They All Voted for My Death Then I Came Back Reborn Chapter 09

They All Voted for My Death Then I Came Back Reborn Chapter 09

It was well past midnight when Dad finally found the secure portal for the Interdimensional Research Center.

Mom sat in front of the computer, her eyes swollen and frighteningly red.

He entered my name.

Anna.

The page loaded for a long time.

Then three lines of red text appeared.

[Original-universe family ties terminated. The exchange subject voluntarily waived her final right to

cancel.Retrieval unavailable.]

Laura refreshed the page again and again, striking the keys so hard they rattled.

“That’s impossible. I gave birth to her. How can they say she can’t be brought back?”

The app repeated its answer in the same cold text.

[Family anchor severed. The original family no longer has retrieval authority.]

Richard spun toward Mason.

“You try. She cared about you more than anyone.”

Mason’s hands shook so badly he could barely hold his phone.

He signed in to his account.

The screen lit up.

[Participant Mason previously consented to the exchange. No retrieval authorization.]

He stared at the words until his knees gave out.

He leaned against the wall and slid to the floor. He covered his eyes, his shoulders heaving.

Laura suddenly remembered the video.

“Anna recorded a statement. She said Claire was welcome home.”

With shaking fingers, she opened it.

My face on the screen was pale, and the smile on my lips looked painfully stiff.

“Claire, welcome home. But I don’t want this family anymore.”

The phone slipped from Laura’s hand and landed on the carpet.

The Exchange app suddenly opened an interdimensional connection.

I was sitting at a different dining table.

Lisa spooned soup into my bowl.

“No cilantro.”

Liam picked up the plate of shrimp and moved it away from me. “You’re allergic to shrimp. I’ll take it away.”

An orange tabby lay across my lap, his tail brushing lightly over my sleeve.

I lowered my head and smiled.

It was only a small smile, but I was not trembling.

Laura threw herself toward the screen.

“Anna!”

I could not hear her.

As if she sensed something, Lisa pushed the bowl a little closer to me.

“Eat a little more. You’re far too thin.”

Laura clutched her chest, her face turning gray.

She remembered the breakfast when the only safe thing on my plate had been dry toast.

She remembered me asking whether she still knew I was allergic to shellfish.

She remembered me standing in the doorway and saying I had only come to remind her to get Claire’s white

dress ready.

She remembered accepting all my savings without once asking why I was willing to give them away.

A broken sound scraped out of her throat.

“Let me speak to her once. Just once.”

The app did not respond.

Claire stood nearby with tears streaming down her face.

“She can’t hear you anymore.”

Laura grabbed her arm.

“Claire, please ask her to come back for me. You can contact her, can’t you?”

Claire slowly pulled away.

“I won’t beg her.”

Laura froze.

Claire’s voice was quiet.

“The first time I told you not to sacrifice my sister for me, you refused to listen. The last time Anna told you she didn’t want this family, you refused to listen to her either. Now that you’re hurting, you expect everyone

else to listen to you.”

Mason suddenly raised his head.

“Trade me. I’ll take her place. Bring her back.”

The app flashed.

[Request invalid. Anna has been permanently accepted into the new universe. She no longer belongs to your

family.]

Whatever strength remained in Mason seemed to disappear.

He looked down at the ring in his palm.

It was the one I had returned to him.

He had believed I was only angry.

Claire looked at the ring.

“She asked you to take her to the beach, didn’t she?”

His entire body stiffened.

“You didn’t take her,” Claire said.

At last, his tears fell.

The ring rested in his palm, cold and small as a headstone.