Page 3 of The entire family helped my sister cover up the evidence of crime

The day after my death, the mountain village classroom that should have been filled with the sound of reading was completely silent.

The students sat quietly looking at their books, sometimes propping their little heads up with their hands as they stared blankly at the doorway.

I knew they were waiting for me to come teach.

But my innocent, kindhearted students had no idea that I would never return to teach them again.

Principal Oscar Sanchez was the first to sense something was wrong. He had the students start practicing their handwriting, then stepped out of the classroom and dialed my number.

A long busy tone came from the other end. Oscar couldn't help but mutter under his breath, "Harley usually seems pretty reliable. Why hasn't she come to class today?"

Without giving it much thought, assuming I'd simply overslept, he walked all the way to my little house.

It was a small place, but it had been my home since childhood.

I wasn't lucky enoughsomeone else had stolen away what should have been my wealthy life.

But I was also fortunate to have a grandmother who loved me dearly.

When I was bullied, she would hold me with heartache, trembling as she leaned on her cane, going door to door to seek justice for me.

When those troublemakers' parents scolded me, Vanessa never blamed me. Instead, she would say firmly, "I know my child's character very well!"

But this grandmother who loved me so much, when she learned I wasn't her biological granddaughter, didn't hesitate to let the Edwards family take me away.

She said, "You don't belong here."

But she had no idea that I didn't belong with the Edwards family either.

At first I hated herhated how decisively she abandoned me.

But when I saw in the big city those landscapes I'd only seen in textbooks, I finally understood why she was so eager for the Edwards family to take me away.

This limping old woman had never left the mountains, but she wanted her granddaughter to get out.

By the time I understood, it was already too late.

The only person in this world who loved me died of a stroke shortly after my high school graduation.

That grandmother who had me constantly on her mind was placed in a tiny box.

I silently endured the Edwards family's indifference and favoritism only so that the grandmother who worried about me could have peace of mind.

I wanted to tell her that I was doing well in the city, that I was doing well at the Edwards Villa.

That way, she could worry less about me and wouldn't have to work herself to death for my tuition.

But she died, and my only tie to this world was gone.

Breaking ties with the Edwards family wasn't as difficult as I'd imagined.

Oscar stood at the door calling my name, but there was never any response.

He stared at the tightly locked door and finally turned around to head back to school.

This time, to save time, he chose the same secluded path I had taken the night before.

Not far from the narrow trail was a racetrack designed specifically for sports cars.

Halfway through his walk, Oscar stopped at the spot where I had died.

A pack of weasels was tearing at the remaining scraps of flesh.

The moment Oscar appeared, they scattered and fled.

Weasels are nocturnal animals, and this unusual behavior made Oscar's heart tighten. He gripped his phone and cautiously approached.

But it was just a pile of mangled flesh.

Wild animals frequently roamed these mountains, so such a sight didn't seem particularly unusual.

As he lifted his foot to leave, he unexpectedly spotted my ID card.

When he picked it up, the mud on it still bore traces of blood.

He chuckled and shook his head, saying, "So even Harley has careless momentsdropping her ID while going into the city."

But as he prepared to slip the ID into his pocket, his expression suddenly changed.

His lips trembling, he muttered to himself, "That can't be possible, right? Harley couldn't be that unlucky, could she?"

Though his words expressed disbelief, his hands were already shaking as he dialed the police.

When the officers arrived, Oscar's forehead was already covered in cold sweat.

The experienced police quickly cordoned off the scene with yellow tape and began their investigation.

They collected blood samples, gathered tissue remnants, and carefully combed through the surrounding area, hoping to find other body parts.

But no matter how thoroughly they searched the entire mountain, they would never find any more clues.

Because Cooper and Bella had already divided my remains into over a dozen sealed bags and thrown them into the river, making them nearly impossible to find.

While the police conducted their investigation, Hannah leveraged her family background to become the company's general manager without any suspense.

When she shared this news with her family, everyone celebrated for her and said they would throw her a party.

The tissue samples couldn't be completely reassembled, and DNA comparison failed due to severely damaged specimens.

When Oscar learned that the victim's identity hadn't been confirmed yet, he actually felt relieved and hurriedly reported my disappearance to the police.

He said, "I'm certain this person absolutely cannot be Ms. Edwards! She never makes enemies with anyoneshe has such a gentle personality. You must help me find her! I haven't seen her for a whole day, and she's not answering her phone. I'm really worried!"

Unfortunately, since less than forty-eight hours had passed, the police couldn't open a case file and could only patiently advise Oscar to come to the station as soon as the conditions were met.

Meanwhile, the officer quietly wrote my name in his notebook with "suspected victim" noted beside it, which made my eyes sting with tears.

Oscar asked about the missing person case filing procedures over and over again, determined to find me.

His anxious, worried appearance made him look like my actual family member.

But where were my real family members?

What were they doing?

To celebrate Hannah's promotion, Cooper, Bella, and Leonwho were usually busyall took the day off and threw her a party at New York's most luxurious hotel.

Thanks to the connections they'd built over many years, political and business elites flocked to offer their congratulations.

They all praised Hannah for being young and accomplished, commending Cooper and Bella for raising such an excellent daughter.

They also said they envied Cooper and Bella for having such outstanding children.

Bella smiled and responded warmly, completely different from her previous coldness.

For Hannah's future career, she spared no effort.

Until someone casually mentioned, "I remember you have another child, right? Her academic performance is quite good too."

Bella's smile froze on her face, and her gaze gradually turned icy.

She sneered, "What good does academic success do? She's ungratefulthe moment she got into college, she cut off contact with us. Who knows where she's living it up now!"

When speaking about me, her tone was full of contempt and disgust.

The person quickly apologized and steered the conversation back to Hannah, and only then did Bella's expression soften slightly.

But soon, the lively gathering was interrupted by a phone call.

Bella frowned and asked, "Is this matter really that urgent?"

After hearing whatever the caller said, Bella quickly walked to Hannah's side to apologize for suddenly leaving.

After speaking, she hurried toward the hotel exit.

Soon after, Cooper was also called away by a phone call.

In the end, only Leon remained by Hannah's side.

Cooper and Bella's affection had always belonged to Hannah alone.

They had promised to attend my parent-teacher conferences, but each time Hannah would throw tantrums and create scenes, and in the end, they would both choose to attend her conferences instead.

Though they were one set of parents, they couldn't spare even the slightest bit of love for me.