Chapter 4

Before the accident, Chloe had climbed over the warning line of the viewing deck just to take a photo.

I went to pull her back. When a huge wave hit the rocks, she grabbed me tightly and dragged me down with her.

But after she got to safety, they saved her first, and then her dog.

Their "not one can be missing" never actually included me.

As my memories faded, my spirit drifted beside them.

The rescue team asked one family member to stay behind to help with the search.

But Dad said impatiently:

"Mya can swim. Nothing will happen to her."

Mom was convinced I was just throwing a tantrum because they saved Chloe first.

"Don't go looking for her," Mom said. "The more we coddle her, the more she’ll use these tantrums to get her way."

I touched my empty chest. My mouth opened, but no sound came out.

I guess once you're dead, you don't feel that heart-wrenching pain anymore.

That was a relief.

At 1:00 AM, Mom’s phone suddenly buzzed with an alert.

It was my smartwatch. After detecting a severe fall into water with no response, it had automatically sent an emergency location.

She glanced at it and swiped to delete.

"Her watch is still sending locations. She's obviously fine."

"Just ignore her."

But they didn't know.

That wasn't me calling for help.

It was the watch’s automated system sending out one final distress signal after a violent impact went unanswered.

The next morning, the rescue team came to the hotel, asking for a recent photo of me.

Mom scrolled through her phone for a long time.

There were thousands of photos of Chloe, but she couldn't find a single one of my face.

In the end, Mom had to give them my ID photo from three years ago.

The officer couldn't help but ask, "You’re her family. How do you not have a single recent photo of her?"

Mom's face stiffened.

"She has an awkward personality. She doesn't like taking photos with us."

Chloe chimed in softly, "She always thinks we favor me, so she purposely avoids the camera to make people think we exclude her."

Floating next to them, I wanted to laugh.

I was already dead.

And yet, even the reason why I wasn't in any photos had to be explained away by them.

The officers pulled up the surveillance footage from the viewing deck to clip a photo of me before I fell.

But the video clearly showed Chloe ignoring the warning signs and climbing over the railing.

When the wave hit, she was the one who grabbed my clothes and dragged me down.

Chloe's face went pale instantly.

"You can't post that!"

"If people see this, they’ll say I killed her!"

Mom immediately shielded Chloe in her arms.

"Just use the ID photo to find her! Why do you have to ruin my daughter's life?"

Dad's face darkened too.

"Mya is just temporarily missing. Chloe still has to go to school, get a job, and get married."

"If you release this video, how is she supposed to live her life?"

Just then, Waffles started coughing.

Chloe screamed and hugged the dog.

"Is there water in his lungs?"

Mom and Dad forgot all about the missing person poster. They grabbed the dog to rush to the vet.

The officer stopped them.

"The person in the water hasn't been found. At least one family member needs to stay to assist."

Dad pushed his hand away impatiently.

"Searching is your job. What use is it if we stay?"

"Mya can swim and she has her smartwatch. If she were in real danger, she would have contacted us by now."

At the vet, they found out Waffles had only swallowed a little water.

While Chloe watched the dog get examined, she scrolled through a video posted by a local Airbnb on TikTok.

[Rescued a girl who fell into the water last night. Glad she's safe.]

The video only showed the back of a woman wrapped in a blanket.

Mom instantly remembered the location ping she received last night. It was right near that Airbnb.

Chloe covered her mouth.

"I knew she made it ashore."

"She’s fine, but she's purposely refusing to contact us."

The worry on Dad's face instantly turned into rage.

"Just to make us feel guilty for saving Chloe first, she wasted all these rescue resources!"

Mom was shaking with anger.

"She’s loved playing the victim since she was a kid. Now she’s even lying to the rescue team!"

Chloe leaned into Mom's shoulder, playing the sweet sister.

"She probably just wanted your attention."

"When we find her, don't yell at her too hard. Just make her apologize to the rescue team."

They immediately drove toward the Airbnb.

On the way, they planned how they would punish me.

Dad wanted to make me pay for the entire rescue fee.

Mom wanted me to publicly clarify that I let go of the floating board myself, so it had nothing to do with Chloe.

They were certain I was hiding in a warm room, waiting for them to bow their heads and apologize.

But when they reached the rocky shore on the other side of the island, the road was blocked by emergency vehicles.

Several rescue workers were carrying a stretcher out from the rocks.

It was covered with a white sheet.

The rescue captain looked at the ID photo in his hand, then at Mom and Dad.

"Are you Mya’s family?"

"We just found the body of a young woman on the rocky shore on the other side of the island."

"We need you to come over and identify her."