Chapter 4: The Truth Behind the Missed Portrait

The next day, when I opened my eyes, it was already ten o’clock.

I didn’t even bother with shoes. I shot out of bed and ran out of my room.

The door had just swung open when I collided with my family.

They were just returning from the photo shoot, Mom, Dad, my brother, and my sister.

I fell hard, my body hitting the floor.

The sole of my foot landed on something sharp.

Blood immediately welled from the gash.

But I didn’t feel a thing.

There was only one thought in my mind.

I missed it. Again.

My brother glanced at the blood on the floor, his voice laced with ice.

“You’d pull a stunt like this just to get out of taking a photo with us?”

“Alejandra, you never cease to amaze me.”

With that, he turned and went to his room without a second glance.

My parents just sighed and walked away.

Only my sister was left.

She chattered about how much fun the photo shoot had been.

Finally, she leaned in to comfort me.

“Sis, I know you must feel awful about missing the family portrait.”

“But I thought of a solution.”

“We can just Photoshop you in.”

“What do you think?”

Her words were meant to sound helpful.

But her eyes were full of smug satisfaction.

Suddenly, I remembered the glass of milk from last night.

I shot to my feet and grabbed Isabela’s arm.

“Tell me the truth.”

“Did you put something in my milk? Is that why I overslept?”

My sister’s eyes immediately welled with tears.

“Sis, what are you talking about? I don’t understand.”

As we stood there, locked in a standoff, my gaze fell on the Nest camera.

It was in the corner of the living room.

Something shifted in me.

I shoved her away, rushed into the study, and pulled up the security footage from last night.

The moment the image loaded, my entire body went rigid.

In the video, my sister hid in the kitchen.

She dropped a small white pill into a glass of milk.

Then she carried that same glass into my room.

A wave of pure rage washed over me.

So all those times I’d “overslept” hadn’t been accidents.

Just like the secret group chat, this was all deliberate.

My hand slipped on the mouse, dragging the timeline back half a month.

In the new footage, she appeared again, once more dropping pills into my milk.

My hands turned to ice.

Half a month ago was the day of the SAT.

She didn’t just want me out of the family portrait.

She wanted to destroy my score. She wanted to ruin my future.

Luckily, my stomach had been upset that day.

After drinking the milk, I spent half the night in the bathroom.

So the drug never fully took hold.

Otherwise… I couldn’t bear to imagine the consequences.

I showed the evidence to my parents.

But they didn't explode with anger like I thought they would.

They didn’t even say anything harsh to my sister.

They just said, quietly,

“Don’t do this again.”

Then they turned on me.

“Nothing serious happened, did it?”

“Did you really have to make such a scene?”

“You’re scaring Isabela.”

They pulled my sister into their arms, comforting her softly.

My brother came over, too.

“Exactly. We’re family. Do you have to keep score like this?”

“And even if Isabela did do something wrong…”

“Are you completely blameless?”

I lifted my head and looked at the three of them.

They were the people I had once valued more than anyone.

Now I finally saw them clearly.

To protect Isabela, they would discard even the most basic sense of right and wrong.

Suddenly, I started to laugh.

Tears streamed down my face as I laughed.

My parents just looked at me with impatience.

“It’s just one family portrait.”

“We’ll take you back tomorrow to get it redone, if it’s that important.”

I stopped laughing and looked at them, my voice calm.

“No need.”

There was no need to retake the portrait.

And there was no need for me to ever come back to this family.

I went to my room and dragged out my suitcase.

There was very little in this house that was truly mine, so packing was quick.

I blocked every number in my family.

I left the iMessage group named “The Navarro Family.”

Then I picked up my suitcase and walked out of the house.

I boarded a plane to the East Coast.

This time, I didn’t look back.