Chapter 47

The moment she spoke, the room fell silent. I felt like a camera, capturing every stunned expression. I had been dead for days—a fact easily verifiable with a simple phone call. Yet, inexplicably, none of my family, not even my husband, realized I never reached Cloudville.

If word got out, their negligence would become the neighborhood's laughingstock. Chase's face paled as he pieced together recent events. He hadn't seen me, neither in the blurry video nor in Ms. Kennedy's supposed rental agreement. The video was too indistinct, and he stormed off without even questioning the neighbors about my appearance. Grandma's revelation shattered their misconceptions; no one wanted to believe it.

"Mom, are you certain Amanda didn't go to Cloudville?" my father asked, his tone serious.

Grandma retorted, "She's your daughter. Shouldn't you know if she went or not? Or do you just not care?" Her words stung.

"Mom, there's been so much happening at home. I got sidetracked. I'll check right now," he replied.

While they spoke, Chase called his assistant. Three minutes later, the assistant returned the call.

"What's the news?" Chase asked.

"Mr. Reyes booked a flight to Cloudville but didn't board. There's no security check record under her name. I'm having someone check if she even went to the airport. Pulling the surveillance footage will take time."

Chase's expression darkened. "Check other dates, places, flights—every possible way she could have traveled."

"Yes, Mr. Reyes."

Chase couldn't report me missing; all he knew was that I never arrived in Cloudville. His eyes fell on Nicole, scrutinizing. "Nicole, why did you lie?"

Nicole feigned hurt. "Chase, I didn't. I only said what I knew. Check my chat history with my cousin if you don't believe me."

She was prepared. The chat revealed casual conversations where her cousin mentioned my plans to find a place in Cloudville. "She told me that. I have no idea why Amanda didn't board the plane."

Grandma was unconvinced. "You released that video. You led everyone to believe the worst about Amanda. What are you scheming?"

"Grandma, it's not like that! I saw the video on a high school classmate's social media. They were in Cloudville recently. It was just a coincidence," Nicole insisted.

Tears welled in Nicole's eyes as she clung to Chase's shirt. "Chase, you don't believe me either? I just wanted to help find her quicker."

Chase's face was clouded with doubt. He remained silent, trying to discern the truth.

Nicole dropped to her knees. "Grandma, I know you've never liked me, but why would I lie? What do I gain?"

Grandma's face hardened. Slamming her hand on the armrest, she demanded, "I'm curious too. Why did you mess with this, leading everyone astray? What's your game? Speak!"

"Grandma, I didn't—"

"You won't talk? I'll make you." Grandma rolled closer and brought her cane down hard on Nicole.

Chapter 48