Home Entertainment Game Technology Advertisement Part 2: For eight years, my parents made me leave the house every time my brother brought his fiance over; Mom said, “She comes from a good family, don’t embarrass us”; Dad added, “Just disappear for the weekend”; I did; then one weekend, I never came back; it took them four years to find out where I went.

I stared at the amount.

**$42,000.**

My stomach turned.

"Was he paying the doctor?"

Grant chose his words carefully.

"There's evidence of a financial connection. We haven't established what the payment was for."

Then he placed one final page on the table.

It was an insurance beneficiary form.

My father's name appeared first.

My mother's second.

But someone had added a handwritten instruction.

**PAYMENT TO BE RELEASED UPON CONFIRMATION OF DEATH. NO FURTHER FAMILY IDENTIFICATION REQUIRED.**

I stared at it.

"Who wrote that?"

Grant looked troubled.

"We're still investigating."

I knew one thing.

Someone had gone to extraordinary lengths to make sure my supposed death was accepted.

And nobody asked too many questions.

***

That evening, my mother called.

I hadn't heard her voice in four years.

When her name appeared on my phone, I almost dropped it.

I let the call ring.

Then it stopped.

A message appeared.

**STACEY, PLEASE. YOUR FATHER KNOWS YOU'VE BEEN TALKING TO THE POLICE.**