"I shouldn't have gone to the bathroom and left my daughter out there alone. This is all my fault."
The woman slapped herself across the face, leaving an angry red handprint on her cheek.
Everyone's hearts clenched at the sight.
Someone in the crowd spoke up, telling the woman to call the police right away—if a trafficker had taken her daughter, every second counted.
The woman choked back her sobs, wiped her tears with shaking hands, and pushed her way out of the crowd.
I watched her disappear into the night. That was when I noticed my little brother had been staring at her the whole time.
"Mom, Kate's been gone a really long time. What if she got lost?"
Mom blinked, caught off guard. Then her expression softened into something tender—but it wasn't for me.
"She's fine."
"Your sister's a big girl. How could she possibly get lost?"
"She's probably off somewhere throwing a tantrum."
Dad handed the toy in his hand to my brother.
"Your sister's too stubborn for her own good. Once she cools down, she'll come home."
They were completely certain I was just being difficult. Not that I was missing. Not that something had happened.
Just then, sirens wailed in the distance.
Word spread fast—the police had pulled the security footage and found that the frantic woman's daughter had been led away by an unfamiliar man.
Officers sealed off the area. Panic rippled through the crowd.
The show stopped. People began filing toward the exits.
The police started questioning everyone, one by one.
When Mom heard what had happened, she scooped up my brother and hurried toward the exit.
They barely made it to the gate before an officer stopped them.
After a round of questioning, they finally got into the car. Dad was quiet for a moment, then spoke.
"Let's go home first and check if Kate's back."
"With everything going on out here, I just hope nothing's happened to her."
His words put an immediate sour look on Grandma's face.
"You're always so dramatic. She's not a little kid anymore—what could possibly happen to her?"
"There are security guards in the neighborhood. You think some kidnapper is going to waltz into a gated community?"
Grandma launched into a tirade, rattling off all her grievances about me.
But Grandma—Mom and Dad didn't know where I was. You should have known.
You were the one who said you'd let me out of the freezer when you got back from your card game.
But you forgot about me. And then you lied to Mom and Dad, told them I'd run away from home.
A flicker of impatience crossed Dad's face.
"Mom, no matter what Kate's done, she's still my daughter."
"I know she can be stubborn, and I know you don't like her, but she does more than her share of chores around this house."
"Besides, it's been over eight hours since I got home. If she's not there when we get back, I'm calling the police."
Seeing that Dad was serious, Mom let out a cold scoff.
"Go ahead. Keep spoiling her."
"She turned out this way because of you."
I watched Mom clutch my brother tighter, seething in silence.
I didn't understand her. Dad didn't like me any more than she did.
Today, all he'd done was worry that something might have happened to me—said two sentences on my behalf—and she acted like he'd betrayed her.
When they got home, the doorway was empty. They assumed I'd already come back.
Dad went straight to my room. He looked at the tangled sheets on my bed and frowned.
"She's not in here. Did either of you find her?"
Mom had collapsed onto the couch. Grandma emerged from the side bedroom. Both shook their heads.
Then came a knock at the door.
Mom shot to her feet, grabbed the broom from beside the entrance, and raised it like she was ready to swing.
"You little brat, I swear you—"
"What on earth are you all doing this late at night?"
Stella Chavez, our neighbor from next door, cut Mom off mid-sentence.
Mom forced an awkward smile, but before she could get a word out, Stella's gaze dropped to the broom in her hand.
"What are you doing with that broom?"
Mom sighed. "That girl's been gone all day. I thought she'd finally come home, so I was going to teach her a lesson."
