CHAPTER 1 UNWANTED CHILD

“Mama? Mama, where are you? I got first place in the race! Mama, where—”

Amelia’s words froze in her throat. What she found instead was a nightmare — her mother’s lifeless body lying on the floor.

“MAMAAAAAAAAA!” she screamed, her voice cracking as tears flooded her eyes. She clutched her mother’s cold hands, sobbing so hard her body shook.

Desperate, she ran to the neighbors’ house. Breathless, she stammered out the terrible news. They immediately called the police.

When the detectives arrived, one of them — a calm, sharp-eyed woman — stepped forward.

“Miss, someone killed her,” the detective said firmly. “What’s your name?”

“Amelia,” the girl whispered.

“What a pretty name,” the detective said gently. “Now… tell me. When you arrived, your mother was already dead?”

“Yes,” Amelia replied, still trembling.

“Did your mother ever mention anything strange? Any threats?”

“No… but if someone knocked on the door, she would always get scared,” Amelia admitted.

The detective’s eyes narrowed. “Hmm. Oh—look what we found.”

A police officer held up a pillow.

“It has stitching,” he said.

They carefully opened it — and inside was a bundle of papers. Cut-out letters formed chilling messages:

We will kill your child.

Send us some embarrassing pictures of yourself.

Make a dance video.

The detective’s jaw tightened. “Perverted… and dangerous,” she muttered.

Days passed. The investigation dragged on, but the killer remained a shadow.

One afternoon, Amelia’s older brother stormed into the house.

“You killed Mama, didn’t you? You always said you would!”

The detective turned sharply toward him. Amelia met his glare.

“You’ll die someday too,” she said coldly.

“Yes,” he muttered.

“Who are you?” the detective asked.

“I’m her brother. I stayed at a hostel,” he replied.

More days passed. Then, shockingly, a man burst into the police station and killed someone involved in Amelia’s mother’s case. Panic spread — rumors flew.

People began whispering: Amelia killed her mother.

And then, one night, Amelia vanished.

The truth was never found. But the town gave her a name she could never escape — the unwanted child.