Chapter 5

As soon as the captain finished speaking, Dad’s face fell.

"What do you mean, a body?"

"Our girl is perfectly fine. Don't curse her first thing in the morning."

Mom also instinctively pulled Chloe behind her.

"Mya was saved by an Airbnb host last night."

"We’re on our way to pick her up right now."

The captain looked at the ID photo on his phone, then at the sleeve peeking out from under the white sheet.

"The clothes on the deceased match what the missing person was wearing when she fell."

"Please, just come and confirm."

But Dad waved his hand impatiently.

"Plenty of people wear the same clothes."

"Mya loves using these cheap tricks to scare us. If we go look, she’ll think she won."

Chloe, with red eyes, gently tugged Mom's sleeve.

"She must have seen the Airbnb video and is hiding on purpose."

"She's just mad we saved Waffles and me first."

"When we find her, I’ll apologize to her, okay?"

She sounded so sensible and wronged.

Mom lovingly smoothed her hair.

"It wasn't your fault to begin with."

"She was the one who agreed to let you get on the boat first."

"Using a dead person just to force us to apologize... I can't believe she would go this far."

I floated behind them, wanting so badly to remind Mom.

*This time, I’m not hiding.*

*And I’m not waiting for your apology.*

*Under that white sheet, the person lying there quietly is me.*

But they didn't look back.

Dad pressured the driver to bypass the rescue vehicles and drove straight to the Airbnb.

On the way, Mom called my phone over a dozen times.

With each unanswered call, her anger grew.

"Mya, pick up."

"We already know where you are."

"If you come out now, we can still talk."

"If you keep this up, don't ever think about coming back home!"

Even after the last voicemail, there was still no reply.

Mom sneered, throwing her phone into her purse.

"When we see her, no one is allowed to comfort her first."

"She only acts this wild because she knows we’ll eventually give in."

Half an hour later, the car stopped at the Airbnb.

Dad pushed the door open and demanded the host hand me over.

The host looked completely bewildered.

"Mya? We don't have any guest named Mya here."

Chloe immediately pulled up the TikTok video.

"It's her."

"The woman wrapped in a blanket you rescued last night."

The host took a look and called upstairs.

Soon, a strange woman came down, holding her husband's hand.

She only had a similar build to me.

Her face, her voice, and her clothes had absolutely nothing to do with me.

"I sprained my ankle in the shallow water last night, and my husband helped me back," the woman explained, confused.

"Did you get the wrong person?"

The anger on Mom's face slowly froze.

Refusing to give up, she ran upstairs, shouting my name in every room.

"Mya!"

"Stop hiding! I know you’re in here!"

She knocked on every single door.

Still, I wasn't there.

Losing his patience, the host slammed the guest log on the table.

"Since last night, we’ve only checked in this one injured guest."

"If the person you’re looking for really fell into the ocean, you should go back and help the rescue team."

Chloe’s face turned pale for a second, but she quickly bit her lip.

"Mya probably heard we were coming and left early."

"She has money. She could have gone to another hotel."

Dad looked like he had finally grabbed a lifeline.

"Right."

"She changed hotels on purpose to make us worry."

"This island is only so big. Let's see how long she can hide."

Just as they were about to leave, hurried footsteps echoed outside.

The rescue captain had followed them here.

He was holding a clear plastic evidence bag.

Inside was a waterlogged phone, a smartwatch, and a soggy piece of paper that was falling apart from the seawater.

The writing on the paper had bled.

But Mom instantly recognized the crooked little flower drawn in the bottom right corner.

It was the mark the seven-year-old me had made on every single Wish Coupon.

"We found these items near the body," the captain said, his voice heavy.

"Even if you won't identify her, you must recognize her belongings."