Chapter 3

Leo slammed his fist into the floorboards. "Why?!"

"Why did she run away again?! What did we do to make her keep running?!"

"Stop crying and call the police!" Arthur grabbed him by the shoulder, hauling him up.

The local precinct officers knew our family well. The moment they heard I had vanished right after being brought home, they immediately began pulling traffic camera footage.

Meanwhile, Leo called the local volunteer search team. Captain Davis, who led the group, was also a familiar face.

I had only been found twenty-four hours ago, and now I was missing again. Everyone was scrambling. Leo was practically shaking with guilt and frustration.

"Why is she doing this to us?!"

Arthur pulled him back. "Stop blaming her! She's sick! She doesn't know what she's doing. Let's just find her!"

Leo grabbed his phone and frantically posted my photo and details all over Instagram, Facebook, and community message boards.

Messages instantly poured in from friends and relatives:

"What? She wandered off again?"

"Why can't that old woman just stay put?"

"Poor Leo... he can't even keep a relationship because of his mother."

Every text felt like a slap in the face to Leo.

Still, they had to keep looking. Leo spent hundreds of dollars printing fresh flyers, pasting them along every street corner. Neighbors and volunteers joined the search.

Leo searched until his throat was raw, screaming my name.

Arthur checked every place I used to frequent. Across from our complex was a small farmers' market where I loved to browse. Often, I would get confused there and forget the way back. Usually, that was where they found me.

But this time, I wasn't there.

Arthur showed my picture to vendor after vendor, receiving nothing but pitying shakes of the head.

By noon, having skipped every meal, Arthur's body gave out. He collapsed on the sidewalk.

A passerby rushed him to the hospital. When Leo got the call and ran into the emergency room, seeing his father hooked to monitors broke his last bit of strength.

He slumped against the wall and sobbed.

"Mom, why are you torturing us like this?!"

"Why couldn't you just let us live?! Why do you have to drag us down with you?!"

"I wish you were dead!"

Smack!

Arthur, struggling to sit up, slapped him hard across the face.

"How dare you say that!"

Arthur coughed violently, his eyes blazing. "Have you lost your damn mind, Leo?!"

"She is sick! You might think she's a burden, but I never will! If you can't take it anymore, pack your bags and move out! I'll take care of her alone!"

Leo broke down completely, burying his face in his hands. "Dad, I didn't mean it... I swear I didn't mean it! I don't want her gone..."

Arthur's expression softened into deep sorrow. He reached out and stroked Leo's hair. "I know, son. I know it's exhausting. But when we were young, your mother suffered so much for me.

During our poorest days, we barely had food for three days. She pawned the gold watch her own mother left her just to buy milk for you, and she never once complained."

"You were only a baby then. We had nothing, but she gave you everything."

"Now that she's sick, we can't turn our backs on her."

Leo nodded through his tears. Just then, his phone vibrated violently.

It was Officer Miller from the local station. Leo answered instantly.

"Leo, we found your mother."

A massive wave of relief washed over Leo's face. "Where is she? We'll come pick her up right now!"

There was a heavy, suffocating silence on the other end.

Finally, the officer's voice came through, quiet and strained. "She's at the county hospital morgue. We need you to come identify the body."

The world seemed to stop.

Leo's eyes widened in horror. "That's a lie! That's impossible!"

"Yesterday at four in the afternoon, there was a hit-and-run outside Maple Gardens. The victim died instantly. We matched the traffic cams to when she left your complex, and facial recognition confirmed a match. Leo... I'm so sorry. You need to come down here."

Leo froze. They were already at the county hospital.

Seeing the look on his son's face, Arthur grabbed his arm. "Did they find her? What did they say?!"

Leo turned around, his face drenched in silent tears.

Arthur panicked. "Speak to me, Leo! What happened?!"

"Dad... Mom was hit by a car."

Arthur stumbled off the bed, crashing to his knees. "Where is she?! What room are they treating her in?!"

"She's... she's in the morgue."