After the plane crash, my body was never recovered. My soul drifted back to the home I hadn't stepped foot in for five years. They didn't know I was dead. They were still waiting for me to come home for Christmas. When my mom got the call from the airline, she froze for a long time, completely at a loss, before breaking down in tears. I followed them as they went to the memorial crash site. That was when I noticed something strange—I could see their levels of regret hovering above their heads. My brother's regret level read: 40%. My father's showed: 60%. Even my sister-in-law had 30% over her head. But my mother's regret level? It flashed a cold, unchanging 0%.
View MoreMadelyn carried a small container of soil mixed with my ashes to the tiny apartment I'd once rented.She explained everything to the landlord, who handed over the spare key with a regretful look.At the door, her hands shook as she fumbled with the lock, trying a few times before it finally gave way.Once inside, she closed the door hard behind her, then collapsed onto the floor, her sobs breaking the silence.I crouched beside her, my eyes darting around the room. Every little piece of my old life hit me like a gut punch.If I hadn't agreed to spend Christmas at Gianna's, I'd still be in my bed, binging my favorite shows, snacking, and living my life how I wanted.Madelyn cried for what felt like forever before pulling herself together. Slowly, she packed my things into the boxes she'd brought."Sienna, Mommy's here now."That was my real name: Sienna Sinclair.Her voice cracked as she added, "I spent twenty-six years looking for you. I never thought you'd be on the same plan
Gianna's regret meter hit max, and right on cue, she dropped to her knees, red-eyed and bawling. She clung to the officers, begging them to find her precious grandson.I watched her fall apart and let out a long, helpless sigh.I was the stolen kid, and when she heard about my death, she hadn't cried nearly this hard.The cops searched nonstop from sunrise to sunset. Meanwhile, Gianna and Chad skittered around the station, too wired to sit still for even a second.Madelyn stayed off to the side, arms crossed, her glare cold and sharp as she stared Gianna down. "This is karma," she said, her voice flat. "Retribution for stealing my child."Gianna's head snapped up, her glare venomous. "Shut your damn mouth! My grandson isn't missing. He can't be!""And back then?" she spat. "You couldn't even keep track of your own kid. You've got no one to blame but yourself!"Madelyn blinked, lowering her gaze. Then, slowly, she nodded. "You're right—it was my fault. But you? You're a monster.
At the police station, Gianna cranked the drama up to eleven—sobbing, flopping around, and basically acting like a widow in mourning. The louder the officers told her to chill, the louder she got. It took two of them to shove her into a chair so they could finally start the interrogation."Mrs. Saun, if you keep this up, we'll book you for obstruction of justice," one officer said, clearly over it.That finally shut her up. Then she whipped her head around, fake-offended, and shrieked, "I'm innocent! That woman is trying to steal my daughter! She just wants the compensation money! You have to help me!"Meanwhile, Madelyn stood there. She handed a file to the officer in charge and said, calm and steady, "My daughter's been missing for twenty-six years. I've spent all that time searching for her."She added, "This file has everything I've collected over the years. I came forward now because I've finally found proof. This couple kidnapped my daughter."While Gianna was spinning out,
My dad froze, his hands twitching at his sides.He frowned, his jaw tightening. "That's a picture of my daughter. Who gave you the right to look at it?"Madelyn stepped forward, calm but determined, holding a numbered card in one hand and her phone in the other. On the screen, a photo was clearly visible."The girls in this picture are my twin daughters," she said, her voice steady but brimming with emotion."Twenty-six years ago, my eldest daughter was stolen from me. I've spent every day since searching for her, but I never found her. I don't believe the airline would mess up DNA testing—not with something this serious. And I definitely don't believe in coincidences. All I'm asking for is to see her photo."Her gaze could've cut glass, locking my dad in place. His fists clenched, but his eyes darted toward my mom.I edged closer to Madelyn, my eyes landing on the photo on her screen. It showed a woman in a flowing beach dress with two girls who looked almost identical.The gir
Mom shot Dad a look, then dove into his bag like it was Black Friday and yanked out the family record file. Dropping to the ground—full drama mode—she started wailing."My daughter! How could my daughter belong to someone else? How do you even screw up something this huge?!"Dad gave her one of those side-eyes, then glanced at Chad like. With a heavy sigh, he grabbed the file and stomped over to the staff."Is this some kind of joke?!" he barked. "How does my daughter suddenly not related to me? Look at the records—Natalie Saun is our eldest daughter!"Dad shoved the file at the staff, so close it was basically an inch from smacking his face.The staff member froze, then double-checked their list. Finally, he leaned in and mumbled, "Sir, according to the DNA results, Natalie Saun is a match for a woman named Madelyn Dalton."And not just her—she also matches another crash victim, whose name was—""I don't care who you think she matches!" Dad cut in, practically yelling now. "Nat
Watching my mom wail like she'd just lost an Oscar, I almost laughed. Almost.In all my memories, she'd never been affectionate toward me.She didn't even like me near her stuff.I remember this one time, I snuck into her closet and tried on her heels, pretending I was some fairy-tale princess. When she caught me, she dragged them outside and scrubbed them raw with a brush until the leather was trashed.From then on, she locked up everything she owned and made it super clear: touch her things again, no dinner for me.At the time, I figured she was just one of those people who didn't do affection. Like, at all.But then Chad was born, and it was a whole different story.She'd twirl around the yard with him, her face lighting up. She'd wrap him in her favorite silk scarves, even when he totally ruined them. If he wet them? She'd act mad for about two seconds before smothering him with kisses.That's when it hit me—she wasn't cold; she just saved all her warmth for him.As Chad g
The next morning, the phone rang, and my mom snatched it up instantly. Holding the receiver, she stared at my dad with this weird look, nodding and shaking her head like she couldn't decide what emotion to land on.Finally, she hung up and dropped to her knees, full-on sobbing."Natalie was on that plane. They said... she's gone. Not even a body was recovered..."The airline said they're coming over later to take blood samples—to confirm if Natalie was really our daughter."Why would they need to test for that? Don't I know she's my daughter?"Her voice cracked as she kept crying, shaking with grief.My dad crouched beside her, helping her up. His face wasn't exactly sad, though. It was more... off. Like he was trying to hide something."They're coming. We can't stop them," he said, his tone careful. "Just be ready. When they get here, we cooperate. If they can find Natalie... that's what matters."Mom slowly nodded, though her reluctance was plain. She turned to Chad. "When th
In those last moments before the plane went down, I wasn't freaking out or anything. Nope, it was all about regret.Five years of silence between me and my parents, and today was supposed to fix that. But nope, the universe didn't approve. So, yeah, on Christmas Eve, my life just... stopped.Next thing I knew, my soul was drifting all over the place before finally landing at the front door of the house I hadn't seen in five years.The door was decked out with a Christmas wreath, and the windows had those cheesy snowflake decals.I reached out to push the door open, but—plot twist—my hand went right through it. Right. Because I was dead.That plane crash? Yeah, none of us made it. All 140 passengers. Gone.I floated inside, slowly. The house was full of Christmas cheer, with string lights all over the walls.Inside, my parents and Peggy Twain—aka my sister-in-law—were baking cookies. My younger brother, Chad Saun, was at the far end, glued to his phone and totally zoned into some
In those last moments before the plane went down, I wasn't freaking out or anything. Nope, it was all about regret.Five years of silence between me and my parents, and today was supposed to fix that. But nope, the universe didn't approve. So, yeah, on Christmas Eve, my life just... stopped.Next thing I knew, my soul was drifting all over the place before finally landing at the front door of the house I hadn't seen in five years.The door was decked out with a Christmas wreath, and the windows had those cheesy snowflake decals.I reached out to push the door open, but—plot twist—my hand went right through it. Right. Because I was dead.That plane crash? Yeah, none of us made it. All 140 passengers. Gone.I floated inside, slowly. The house was full of Christmas cheer, with string lights all over the walls.Inside, my parents and Peggy Twain—aka my sister-in-law—were baking cookies. My younger brother, Chad Saun, was at the far end, glued to his phone and totally zoned into some
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