Chapter 5
“What?” Dad asked like he hadn’t quite caught it.
Bernard repeated, “I’ve tried everything. I’ve looked everywhere Wanda could be, but she’s just gone.”
Dad frowned, and it finally seemed to click that something wasn’t right.
He stayed quiet for a long beat, then suddenly slammed the table and bellowed, “That ungrateful brat! That two–faced snake! She knows Jilly’s about to get engaged, so now she’s vanished into thin air!
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“The Swains wasted all those years raising her! All the money I poured into her
Dad was just winding up, ready to spew every last angry word, when he suddenly cut
himself off.
It hit him all at once. He’d never put a thing into me–not money, not time, not even attention. Jillian got everything he had to offer, while I, his actual daughter, might as well
have been invisible.
Those years at the Swain residence? I got by in the dark corners, where nobody cared to
glance. The realization left Dad speechless.
Bernard jumped in when he saw him hesitating. “Mr. Swain, why not just wire her some money? Once she sees the amount, she might calm down and come back on her own.”
Dad thought for a moment, then waved a hand. “Fine. Send her half a million dollars.”
Bernard hesitated before saying, “Mr. Swain, this is way too much. Wanda doesn’t spend a lot, so ten or 20 thousand dollars would already be more than she needs.”
Dad went still for a moment. “Wait, what? You don’t send her money regularly?”
When Bernard said no, Dad frowned. Since Bernard had always taken care of Jillian’s allowance, Dad figured I got one, too. He never paid attention to stuff like that.
Chapter 5
“Then how does she get by?” Dad asked.
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“Her Ph.D. stipend and a few scholarships cover it,” Bernard said. Dad didn’t say another
word. He just motioned for Bernard to leave.
That night, the Swains got home from work and gathered around the dinner table. Jillian had made creamy mushroom soup again to prove how good she was at cooking. As she set it down, she brought me up casually but with a sharp little edge.
“The last time I made this soup was for Wanda, but she just smacked it right out of my hands. I ended up with my hand wrapped in thick bandages. It still isn’t completely healed.”
Dad, who usually backed Jillian no matter what, actually stuck up for me for once. “Maybe
Wanda didn’t mean to do it. It could’ve been an accident.”
Jillian went still for a second, then put on this hurt look. “Oh, so you’re saying I did it on purpose?”
The second he saw her reaction, Dad folded. “No, of course not. I’ve always believed you.”
Almost imperceptibly, the mood at the table shifted.
“Any luck finding Wanda?” Jillian asked casually.
When Dad said no, Mom couldn’t stay put anymore. She grabbed Dad’s arm, pausing for a second before suggesting, “What if we try Wanda’s university? Her friends might know
where she took off to.”
For once, Dad didn’t argue. He just nodded and went with it.
The next day, they showed up at my grad school and knocked on Professor Faucher’s office door. As soon as they walked in, Dad didn’t waste time. “Where’s Wanda?”
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Chapter 5
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Surprised by the unexpected visit, Professor Faucher glanced up from the papers on his desk. “I don’t know.”
Mom grew impatient. “That’s impossible. You’re her advisor. How could you not know where she is? She’s your student!”
Jillian, who’d tagged along, was sprawled on the office couch, mindlessly scrolling through her phone.
Out of nowhere, she chimed in, “Maybe Wanda took off because she couldn’t graduate? I’ve heard students ghosting their advisors to get what they want.”
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