Chapter 3

The kidnappers who had cut my fingers and feet warned my parents not to do anything stupid. Otherwise, they would be delivering Naomi’s fingers to them next time.

On the day they called the police, Naomi had provided hints of the address while seemingly complaining about her situation. Since my mother knew her like the back of her hand, she soon realized what Naomi was trying to say.

But they were too late. When the police arrived, the kidnappers had already moved us to another location.

In their rage, the kidnappers accidentally killed me.

When the next day arrived, the kidnappers really did give my parents Naomi’s finger.

When my mother received the package, she was not at all surprised to see the finger inside.

After all, she had received such a package a few times over the last few days, and she threw the package into the trash can beside her.

If she had taken a closer look, she would have noticed that the finger was thin and fair, which was a sign that her owner usually took great care of her hands.

I no longer had any fingers left. But perhaps my mother never even noticed that the kidnappers had already cut off all of my fingers a long time ago.

The kidnappers called right on time as if they knew exactly when my mother would receive the package and made their call.

As usual, my mother asked, “Is Naomi alright?”

“If you don’t give us the ransom soon, then you won’t just be receiving her fingers,” said the kidnapper with a cackle.

My mother’s expression instantly froze. She clenched her fist and asked anxiously, “Isn’t that Dawn’s finger?”

“Of course not. We’ve already cut off all of her fingers a long time ago.”

My mother’s voice turned fierce, and her expression grew savage. “You can cut off other parts of her body! Dig her eyes out! Cut her tongue out! Why did you hurt Naomi?!”

My expression became complicated. Even though I knew that my mother loved Naomi more, what she said still made me sad.

“Didn’t we tell you that Dawn is the one who gave us the hint and had us call the police?! Naomi never did anything?!”

Ah. I see. That was why the kidnappers beat me up so fiercely after they changed locations and made the call.

It was my mother’s doing. She was worried that Naomi would be hurt and blamed me for it. She told the kidnappers that I was the one who revealed the location to her.

I stared at her in shock as she reminded the kidnappers again not to hurt Naomi anymore. She was truly a mother who cared about her daughter.

Ironically, I was her real daughter.

“We’ll get the money soon. Don’t hurt Naomi again, you hear me? We’ll get the money!”

After she hung up, she rushed downstairs to search for the package she threw into the trash can.

Once she found it, she hurriedly opened the package and cried as she stared at the finger.

When my father returned after running around the entire day to collect the ransom money, he saw the finger in the package.

“Why are you keeping that finger around? It’s disgusting.” His face was full of disgust.

“This is Naomi’s finger!” my mother cried out.

My fingers were covered in calluses due to farm work, and they were much thicker as well. The finger was clearly not mine.

“Why did they cut Naomi’s finger?! What about Dawn?!” My father instinctively felt that I should be the one getting hurt for Naomi as well.

His expression was one of incredible sadness and despair for Naomi. “Naomi can no longer play the piano. She must be so sad!

“Why didn’t Dawn take her place?! Even if she doesn’t have fingers anymore, she’d be fine!”

So, my life was not even as important as one of Naomi’s fingers. Perhaps they would not even be sad if they learned that I had died.

That night, my parents got the money to pay Naomi’s ransom.

They negotiated with the kidnappers. “We can’t get that much money for the time being. We’ll get one back first. I’ll continue collecting money for the other one.”

The kidnappers were, naturally, unwilling to let Naomi go. I was already dead, so letting either of us leave was impossible for them.

“We’ll pay for Naomi’s ransom. Dawn is our real daughter. No matter what, we’ll never give up on her.

“We’ll let you have Dawn for the time being.”

The kidnappers scoffed. “Do you think we’re idiots? You don’t even care whether she lives or dies.”

My father could only continue negotiating with them, “Dawn is our real daughter! We won’t just abandon her!”

I looked at my father in great delight. So, my parents still cared about me!

“We only have one daughter! We won’t give up on her!”

After my father made his promise repeatedly, the kidnappers became uncertain.

I did not know what they were thinking, but they agreed to let Naomi return.

The trading location was the trash can beside a public toilet.

My father deposited the ransom into the trash can and left just as the kidnappers instructed him to do.

When midnight arrived, a young man wearing a baseball cap came over to get the money.

The next day, Naomi was delivered to my parents.

She was put in a sackcloth bag. The housekeeper thought that it was trash, but when she saw the bag moving, she found a person inside.

When Naomi saw my parents, she cried nonstop. Her pale face was full of terror, and she looked pitiful.

“Dad, Mom, you have to pay for Dawn’s ransom as soon as possible!” She grabbed my mother’s hand and said pitifully.

I looked at her in shock. “What on earth are you saying?! I’m already dead!”

But no one could hear me. Why would she keep the fact that I died from my parents?!