Flood Countdown: 12 Hours. City-wide mandatory evacuation. My parents frantically stuffed all our belongings into the car and sped off. They took my adopted cousin, even her two little pet turtles. The only thing they forgot was me. As the floodwaters surged, my mother finally remembered she had another daughter. "Lily, you have to run! The flood is coming!" "Where are you?" I cried. Over the phone, her voice was laced with guilt. "Just run! Get out of there!" Then I heard my cousin, Claire's, excited voice in the background: "Mom, Dad, look! The highway is clear!" In that instant, I understood. They had already abandoned me. After I miraculously survived the flood, my biological parents came to the shelter, crying, wanting me back. But I walked right past them and ran into the arms of my new mom and dad. 1 "Lily, you have to run! The flood is coming!" The sound of rushing water had woken me. When the landline rang, my backpack was already floating, my second-grade workbook a pulpy mess. "Mom? The house is flooding! Where are you?" Panic seized me, and I burst into tears, my small hands fumbling, unsure of what to do. My mother didn't answer immediately. When she did, her voice was heavy with guilt. "Just… just run, Lily." It was only then that I noticed. Every door in the house was wide open. My parents' room looked like it had been ransacked. My cousin's room was empty. Even the two small turtles she kept on the balcony were gone. A roar filled my head, and my face drained of color. A terrifying thought clawed its way into my mind. No, it can't be… They wouldn't leave me. "Mom? Dad? The water's rising! I'm scared, please, come and get me…" I sobbed, clutching my stuffed rabbit, my small body curled into a corner of the sofa, trembling uncontrollably. My mother didn't answer. Instead, I heard Claire's cheerful voice. "Mom, Dad, look! The highway is clear!" In that moment, my world tilted and shattered. The flood was coming, and my parents had taken my cousin and fled. They'd packed everything, not even forgetting Claire's pet turtles. But they had forgotten me. My father's voice, thick with anger and shame, crackled over the line. "You have the nerve to ask? You were sleeping like a log! Nothing could wake you!" My sobs grew louder. I'd been running a fever for two days before my mom had even noticed. She'd called the school, given me some medicine, and I'd fallen into a deep, medicated sleep. My mother's voice was sharp with impatience now. "Stop crying! There's still time before the flood hits. Go downstairs and find some of the other neighbors who are evacuating. Your father and I will pick you up with Claire later." The line went dead with a screech of static. The power was out. The water was rising faster. Crying, I scrambled for the stairs. We lived in an old, five-story apartment building. Halfway up, I remembered the inflatable ring Claire used for her swimming lessons. Sobbing, I ran back to get it. The water level kept climbing, relentless, until it had swallowed the entire fifth floor. I clung to a wooden plank, the swim ring looped over my arm, and drifted for what felt like an eternity. A deep, penetrating cold seeped into my bones. My consciousness began to fade. 2 When I woke up, I was in a makeshift hospital bed. In a daze, I felt someone feeding me medicine, gently cleaning my face. A sharp prick in my hand made me whimper, and I slowly opened my eyes. A woman in a white coat was looking at me with a gentle expression. "You're awake, little one. Don't move. This shot will help you get better faster. Why were you all alone in the flood? Where are your parents?" My gaze fell, and large tears splashed onto the clean white blanket. I just cried, saying nothing. The doctor's eyes widened in alarm, and she quickly changed the subject, her voice full of regret. "Would you like some chicken? I can go get you some." I looked at her and gave a small, timid nod. The high fever had damaged my throat, and I couldn't speak. Whenever anyone asked about my family, I just shook my head. They assumed I was an orphan. They would sigh and look at me with pity. Someone suggested sending me to an orphanage. But I clung to the doctor's white coat. Wherever she went, I followed. I couldn't bear to be left behind again. The doctor, a kind woman named Mrs. Song, couldn't bring herself to leave me. She took me home with her. When she opened the door, a little boy's face lit up. "Mom! Dad! You really got me a big sister!" He circled me, full of curiosity, while I stood there nervously, twisting the hem of my shirt. Mrs. Song laughed. "Peter has been begging for a sister every single day." Her husband, a good-natured man who worked for the city government, smiled. After he spoke, their eyes met, and they went into another room to talk for a long time. Later, Mrs. Song knelt in front of me, her voice soft. "Would you like to stay here with us? Would you let me be your mom?" I stared at her, stunned and overwhelmed. My vision blurred as hot tears fell onto my hands. "…Momma," I whispered. Her face broke into a radiant smile. "You can talk!" After that, they started the adoption process. I took my new father's last name, Song. They named me Maya, because, as my new mom said, they found me in the water. 3 Two years later, it was the first day of school in September. Peter was starting first grade, and I was in fifth. I confidently led my new parents through the crowded halls to find Peter's classroom. "Mom, Dad, that's Mrs. Gable. She used to be my English teacher. Now she's Peter's," I explained. Just as I was about to go say hello, a familiar voice called out. "Lily? Is that you, Lily?" A second later, a woman grabbed my arm. It was my biological mother. Standing behind her was Claire, who was also starting first grade. My mother's face was a mixture of shock and elation. She stared at me, her eyes tracing my features, confirming I was the same girl from her memory. A choked, sorrowful sob escaped her throat. "Lily… my daughter! I thought you were dead! Where have you been? Where have you been all this time?" She clutched me, her body shaking with sobs. "Lily, I missed you so much. Why don't you call me Mom?" I looked at her blankly. "Ma'am, I think you have the wrong person." Her eyes widened in disbelief. I pulled my arm free and ran to my new parents, hiding behind them as if I were frightened. My biological mother's heart seemed to break. "How can you not know me? Lily, look at me, it's Mom! We were separated in the flood two years ago!" I frowned, my expression a mix of confusion and annoyance. "You're really mistaken, ma'am. My mom and dad are right here." She froze, her gaze shifting to our family of four. She shook her head in agony. No… How could her perfectly fine daughter suddenly belong to someone else? How could she be calling other people "Mom" and "Dad"? The other parents and students in the classroom were starting to stare, unnerved by her frantic behavior. My adoptive parents exchanged a look. They understood immediately. My new mom looked down at me. I gave a slight shake of my head. Though she didn't understand why I was denying it, she still protected me. "Ma'am," she said firmly, "you've made a mistake. My daughter's name is Maya Song, not Lily." Just then, my biological father arrived and heard the whole exchange. The light in his eyes died. "Maya?" he mumbled, utterly lost. "But she looks just like Lily." Mrs. Gable came out to see what the commotion was. "Claire's mom, you must be mistaken. I know Maya. She was one of my students." Everyone was watching. Claire looked mortified. "Mom, get up! Please, just get up!" People started to dismiss it as a tragic misunderstanding—a grieving mother seeing her lost child in a stranger's face. Some even tried to comfort my biological mother. Just as I was starting to relax, she lunged at me, tearing at my shirt. "Lily has a red birthmark on her stomach! Let me see!" I screamed. My new parents immediately shielded me. "Are you insane? Tearing a child's clothes off in public? If you don't stop, I'm calling the police!" The scene descended into chaos. Then, my mother's triumphant shout echoed through the hall. "There it is! It's her! She is Lily!" My heart sank. She'd seen it. 4 We all ended up at the police station. In front of the officers, my biological parents were hysterical, pointing at my adoptive parents and screaming. "It's them! They're child traffickers!" "They kidnapped our daughter and changed her name! Those monsters!" My adoptive parents looked grim, but for my sake, they remained silent. I watched my biological parents' meltdown with a blank face, feeling nothing. "Alright, that's enough!" Officer Miller slammed his hand on the desk. "This is a police station, not a market! If you want to shout, take it outside!" They fell silent, but their eyes were still burning with rage. Officer Miller turned to me, his voice gentle. "Little girl, who are your real mom and dad?" Under my biological parents' hopeful gaze, I pressed closer to my new parents. "I don't know them." My biological mother's eyes filled with despair. "Lily, think carefully. I'm your mother." My biological father exploded. "Officer, she must have gone through some kind of trauma! That's why she's lost her memory! You have to investigate these two traffickers!" My new dad frowned. "Sir, Ma'am, I understand your pain, but please, calm down. You're scaring my daughter. You say Maya is your child. How did you lose her?" My biological parents froze. My mother's eyes darted around guiltily, and my father started to stammer. "We… we got separated during the flood." A sarcastic smile touched my lips. "How careless of you." My mother's face went pale. Then, as if to cover her guilt, she started wailing. "Child, you don't understand how evil people can be! If all the traffickers in the world were dead, no child would ever be lost! They must have drugged you to make you forget! Don't you people have a conscience?" She sobbed hysterically, a perfect imitation of a grief-stricken mother on a TV show about finding lost children. But she never once mentioned the truth—that they had left me to die in the flood. My biological father pointed a shaking finger at my new parents. "You'll be cursed! I bet that son of yours is bought too! Officer, these two need to be executed! The death penalty!" My new dad's face was livid, and my mom was trembling with rage. "Watch your mouth in front of the child!" I stepped in front of my new parents. "Whatever you say bounces off me and sticks to you." My biological parents looked like they'd been slapped. Officer Miller rubbed his temples. "Is this child your biological daughter? If you have a birth certificate, show it to them and put this to rest. If not, we'll have to do a DNA test." My new parents exchanged a hesitant look, but before they could speak, I cut them off. "Why should I have to do a DNA test with them? If anyone needs to provide proof, it's them. Don't I know who my own parents are?" I didn't want to acknowledge them. Not at all. Officer Miller paused. The kid had a point. He turned to my biological parents. "Do you have any proof?" 5 "The birthmark! My daughter has a red birthmark right on her stomach, exactly the same," my mother said quickly. I scoffed. "What kind of proof is that? Lots of people have birthmarks." She was speechless. Just then, an older officer from the records department walked by with a mug of tea. "Oh, hey," he said casually. "Looks like this little girl found her birth parents." Everyone's expression changed. I clenched my fists. You old fool! Of all the times to show up. My biological parents' faces lit up. They grabbed the old officer. "This child was adopted?" The officer looked confused. "Yeah, I processed the paperwork myself. What's wrong?" My mother collapsed to the floor, wailing. "The truth is out! She's my daughter! My lost daughter!" "Is this true?" Officer Miller asked my new parents. Seeing that the secret was out, my new mom finally admitted it. "Maya is indeed our adopted daughter. But we are not traffickers. We went through the official, legal adoption process." My biological mother shrieked at her. "Of course, you'd say that! Why didn't you admit it before? You lying, heartless animals!" She looked at me then, as if I were a long-lost treasure. "Lily, we are your parents. They're the bad guys. Please, just try to remember!" "We demand a DNA test! We're taking our daughter home!" my biological father insisted. I glanced over at Claire in the corner. She was staring at me with pure hatred, as if she resented me for coming back to steal her parents. "That won't be necessary," I said, my voice clear and steady. "I haven't lost my memory. I remember you." My mother's face turned a ghastly white.
? Continue the story here ?? ? Download the "MotoNovel" app ? search for "394037", and watch the full series ✨! #MotoNovel