My five-year-old daughter is a master of deception. I took her back-to-school shopping, and in the middle of a crowded mall, she screamed at the top of her lungs that I was a kidnapper. I was nearly hauled off to a precinct in handcuffs. When we got home, before I could even open my mouth, she collapsed into her father’s arms, sobbing. "Daddy, Mommy wouldn't buy me my supplies! She hit me in the street!" I tried to explain the truth to my husband, but he didn't even let me finish. He backhanded me across the face, his eyes burning with rage. "She’s five! Why would she lie? How can you be so cruel to your own flesh and blood?" Later, when I dropped her off at school, she fell to her knees in front of all the other parents. "Mommy, please let me go to school! I don't want to take those pictures for those men anymore!" The teacher snatched my phone and found it filled with suggestive, horrifying photos of my daughter. Enraged parents pushed me into traffic. I was crushed instantly, a bloody mess on the asphalt. As I died, I couldn't understand: Why? Why would the daughter I carried for nine months do this to me? Then, I opened my eyes. I was back at the beginning of that shopping trip. 1. "Everly, honey, Mommy and Daddy are going to take you to get your school supplies today. We’re going to make you the happiest little princess in the world." My daughter didn't even look at my husband, Mark. She stepped forward and grabbed my sleeve. "Daddy, I want to go with Mommy. All the other girls have their moms with them. You stay here and work, okay?" Everly had been raised by her grandmother in a small rural town and had only recently moved back to the city with us. Mark, feeling guilty about her childhood away from us, couldn't say no. "Honey, I’ll Venmo you some extra cash. Buy her whatever she wants. She’s still little, and we owe her for the time we missed." Hearing those familiar words, my heart felt like it was being squeezed by a giant fist. I could barely breathe. I realized I had been reborn. In my past life, I listened to Mark. I happily took Everly to the mall. At the store, Everly insisted on buying a sharp box cutter. I told her it was too dangerous. She smiled sweetly and agreed, saying kids shouldn't play with blades. I was so relieved. I thought she was finally warming up to me. But as we walked toward the exit, she suddenly threw herself onto the floor. She wailed, "Don't take me! Help! She’s a kidnapper! Help me!" The mall was packed. Hearing her screams, a crowd swarmed us. I desperately tried to explain, and just as a few people seemed to believe me, Everly pointed a trembling finger at me. "She really is! She’s trying to take me away!" The police arrived. I was detained and questioned for hours before being released. I couldn't fathom why my "sweet" girl would tell such a monstrous lie. I was furious. I wanted to discipline her. But the moment we stepped through the front door, she beat me to it. She flew into Mark’s arms. 2. "Daddy, help me! Mommy wouldn't buy me the Frozen notebooks, and then she hit me! It hurts, it hurts!" Mark pulled up her sleeve. There were dark, purple bruises on her arm. I gasped, reaching out. "Mark, I didn't—" Mark shoved me back and slapped me across the face. "What kind of mother are you? You hit a child?!" "She's lying! I didn't touch her!" I screamed. I tried to tell him about the scene at the mall, but he cut me off, shouting over me. "She's five years old! Why would she lie? Why can't you just love your own daughter?" Mark cut off my access to our joint accounts after that. I was heartbroken and confused. I stopped trying to explain. I just kept my eyes open. But it wasn't an accident. When I dropped her off at school, she knelt at the gate. "Mommy, please! I just want to go to school! I don't want to take any more naked pictures for those uncles!" I was stunned. Before I could move, her preschool teacher, Ms. Claire, lunged forward. She snatched my bag and pulled out a stack of horrific photos. On the back of each one were names of "buyers." Ms. Claire held Everly, shielding her from me. "How could you do this to your own child? You’re a monster!" Before I could say a word, the crowd of parents pushed me. I stumbled back into the middle of the road. A truck hit me. Just before the darkness took me, I saw my daughter’s face. She wasn't crying. She was looking at me with a gaze so cold, so malicious, it didn't belong on a five-year-old. I died never knowing why she hated me so much. Every night when I tucked her in, she would kiss my cheek and say, "I love you most, Mommy." Since I’ve been reborn, I’m going to find out the truth. I looked at Mark, who was setting up his laptop to work from home. "Mark, she just got back. Why don't you come with us?" If he thinks she doesn't lie, then this time, I’ll make sure he sees it with his own eyes. Mark agreed immediately. At the mall, Everly hopped out of the car. Mark stayed inside to take a call. "I just got a notification. Work emergency. You guys go ahead. Just meet me back here in an hour." I nodded, took Everly’s hand, and walked into the stationery store. Just like before, Everly made a beeline for the box cutters. "Mommy, I want this one! It has a cute pattern! Can I have it?" 3. I shook my head and knelt down to her level. "That blade is way too sharp, Everly. Let me ask the clerk if they have a safe version that looks just like it, okay?" Everly’s eyes were so pure, so innocent. For a second, my heart softened. With the help of a clerk, I bought a safety version of the cutter—unsharpened and child-friendly. Everly held her new tool and gave me a sweet smile. "Thank you, Mommy! You’re the best!" Maybe, I thought, it was just because I denied her what she wanted in the last life? Now that I’ve satisfied her, we can be close. She acted perfectly normal as we walked through the mall. I started to relax. But the moment we reached a crowded plaza, she wrenched her hand away and shrieked. "Help! She’s a kidnapper! She’s trying to take me!" My heart turned to ice. I had made excuses for her. I thought maybe my mother-in-law in the countryside had scared her with stories of kidnappers to keep her from wandering. But I had given her exactly what she wanted, and she still did it. The crowd gathered. People looked at me with suspicion. "She’s a kidnapper! Help me!" Everly sat on the floor, sobbing hysterically. People started believing her. "A kid that small doesn't lie. Who are you?" "Don't let her leave! We called the police!" A few men stepped forward to restrain me. Suddenly, I saw a familiar figure in the crowd. My eyes lit up. I shouted: "Mark! Mark, tell them! Explain it to them!" Everyone’s eyes turned to Mark. Earlier, I had texted him asking him to bring us some boba tea. Now, appearing at the scene, the crowd assumed he was my accomplice. They surrounded him. Everly’s crying faltered. She looked confused, seeing her father being harassed. Mark was more panicked than I was. It took forever for him to convince the crowd we were a family. Regardless, the police arrived and took us all to the precinct for questioning. 4. Mark’s face was thunderous the moment we left the station. As soon as we got home, he turned on Everly. "Are you stupid?! Why would you tell people we were kidnappers?!" Mark was shaking with rage. He swatted her across the rear. Everly let out a piercing scream and started wailing. I watched, feeling a cold sense of satisfaction. In the last life, he blamed me for "provoking" her. Now that it was his reputation on the line, he didn't care about "she’s only five." I stepped in and pulled Everly into my arms, acting the part of the protective mother. "Mark! She’s just a child playing a game! Why are you so angry? You’ll hurt her!" Mark’s hands were shaking as he pointed at Everly. "Do you know what her 'game' did? One of my biggest clients was at that mall. He saw the whole thing and wants to pull his contract! How am I supposed to explain this to my boss?" "You're still protecting her! Who knows what she’ll do next!" So, it was about his job. That’s why he was so furious. I cut him off. "It's just one client. We finally got her back, Mark. Don't be so mean to her." "Don't be so dramatic. She’s just a kid. You shouldn't take it so seriously." I held Everly and looked at Mark with disdain. "Are you just blaming her because you’re failing at your job?" Those were his words to me in the last life. I gave them back to him, word for word. How does it feel to be the one wrongly accused, Mark? Mark stormed off. "Fine! Spoil her then!" I stroked Everly’s head. "It’s okay, honey. Mommy will take you to school tomorrow." Everly looked at me, and for the first time, I saw genuine fear in her eyes. She was terrified of me. Why? I hadn't done anything. Mark didn't come home that night. After Everly fell asleep, I started searching the house. In the last life, those photos were in my bag. They had to have been taken beforehand. They had to be here. I searched every room. Finally, under Everly’s bed, I found a small metal box with a combination lock. I tried Everly’s birthday. No. I tried Mark’s birthday. Click. I opened the box, and the world stopped. The mystery of two lifetimes was solved in an instant. I finally understood why my daughter—my own blood—was working so hard to see me dead. 5. The next morning, acting as if nothing was wrong, I drove Everly to school. As we got out of the car, a teacher greeted us warmly. "Is this our new student? Come on, let's get you registered." I took Everly’s hand. "Let's go, sweetie." Suddenly, Everly ripped her hand away and dropped to her knees, howling. "No! I don't want to go with Mommy!" "Mommy, please let me go to school! I don't want to take naked pictures for those uncles anymore!" Her scream was high and sharp. The school gate was crowded with parents dropping off their kids. Everyone froze. Faces twisted in horror as they looked at me. The teacher immediately pulled Everly behind her. "What did you do to this child? Naked pictures? Are you insane?" Here it was. In my past life, this teacher—Ms. Lane—had immediately condemned me. Before I could even breathe, parents were surrounding me. In the last life, they found the photos in my bag. But this time, I wasn't going to wait. I stepped forward and slapped the teacher across the face. "You're the one who's insane! You hear a child say something and immediately accuse a parent? Is this how you run this school?" "If you're this quick to judge without evidence, how can we trust our children with you? What if our kids are being bullied and you just believe the bully?" My words made the angry parents hesitate. One father frowned. "Wait, she has a point. Ms. Lane, you shouldn't just throw out accusations like that." Ms. Lane was stunned. Tears welled in her eyes. "I... I just wanted to make sure the child wasn't being hurt! I’m looking out for her!" The parents weren't buying it. "What? You think we’re going to hurt our own kids? Kids at this age say all kinds of things." Ms. Lane didn't understand. She expected a mob. Instead, she was the one being judged. She didn't realize that parents are naturally protective of their own. They know kids have wild imaginations.
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