You Faked Your Deaths to Punish Me?! That’s Illegal, Family! novel Chapter 63

Chapter 8

When I got back to my apartment, I grabbed my documents and packed my bags as fast as I could.

After what happened last time, I learned to expect the worst from her. I wasn’t taking any chances. I wouldn’t give her another opportunity to destroy me.

On my way to the train station, I called my boss and quit.

He was furious. Spent fifteen minutes tearing into me.

But at the end, he said, “I know your family’s been a mess lately. Maybe getting out of town will do you some good.”

“Just… be careful out there, kid.”

I paused. “Thank you. Really.”

I bought a ticket for the next train out.

Over the next few days, Mom kept calling from different numbers. I ignored every single one and blocked them all. After a few hours, she finally gave up.

Liam texted me. Said Mom lost it and stormed into the hospital to scream at him and Sienna.

He also said he was taking Sienna to the city where he goes to college.

His last message: Sloane, once you leave, don’t come back.

I stared at that text until my eyes burned. Then turned off my phone.

I ended up in a tiny town outside Asheville, North Carolina-thousands of miles from home.

Life there was slow. People were kind.

The pay wasn’t great-about $4,000 a month-but it was enough to get by.

Over time, I started forgetting the horrors from my past life. I even smiled more.

I changed my number. Didn’t tell anyone.

nths later, I saw Cormac’s name in the news.

de was linked to an old murder case. Combined with illegal imprisonment, sexual assault, and his shady business dealings, he got 35 years.

He’d never see the outside world again.

The day the verdict came down, I got a text from an unknown number:

[Thank you for the tip. Wishing you all the best for the rest of your life.]

As for Jett? The article only mentioned he got three and a half years.

After that, I started over.

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It wasn’t until many years later that the police from my hometown contacted me.

By then, over a decade had passed.

Dad died of a heart attack at a poker table.

After thinking it over for a while, I went back.

I handled the paperwork, had him cremated, and placed his ashes in a spot at Riverside Memorial Park.

On my way out, I ran into a distant relative.

She looked shocked. “Sloane?”

こ

“I haven’t seen you in forever. Almost didn’t recognize you.”

We chatted briefly. She told me Dad had spent his last years gambling day and night because of his… condition. Nobody was surprised when he dropped dead at a card table.

Jett got out of prison and became a total deadbeat. In and out of jail constantly after that.

And Mom? She married her first love.

That guy had two sons, five grandkids. Apparently Mom spends her days cooking for the whole family and driving the kids to their after-school

classes.

A few years ago, the guy got sick. I heard Mom tried to run away once, but they found her and dragged her back.

Hearing that, I felt… something. But not much.

My relative asked if I wanted to see Mom. Said she knew the address.

I said no.

Maybe years from now, I’ll get another call telling me she’s gone. And maybe, like today, I’ll come back to see her off one last time.

But right now? There’s no reason to.

When I left the cemetery, I went straight to the train station.

As the train pulled away, I watched the scenery blur past the window.

For the first time in my life, I felt at peace.

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