Part 3The Truth She Couldn't Unsay

After the detective left, Brenda tilted her head and studied my face. Seeing that I wasn't breaking down or yelling, a flash of deep disappointment crossed her eyes.

I couldn't hold it back anymore. "Why did you say those things to the officer?"

Brenda put her hands on her hips, lifting her chin with total arrogance.

"Because I am a good kid who tells the truth!"

"If you want to blame someone, blame yourself! You are the one who got mad and said I was kidnapped!"

That confirmed it. She purposely fed that story to the police just to punish me for the angry comment I made yesterday.

I tightened my fists and asked her one more question.

"If Mom really did steal you from human traffickers, but your real parents were terrible people and I kept you to protect you... would you still call the police and send me to prison?"

Brenda nodded without a single second of hesitation.

"Of course I would! Mom, I told you, I am a good kid who tells the truth!"

My heart plunged straight into an icy abyss.

Chris had come home from work quietly and had been standing in the hallway for a while. His face was terrifyingly dark.

Still, he suppressed his anger, walked over, and patted my shoulder to comfort me. "Maybe... maybe she will grow out of it when she gets older."

Seeing Chris upset made Brenda happy again. She completely ignored our pain.

I couldn't stop the thought from echoing in my head. If Chris and I spent half our lives pouring our blood, sweat, and tears into raising a vicious, ungrateful parasite, why shouldn't we cut our losses right now?

But we had raised her for so many years. I wanted to give her one absolute final chance.

I looked at the detective's business card sitting on the table and spoke deliberately.

"Brenda, you really were kidnapped. Inside the safe in our bedroom, there is a file containing all your original records. It has the names of your biological parents on it."

"If you keep using your 'truths' to intentionally break our hearts, your dad and I are going to pack your bags and send you back to your real family."

Hearing my tone, the smugness vanished from her young face, replaced by a genuine, age-appropriate fear.

She turned to Chris in a panic. "Dad, is she telling the truth?"

Chris swallowed his disgust and sighed. "Your mom is just messing with you."

The panic slowly faded from Brenda's face. She puffed out her cheeks and glared at me.

"So it was a lie! I wish I actually had different parents! I hate you, Mom!"

Chris's expression darkened even further.

But her entire focus was locked onto me.

I played along, forcing a deeply wounded, heartbroken expression onto my face. Only then did her lips part into a satisfied, cruel smile.

In that moment, everything became crystal clear.

Brenda truly believed she was our biological flesh and blood. Because she thought that bond was indissoluble, she felt completely emboldened to hurt me without any fear of consequences.

Any remaining warmth in my heart completely froze over.

Late that night, as I hovered on the edge of sleep, I heard the subtle click of the bedroom door handle turning.

A tiny shadow slipped into the room.

A minute later, the shadow sneaked back out.

From the hallway outside, a deliberately hushed, childlike voice whispered into a phone.

"Hello, is this the police? Honestly, my mom really is a kidnapper. All the proof is hiding inside her safe. You need to come arrest her right now!"