A Missing Key 218 Missed Calls One Family Secret novel Chapter 40

Chapter 1

My mom is a liar.

She told me she was going on a really, really long mission.

When the mission was over, she’d come back home.

At the funeral, Dad held a flag-draped box and cried so hard he could barely stand.

Everyone wore black clothes with heavy, sorrowful expressions.

Only I wore the red dress Mom had bought me.

I wasn’t sad at all.

Because I knew this was all part of the mission-to fool the bad guys.

I tugged at Dad’s sleeve. “Dad, let’s go home. Mom’s probably already there waiting for us.”

Dad just held me tighter, his shoulders shaking violently.

“Nora, Mom… she’s not coming back.”

I stubbornly shook my head, pointing at the box in his arms.

“Mom’s not in there. She’s way too amazing to fit in such a tiny box.”

But none of them believed me.

Later, Dad packed away everything from Mom’s room, including that badass military uniform.

He said we needed to look forward.

I didn’t get it-Mom’s mission wasn’t finished yet. Why did we need to look forward?

I decided to find her myself.

Mom always said that if I could find the medal she’d hidden, she would appear.

The rain after the funeral lasted three whole days.

11:26

A Missing Kev 218 Missed Calls One Family Secret

29.3%

Chapter 1

The house felt eerily quiet. Dad locked himself in his study, chain-smoking day and night. The smoke was so thick I

could barely breathe.

I snuck into Mom’s room and searched through her closet, bookshelves, and under her bed.

Mom always said the most dangerous place was the safest place.

The medal had to be hidden in some totally unexpected corner of the house, waiting for me to discover it.

This was our new game-find it, and she’d jump out from her hiding spot and give me the biggest surprise ever.

I told Dad about this secret. His bloodshot eyes flashed with confusion first, then got swallowed by even deeper grief.

His lips trembled, unable to say a single word, like I’d hit his sorest spot.

He didn’t get it.

None of them did.

A month later, Dad opened our front door and brought in a strange woman and a little boy.

The woman was named Rebecca, and she looked really gentle. She crouched down, trying to take my hand.

“Nora, I’m going to be your new mommy now.”

I yanked my hand back and hid behind Dad.

I pointed at her and shouted, “No, you’re not! My mom is playing a game with me, and she’s coming back soon!”

Rebecca’s smile froze on her face.

Dad’s expression instantly darkened. He pulled me out from behind him, his voice stern.

“Nora! Stop acting out! Apologize to Rebecca!”

I stuck my chin out defiantly and said nothing.

The little boy named Jake hid behind Rebecca and made a face at me.

“Freak,” he mouthed silently.

That night, I heard Dad talking quietly with Rebecca in the living room.

“…This kid’s traumatized. She keeps insisting her mom isn’t dead. I’ve already taken her to see a doctor.”

11:26

A Missing Key, 218 Missed Calls, One Family Secret

29.69

Chapter 1

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