Chapter 3: Exposed, Erased, and Gone

The car tore through the empty intersection. Streetlights flashed by in a dizzying blur. My heart pounded in my throat. I thought I might throw up.

My face went white. I gripped the seatbelt, my voice shaking as I pleaded, “Carter, slow down. I’m scared.”

But the car only went faster, the scenery outside blurring past. I felt trapped in a nightmare I couldn’t wake up from. The fear was suffocating.

I’d always been afraid of cars—especially after my real dad died in a car accident when I was thirteen. Speeding freaked me out. My hands shook.

Carter knew this. He always drove slow when he took me out. It used to make me feel safe, like he cared.

But now, he floored it, pushing up to seventy-five miles an hour. The world outside became a smear of lights and shadows. My hands shook as I clung to the seat, knuckles white.

Seeing his tense face and the way he wouldn’t look at me, I bit my lip, tears streaming as I begged, “Carter, please, slow down.”

When I finally said what he wanted to hear, he smirked and stopped at a red light. The car lurched. I exhaled shakily, my heart hammering, sweat beading at my temples.

He was about to say something when a sports car roared through the intersection, lights blazing.

The sapphire blue car gleamed, hazard lights blinking and horn blaring as it tore past. It was like something out of a movie—too fast, too bright, almost unreal.

He frowned and glanced over. His eyes went wide as he caught the license plate.

He muttered, stunned, “Savannah?” His voice barely sounded like his own.

Without hesitation, Carter slammed the gas, chasing after the sports car. The engine screamed, and I was pressed back into my seat, too stunned to react, heart pounding out of control.

I was too scared by the sudden acceleration to move, too afraid to tell him to stop. My hands clenched in my lap, knuckles white, my whole body rigid with fear.

He’d just called out Savannah’s name—the woman he was getting engaged to next month. The one I could never compete with.

I knew I could never compare to his first love. How could I expect him to slow down just because I was scared? I felt so small, so stupid for hoping.

I squeezed my eyes shut, afraid to look. I wasn’t sure if I was imagining it, but his warm hand squeezed my clenched one even tighter. For a second, it felt like comfort.

He whispered, soft and close. “Don’t be afraid.”

For a moment, the shattered pieces of my heart felt soothed by a wave of warmth, like maybe it could all be okay—just for a second. But I knew it was just an illusion, something I couldn’t hold onto.

Like a breeze brushing past—impossible to grasp, impossible to see clearly. Here and gone before I could even believe in it.

Then the crash hit. The airbag exploded, wrapping around me. The world spun—glass shattering, metal screeching, everything a blur. I barely registered the pain, too dazed to scream.

Hot blood trickled down my forehead, dizziness making it hard to open my eyes, but I still clung tightly to his warm hand. Sirens wailed in the distance, the world flickering in and out, everything slipping away.

But in the next second, he pulled his hand away. I felt the loss like a slap.

“Savannah!”

The sound of ambulance sirens filled my ears as I struggled to open my bloodied eyes, the world spinning around me.

Carter carried the crying Savannah out of the sapphire blue sports car and rushed her to the ambulance. He didn’t even glance back. Not once.

“Someone call 911!”

Even as he climbed into the ambulance, he never looked back at me. I watched his retreating figure through blurred vision, my chest aching so bad I thought I might break.

My head throbbed, but it was nothing compared to the pain in my heart. That pain was sharp, relentless, impossible to escape.

Turns out, to him, I wasn’t even worth a glance next to Savannah. Not even close.

...

Savannah had been speeding and lost control when her brakes failed. That’s all it took for everything to fall apart.

Carter floored it, overtaking the sports car and swerving to block it from crashing into the overpass. The memory replayed in my mind—a blur of screeching tires, screaming metal, and panic.

Savannah’s leg was scraped, but I wound up with a concussion, out for two days before I finally woke up. The hospital room smelled like antiseptic and oranges, the blinds drawn tight against the bright Chicago sun.

“Why were you running around with Carter so late at night?”

My mother peeled an orange, nagging, disappointment clear in her voice. She didn’t look at me, her hands working the fruit with a practiced impatience.

“Your brother went out for something important. You’re a girl, running around with him—people will talk. They’ll say you weren’t raised right.”

“Mom!”

I was so annoyed my head hurt. I couldn’t help but ask, voice low, “I want to leave here. Will you go with me?” My heart thudded in my chest, afraid of the answer.

She froze, the orange slipping from her hand and rolling under the bed. For a second, her mask cracked, and I saw fear flicker across her face. She looked panicked.

“Isn’t your stepdad treating you well? He even plans to have you work at his company after you graduate. How will you make it on your own if you leave the Whitaker family?”

Go where? Anywhere would be better than staying here. I wanted to say it, but the words died in my throat, swallowed by doubt.

“Forget it. Just pretend I never said anything.”

Her face relaxed, her tightly furrowed brows smoothing out. She let out a sigh, like a weight had finally lifted off her chest.

Seeing her relief made me feel strange, hollow. I couldn’t say why. I stared at the ceiling, feeling the distance between us stretch wider and wider, an ocean I couldn’t cross.

Until I was discharged from the hospital, Carter never came to see me—not even once. The emptiness settled in, heavy as stone.

I heard Savannah had been badly shaken, and Carter stayed by her side for half a month. He never checked on me. Not once.

After all, she was the woman he was about to marry, and I was just the stepdaughter his stepmother dragged along. That truth stung more than I wanted to admit.

I expected to run into Savannah, but I never thought it would happen so soon. My heart started racing at the thought.

On the day I was discharged, I didn’t tell the Whitaker family or my mother. I just wanted to disappear, to slip out without anyone noticing, like a ghost.

No matter how wild my imagination, I never thought I’d walk into something this humiliating.

My mother and stepdad sat in the living room, a middle-aged couple beside them. The air was thick with tension, everyone perched on the edge of their seats, like they were waiting for a verdict.

Carter and Savannah sat opposite, holding hands, looking every bit the loving newlyweds. Their fingers were intertwined, Savannah’s head resting on his shoulder like she belonged there—like I’d never been there at all.

And me? I just stood there, stuck in the doorway, like a stray peeking at happiness from the shadows. My feet felt glued to the floor, my heart hammering so loud I thought everyone could hear it.

Everyone looked me over like I was on display. I glanced at my mother, silently begging for help, but she turned away, pretending I wasn’t even there. My stomach dropped.

My stepdad’s voice was calm, too calm. “Mariah’s back. You feeling better? If you’re still not up to it, go on upstairs and rest.”

Off to the side, Carter stared at me with unreadable eyes. His face was blank, but I caught the tension in his jaw, the way he wouldn’t look away.

Before I could even move, a little boy came barreling down the stairs.

“Mom! Look what I found!” he shouted, waving something in his hand, eyes bright with excitement.

He ran over, holding up a snow globe. The glass caught the light, scattering rainbows across the carpet, making everything look surreal.

“Hey, Mom, doesn’t this girl look like her?” he said, pointing at the photo inside.

Inside the snow globe was a photo of me at eighteen, when I loved Carter the most—the only intimate photo we ever took. My breath caught.

But I’d never printed it. It only existed on my phone. My heart dropped into my stomach.

How could it suddenly show up in a random snow globe? The world spun for a second.

Before I could stop him, the boy held it up, and everyone saw the photo. I felt my face go hot, then cold.

“Ah! What’s this?” someone gasped, voice sharp.

Savannah shrieked, pointing straight at me. Her voice was sharp, slicing through the room like a blade.

In an instant, every gaze turned on me—suspicion, disgust, fear. My skin crawled. I wanted to vanish.

“How could you and Carter… Aren’t you siblings?”

I looked to Carter for help, but he dropped to his knees, desperation in his eyes.

“Dad, Mrs. Chen, let me explain. I truly love Savannah. There’s nothing between Mariah and me like you think!” His voice cracked, pleading.

Savannah’s parents’ faces darkened, but for the sake of appearances, they held back. The air was thick with judgment, everyone waiting for someone else to break the silence.

With his explanation, my face drained of color. My hands shook, the photo burning into my memory, impossible to erase.

“Back then, Mariah lost her mind and crawled into my bed. I was drunk and didn’t know anything—it all happened in a blur…” His words twisted the truth, each syllable a knife.

“But don’t worry, I only care about Savannah. After I marry her, I’ll leave here and never see Mariah again.” His tone was flat, final, like he was erasing me from his life.

Carter knelt and begged Savannah and her parents. For someone as proud as him, who never begged anyone, he was willing to kneel for Savannah. That hurt more than I wanted to admit.

His words pushed me further away, casting me as the shameless girl who seduced her stepbrother. I felt myself shrinking.

Listening to their harsh accusations, I looked at my silent mother. She wouldn’t meet my eyes, her hands twisting in her lap, guilt written all over her face.

When she finally met my eyes, she looked away fast. That’s when I finally understood. The truth hit me, hard.

So, my being in his bed that night wasn’t an accident. My heart twisted, sick with betrayal.

That’s why she panicked when I said I wanted to leave her in the hospital. She needed me here, for her own reasons.

Everything made sense now. I was just a tool for her to tie herself to the Whitaker family. Nothing more.

That day ended badly. Though Savannah’s father was upset, he let the matter drop for the sake of appearances. I felt like I was suffocating.

His only request was for Carter and Savannah to get engaged as soon as possible—and I wasn’t allowed to attend the engagement party. The words stung, final and cold.

Before leaving, Savannah looked at me in disgust and spat out, “So disgusting!” Her eyes burned with hatred.

With that, she turned and left, like even one more word to me would make her sick. I watched her go, feeling emptier than ever.

After everyone left, Carter came to my room again. My chest tightened, dread crawling up my spine.

Ignoring the bandage on my head, he roughly pinned me to the bed. His hands were hard, his face twisted with anger and something darker.

“Did you do this on purpose? Trying to ruin things between Savannah and me?” His voice was a snarl.

I looked him in the eyes and gave a bitter smile. “Would you believe me if I said no?” My voice was flat, defeated.

Carter’s eyes were dark, his lips curling as his words stabbed into my heart. “You’re so pathetic, it’s no surprise you’d pull something like this. Can’t stand to see me get married?”

I shoved him away, tears falling uncontrollably. My voice cracked. “I said I didn’t. If you don’t believe me, I’ll stay far away from you!”

He stumbled back and said coldly, “Fine. If you can, then get out! Let’s see how far you can go!”

With that, he stormed out. The door slammed behind him, the sound echoing in my chest, rattling everything loose.

I collapsed to the floor, finally unable to hold back my tears. My sobs were muffled by the carpet, my body shaking with grief and exhaustion. I felt empty, broken.

During the day, their eyes were full of disgust and loathing—even my own mother couldn’t bear to look at me. I was truly alone.

If that’s the case, what reason did I have to stay? The question burned in my mind.

Half a month later, on the day Carter and Savannah got engaged, everyone in the family went to the ceremony. I stayed behind, the house too big and too quiet.

To keep me from sneaking out and causing trouble, Carter even asked a few of his friends to guard the house. Their laughter echoed down the hall, but I stayed quiet, invisible, a ghost in my own home.

But when they realized something was wrong and rushed into my room, I was already gone. The silence left behind was all I had.

One of them frantically called Carter, who was at the engagement banquet, panic in his voice.

“Carter, Mariah is missing!”