The Invisible Daughter Ruined Their Lavish Celebrations Chapter 06

The Invisible Daughter Ruined Their Lavish Celebrations Chapter 06

“Are you out of your mind?!”

My dad shot back. “I walked in here with you!”

My mom’s voice broke. “Then how did she sell the house behind our back?”

“You wanted the money all to yourself, didn’t you? So you could hand it all to your precious stepdaughter.”

“No way!”

My dad jabbed a finger at her.

“You want to talk about scheming? You’ve had your eye on this house the whole time, just so your golden boy could cash in!”

“This is Sterling property. It was never going to you or that brat. Not ever!”

They sat in that dusty stairwell, ripping into each other.

They dredged up every failure since the divorce, every accusation hitting like a fist. But the daughter they used to dump it all on was gone.

When they finally ran out of spite, my mom sat there panting. Then she dug out Julian’s number

and called.

He picked up fast. It was noisy on his end.

“Mrs. Hayes?”

My mom could barely get the words out.

“Julian! Is Elena with you? Where is she?”

Julian went quiet for a second. “Mrs. Hayes, Elena didn’t come to me.”

“I just found out today from the school counselor. She was the one who scored a perfect 1600 on her SATS. She’s the valedictorian.”

“I tried texting her. She already deleted me.”

“1600?!”

The number hit both of them at once.

It hit like a punch to the gut.

My mom pressed on, frantic. “Where did she go? What school did she pick?”

“Southport, I think.”

Julian’s voice dropped.

“She told me she didn’t want to stay in this city. Didn’t apply anywhere in North Crest.”

“I told her she’d have people here. Family, friends. She didn’t answer me.”

“She always said she wanted to go south. With a record like hers, Southport would give her a full

ride.”

“She’s not coming back to North Crest.”

“She picked the farthest school she could get into. She’s done with this place.”

Just then, Ms. Miller from next door came up the stairs, carrying a bag of SAT prep books.

She took one look at the two of them collapsed in the stairwell and sighed.

“Mr. Sterling, Mrs. Hayes, what are you two doing sitting out here?”

“I was actually looking for Elena to thank her. That girl came by yesterday and gave my grandson all her prep books and college guides. Said they might help him with his applications. Such a sweet

kid.”

“She just left so quietly. Didn’t even say goodbye.”

She didn’t get to finish.

My mom buried her face in her hands. Tears slipped through her fingers anyway.

My dad doubled over, fists tangled in his own hair.

It finally hit them. The daughter they’d spent years passing back and forth between them, the one they’d shoved aside and forgotten, was gone. And she wasn’t looking back.

This time, they were the ones left behind.