kid that small doesn't lie. Who are you?"

"Don't let her leave! We called the police!"

A few men stepped forward to restrain me.

Suddenly, I saw a familiar figure in the crowd. My eyes lit up. I shouted:

"Mark! Mark, tell them! Explain it to them!"

Everyone’s eyes turned to Mark.

Earlier, I had texted him asking him to bring us some boba tea. Now, appearing at the scene, the crowd assumed he was my accomplice. They surrounded him.

Everly’s crying faltered. She looked confused, seeing her father being harassed.

Mark was more panicked than I was. It took forever for him to convince the crowd we were a family.

Regardless, the police arrived and took us all to the precinct for questioning.