Chapter 6 Dad looked confused for a second , clearly not expecting me to bring this up out of nowhere . He frowned and said : " Yeah , I remember . Didn't the hospital manage to get some from a neighboring city's blood bank at the last minute ? " At the time , he'd been totally panicked about the whole crisis , and once he got the good news , he was just relieved and didn't think to ask more questions . " The hospital managed it ? " My smile got even deeper , then I said : " You contacted how many people that day ? Called in how many favors ? Even offered to pay crazy money , and still couldn't find any right away . " ' So how come right when I was in the most danger , suddenly there was some available ? " Dad's frown got deeper . Now that I put it that way , all those details he'd ignored started becoming clear again . ne minute , the doctors were saying there was absolutely no way , they couldn't find a blood source anywhere . he next second , the attending physician was telling him they'd found some through " special emergency channels . " le'd been so happy at the time that he never questioned it . his totally crazy but crystal - clear thought hit him like a lightning bolt . hose " special channels " - who else besides her could have pulled that off ? eeing Dad's reaction , I knew he'd figured it out . Besides Mom , who else could have saved me in that situation ? " Ly eyes got watery and my voice cracked a little , then I said : " She's the only one with that kind of ability and clearance to get blood that fast . " stopped looking at Dad's shocked expression , pushed down the hurt that was bubbling up , and kept talking . And there was that time freshman year when some older girls cornered me behind the science building . They stole my notes and shoved me around - I almost ell down the stairs . " The next day , those same girls didn't just give me my notes back , they apologized to me in front of the whole class, looking white as ghosts like they'd seen omething terrifying . " Then sophomore year , someone messed with my bike brakes . Going down that hill , I went flying straight toward traffic and almost got hit by a car . " Suddenly this scooter came out of nowhere and knocked me into the bushes instead . By the time I got up , whoever was riding it had disappeared . " There have been tons of incidents like that . " Every time I got into trouble or was in danger , these weird coincidences would happen to get me out of it . " Kids who bullied me would suddenly back off or even transfer schools . Broken stuff would mysteriously get fixed . " Like there was this invisible guardian angel watching over me . " " Why ... why didn't you tell me ? " Dad's voice was shaking with fear , then he said : " All these things that happened to you how come you never said anything ? " I looked up at him , trying hard not to let the tears fall " I did tell you , Dad . " " That time I got cornered behind the science building , I told you when I got home . " " You were sitting with Mrs. Hayes looking at hotels on the tablet , planning some vacation with Kaya . " 22:19 From ' Beloved Daughter ' to Dead Burdon ' ? 2 Now Watch Your Perfect Family ' BURNI 21.69 Chapter 6 " You didn't even look up . You just said ' You're fine , aren't you ? Try to be more easygoing with your classmates and don't make such a big deal out of everything . " " Later , when my bike brakes failed and I came home with my knee scraped up and bleeding , you asked what happened . " " After I told you , you just said to clean up the wound myself , then added ' Be more careful when you ride and make sure you maintain your bike properly . " I paused for a moment , turned my head slightly , and my voice got quieter . ' After that , I stopped telling you . " Because ... there was no point . " Besides , I knew Mom was protecting me . That was enough . " Dad's face went completely pale and he couldn't say anything . smiled with this kind of calm acceptance . So I never believed Mom was dead . " Not because I couldn't accept it , but because the evidence was always there . You just chose to ignore it , and I chose to believe it . " If Mom isn't showing herself , she must have a really good reason . " Since she doesn't want me to know she's alive , I'll just pretend I don't know . " When I talked about the kidnapping , my eyes lit up . The person who saved me had their face covered and was disguising their voice , and even seemed different physically , but I just knew it was her . Because ... " grabbed the dog tags on my chest - the cold metal had warmed up from my body heat . Mom told me a long time ago that these dog tags have a special chip inside , so no matter where I go wearing them , she can always find me . " So this isn't just a keepsake - it's the safety net she left me . " She must have sensed I was in trouble , so she came to find me and saved me right when those guys were about to shoot . " I dropped my phone when I was escaping from that abandoned warehouse . " So when the kidnappers called you later , Mom had already rescued me . " ad looked like he'd been struck by lightning , and his hand gripping the couch was shaking badly . all suddenly made sense to him . he kidnappers ' threats were just them being pissed off after I'd been rescued . ind he'd been yelling at me and had given up on me completely . 22.10