A Missing Key 218 Missed Calls One Family Secret novel Chapter 25

Chapter 1

Chapter 1

My dad banned me from eating breakfast for a month because my GPA dropped from 3.5 to 3.2 on my progress report.

One morning, I was so starving that I grabbed one of my sister’s bagels from the table without thinking.

My twin sister, Aria, immediately ratted me out to Dad.

He stormed to school and forced me to kneel in front of everyone.

“You brat! Why don’t you just choke on it? Your GPA tanks and you still have the nerve to eat breakfast?”

Aria chimed in with a smirk, “Dad, you can’t totally blame her. She’s just… not that bright.”

“You’re an embarrassment. I wish Aria was my only daughter!”

I opened my mouth, wanting to tell him I’d just been accepted to Harvard on early decision.

But what came out instead was: “Fine, Dad. From now on, just pretend you never had me as a daughter.”

The moment those words left my mouth, the air around us went dead silent.

My classmates snickered:

“Come on, Josie, don’t say stuff you don’t mean. You’ll regret it when your dad actually disowns you!”

“Yeah, with your grades, you’ll be lucky to get into some no-name state school. If your dad cuts you off, you’ll either have to drop out and work at McDonald’s, or do work-study. Can you even handle that?”

“It’s just kneeling, right? It’s not like we haven’t seen you humiliated before. Worst case, you’ll be all over TikTok for a few days. No biggie!”

Freshman year, I forgot my homework and begged Dad to bring it to school.

He showed up, tore into me in front of the entire class, then ripped my assignment to shreds-said it was a “lesson.”

Sophomore year, I had the worst cramps and a cold during PE. I asked him to excuse me from class. Instead, he personally dragged me to school, calling it “character building.”

I ran those two miles in front of everyone, slower than a dying snail.

I thought he was just strict.

But then I saw him drive through a storm to pick up Aria, soaking himself to the bone while smiling and saying, “Dad’s fine,

sweetie.”

On his way home from work, he’d stop by the bakery to get her favorite croissants. Never anything for me.

A Missing Key, 218 Missed Calls, One Family Secret

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Chapter 1

More than once, he jabbed his finger in my face and spat, “You’re gloomy, your grades suck-how are you even related to Aria? How did I end up with such a dumbass daughter?”

“I wish Aria was my only daughter!”

He’d said that line a million times. This was the first time I ever responded.

Dad froze for a second. Then he exploded.

“Fine! FINE! Since you wanna talk back, I’m done with you! The second you turn eighteen next month, get the hell out of my

house!”

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