Chapter 1

When Dad went missing, my family panicked and wanted to call the police immediately.

I just lounged on the couch, watching TV, and said casually,

"Don't bother calling the cops. Dad is totally fine."

No matter how hard they pressed me, I dug my heels in and insisted nothing was wrong.

Three days passed, and Dad was still nowhere to be found.

The second Mom dialed 911, I snatched the phone from her hands and smashed it to pieces against the floor.

"If you dare call the police, Dad is a dead man!"

Dad was the kindest person in the world to me.

Even though he was the sole heir to the wealthy Sterling family, he never had an ounce of arrogance.

Over the years, he poured his entire heart and soul into raising Claire and me, spoiling us like princesses.

He treated Mom even better. For twenty years, he never let her lift a finger around the house or swallow a single drop of grievance.

Dad even brought Mom’s entire family over to the city, buying them houses nearby.

He did it all just so Mom could visit them easily and keep her family close.

A man as sweet as an angel—and three days ago, he vanished without a trace.

It started because Claire and I were craving cake. Without a second thought, Dad grabbed his car keys and headed for the door.

"Chloe loves chocolate, Claire is obsessed with strawberry, and my gorgeous wife gets vanilla."

"Hang tight, girls. Dad will be right back with your sweet treats."

I never imagined those would be the last words he would ever say to us.

Once he walked out that door, he never returned.

We waited until late into the night. Mom started getting a bad gut feeling that something had happened to him.

"I know that bakery is on the west side of town, but it shouldn't take this long, right?"

Sure enough, Mom called his phone twenty times in a row. Every single call went straight to voicemail.

Mom and Claire completely lost it, terrified, and wanted to call 911 right then and there.

I just lay on the sofa, stretching out, and said nonchalantly,

"No need to call the cops. Dad is doing just fine."

Claire shot me a bewildered look, staring at me with suspicion.

"How do you know he’s fine? His phone is completely dead!"

"Besides, it's the middle of the night. How could this possibly look like nothing's wrong?"

I rolled over, glued my eyes back to the TV screen, and shrugged.

"Dad is a grown man. What could happen to him? He probably bumped into a friend and lost track of time talking, and his phone died."

"Besides, it’s only been a few hours. The police won't even file a missing persons report yet."

"Worst case scenario, even if they do take the report, what if Dad walks through the door right after? Filing a false police report is a crime!"

"Just go to bed. By the time you wake up, Dad will be back with our cake."

Mom didn't entirely buy my story, but she couldn't think of anything better to do.

Swallowing the sick feeling in her stomach, she led Claire back to their bedrooms.

The next day, Dad still wasn't back.

His phone remained turned off, and nobody had heard a word from him.

Claire begged to go to the police again, but I threw back the exact same line:

"Dad is totally fine. Relax."

No matter how hard Mom and Claire pleaded, I refused to budge, swearing Dad was safe and sound.

Whenever they showed even the slightest intention of calling for help, I jumped up, screamed at them, and even threatened to hurt myself.

They couldn't fight me on it, so all they could do was sit anxiously at home, waiting for him to come back.

Three whole days crawled by without a single whisper of news.

Eventually, executives from the Sterling Group came knocking.

"Where on earth has Mr. Sterling been? We have piles of crucial contracts waiting for his sign-off. If he doesn't show up soon, the financial losses to the company will be catastrophic."

That was the moment Mom finally understood how dire the situation was. Dad had definitely met with foul play.

Ignoring my protests, she grabbed a phone and called 911.

"Hello? Please help, I need to report a missing person! My husband has disappeared!"

I lunged off the couch, tore the phone from her grip, and smashed it into jagged plastic and glass.

"It's all your fault! I told you Dad was fine!"

"If you dare call the police, Dad is a dead man!"