After I Die, My Mom Goes Crazy

Chapter 9

It was Christmas, and Dad called Mom. "Hey, let Kate come back for Christmas. My parents miss her."

Mom was stunned. "Didn't Kate go to find you?"

Mom finally realized something happened to me.

I followed her to the police station, where she trembled as she filled out the forms handed to her by the officer.

Her handwriting was shaky. She seemed scared.

What was she afraid of?

The officer asked Mom for a recent photo of me. Mom flipped through her phone's gallery, finding only pictures of Lucas and his school documents.

The officer stood beside her, frowning as he watched. "How long has she been missing?"

Mom stopped what she was doing and began to think.

How long had it been?

How long had it been since she last saw me?

The more she thought, the more frightened she became. Her legs gave way, and she fell to the ground.

The officer rushed over to help her to her feet.

Mom's voice trembled as she said, "It's been a long time. The last time she called me was on November 12th of last year."

The officer glanced at the information. "Weren't you with her on her birthday?"

Mom stared blankly at the ground.

Yes, November 12th was my birthday.

How could she forget it?

Mom started to cry, and I reached out to wipe her tears, but I couldn't touch her.

The officer handed her a few tissues.

"What's the exact address of the school you mentioned?"

Address?

Mom began searching her phone again and finally found my enrollment photo and contract at the very front of her gallery.

She touched my face on the screen and, with a determined look, handed it to the officer. "Sir, you must help me find Kate. She's a good girl. She does well in school. You have to find her."

The officer frowned as he looked at the information in his hands and then at Mom. "How did you find out about this school?"

Mom thought for a long time before saying, "It was my son. He found it online. He said it's a place that specializes in managing troublemaking students. After a year, the student can become normal and positive."

The officer continued, "Become normal? What's wrong with your daughter?"

Mom was stunned as if she was trying to think about what exactly was wrong with me.

The officer asked again, "It's been almost a year. Why haven't you picked her up?"

Mom remained silent. No one knew what she was thinking about.

After a while, she said, "I thought she would be safe at school. I wanted to pick her up, but I was too busy. There's too much going on at home, and I really couldn't find the time."

The officer slammed the file down on the table. "No time? What do you do to make you so busy that you can't even pick up your daughter from school? How did you have time to send her there in the first place?"

Mom was left speechless.

Dad rushed in, and I hadn't seen him in a long time.

He looked very thin, leaning over the counter anxiously to ask the officer what was going on.

The officer explained the situation about the school. "That school has been reported by many parents. It used to be located in the city but was shut down for abusing students. Thousands of students were victims. Don't you watch the news? Don't you know that such special schools are not allowed?"

Mom's eyes widened in disbelief at what the officer was saying.