Part 2The Truth She Couldn't Unsay

Back when she was in preschool, she constantly praised other mothers in front of me, talking about how gorgeous they were.

I asked her, "Do you think Mom isn't pretty?"

Brenda stared dead into my eyes and said, "Mom, you are not pretty at all!"

"You are the ugliest mom at the whole preschool!"

I was stunned. Seeing her eyes curved into happy little slits, clearly enjoying the moment, I couldn't help but speak up.

"When you say things like that, it really hurts Mom's feelings."

To my surprise, she crossed her arms and put on a self-righteous face.

"But my teacher said good kids always tell the truth!"

I was left completely speechless. A strange, uneasy feeling took root in my chest.

Logically speaking, young children usually have a natural, loving bias toward the people who raise them, especially regarding their looks.

But Brenda was different.

Later, when she started elementary school, I spent a hundred dollars buying her a shiny, branded Frozen backpack she had been begging for.

When my mother-in-law found out how much it cost, she marched over, pointed her finger right at my nose, and screamed at me for wasting Chris's hard-earned money.

Brenda completely ignored the vicious scolding I was receiving. She treated the yelling as background music while she spun around the living room, dancing with her new bag.

Later, I couldn't help but ask her, "When you heard Grandma yelling at me, did you have any thoughts about it?"

Brenda rolled her eyes around for a second before locking them tightly onto mine.

"Yeah! I thought it was super fun!"

Seeing the genuine, radiant smile on her face, my expression completely froze.

She stared at me for a long time, drinking in my reaction, before adding her favorite line.

"Don't be mad, Mom. I am just telling the truth."

Just last month, Brenda caught a terrible flu. I didn't sleep for weeks, staying by her bedside day and night to nurse her back to health.

When my husband, Chris, saw that I had lost ten pounds from the stress, his heart broke. He asked Brenda, "Mom is working so hard to raise you. Are you going to take care of her when she gets old?"

Brenda glanced at me, pouted her lips, and said, "No way! When Mom gets old, she needs to hurry up and go into the ground!"

Chris stiffened in shock. Every ounce of color drained from my face.

Yet, seeing our devastated reactions, Brenda actually started clapping and cheering, thrilled by the misery she had caused.

I remained completely silent for the rest of the day. Brenda even had the nerve to ask me, "Mom, are you upset again just because I told the truth?"

That night, I didn't close my eyes for a single second.

Chris tossed and turned beside me. Breaking the heavy silence, he suddenly whispered, "Whenever she says those things... she has to just be joking, right?"

Even his voice trembled with uncertainty.

Every single time her words tore me to pieces, a brief flash of malicious joy would appear in her eyes.

Then she would deploy her favorite excuse, using "telling the truth" to silence any complaints I had.

Remembering all of this, my emotions were reaching a boiling point.

I rushed to the door, eager to see the detective out and be done with this nightmare.

"Mr. Detective!"

Brenda yelled out just as he stepped over the threshold.

"If I find out my mom really is a kidnapper, can I call you to arrest her?"

The detective gave Brenda a highly complicated look, then glanced back at me.

Ultimately, he slipped a business card into Brenda's hand before walking away.