Frozen Despair: My Parents Left Me to Die on My Own Ice Rink

My parents used to love me more than life itself.

Because I loved figure skating, they built a massive, professional-grade ice rink right on our estate.

My mother, who had never done a day of manual labor in her life, learned professional sports massage therapy just for me.

My father personally cooked all my meals and stayed up all night watching me practice.

I believed I was the luckiest girl in the world.

Until my parents had Lily.

Lily was born with severe congenital cognitive delay. One day, she sneaked onto the ice by herself and fell hard.

Just as I was rushing to help her up, my mother grabbed my hair and slapped me hard across the face.

"We gave you everything, and this is how you treat Lily? You tried to kill her!"

My father looked at me with deep disappointment and ordered me to apologize to Lily.

But my mother screamed hysterically,

"An apology? How is a wicked brat like her ever going to learn her lesson from just an apology?"

"Since you love figure skating so much, you can skate out there until you rot!"

My mother stripped me of my warm clothes and forced me onto the ice.

My bare skin immediately stuck to the freezing ice. Every single move I made tore at my flesh, causing agonizing pain.

I held back my tears, not daring to make a sound or stop.

I had to keep dancing. I had to skate until my parents loved me again.

"Mom... Chloe is so cold..."

My voice trembled, and my breath smelled of copper and blood.

My parents used to tell me that this ice rink was built by top-tier professionals and that the temperature could be adjusted.

But now, to punish me, Mom had turned the temperature down to minus thirty degrees.

Whenever I used to come in here, they would bundle me up like a marshmallow.

But now, my nearly bare body was shaking violently.

And someone had filled my skates with thumbtacks.

Every single step was a sharp, piercing torture.

Still, I told myself that Mom loved me. If I just apologized properly, she would forgive me.

But across the heavy glass door, my mothers angry scream shattered my last hope.

"Shut up! Lily was only wearing a t-shirt today. Did you strip her jacket off?"

"Lily knows when shes cold! You must have taken it off her, you wicked girl! How dare you complain about being cold? You deserve to freeze to death!"

I wanted to tell her it wasnt me.

But then I remembered the time I went to make Lilys baby formula, and she accidentally swallowed an eraser from my desk.

Mom had made me kneel outside in the freezing wind all night.

I had cried and said it was an accident.

But Mom had slapped me.

"Lily doesn't know any better! You must have put it there on purpose to choke her!"

"Why are you so malicious? Have we not been good to you? Do you have to kill her to be satisfied?"

"Don't try to manipulate me with your tears! I despise your fake innocence!"

I swallowed my explanations along with my tears.

Once, when I was younger, I accidentally broke my late grandmother's vintage vase.

But Mom had rushed over to check if I was hurt first.

When I cried out of guilt, she gently wiped my tears away.

"Nothing in this world is more important than my Chloe."

"When you cry, my heart breaks."

I didn't want Mom's heart to break.

And I didn't want Mom to hate me.

If I just kept skating, she would forgive me.

I gritted my teeth and pushed myself up from the ice.

My burning skin was stuck to the frozen surface.

The moment it tore away, the pain almost made me pass out.

The tacks dug deep into the soles of my feet, but I forced myself to keep moving, keep dancing.

Until my body grew completely stiff.

My teeth chattered uncontrollably, and my feet refused to take another step.

Through the glass, I heard Mom's voice.

"Sweetheart, Lily, Mom is going to take you out for some delicious pancakes."

The footsteps of my mother and Lily faded away.

I panicked and screamed toward the door.

"Mom! Don't leave! Mom..."

The footsteps grew quieter and quieter.

Mom had completely forgotten about me.

My heart felt frozen solid, cold and aching.

I collapsed onto the ice, curling into a tight ball.

"It's okay. Mom loves Chloe. She'll come back for me."

I whispered to comfort myself, and eventually, I drifted off to sleep.

It felt so warm, like I was back in my parents' loving embrace.

I was still their precious little girl.

I smiled in my sleep, and then I saw Dad coming home.

He was carrying my favorite strawberry cake in his hand.

"Where's Chloe? I was too harsh on her last night. I bought her favorite cake."

Hearing Dad's words made my chest tighten.

My heart ached, like it was being gently scratched by a kitten.

"Dad..."

I ran over to hug him, but my arms passed straight through his body.

I couldn't touch him at all.

I looked down at my transparent hands.

Slowly, the realization hit me.

Chloe was dead.

Would Mom and Dad finally forgive me now?

"Harsh?"

Mom let out a cold laugh. She pulled up Lilys sleeve, revealing the fresh bandages underneath.

"Weve been more than good to her! And how does she repay us? By hurting Lily! I only gave her a little punishment. How is that harsh?"

Mom was right.

I had already received so much. It was fine if I didn't get to eat the cake. I shouldn't be so selfish.

Yet, when Mom cut the cake, she still subconsciously left the biggest slice for me.

Dad smiled softly.

"Alright, I know how much you love both of our girls."

"Go call her down for dinner. You'll be the one crying if she goes hungry."

Mom pursed her lips but didn't argue.

I floated behind Dad as he walked up to my room.

"Chloe, dinner's ready."

He opened the door, but the room was empty.

He searched room after room, but I was nowhere to be found.

His expression grew tense as he walked toward the private ice rink.

My heart instantly leaped into my throat.

I knew what I looked like right now.

My body was frozen solid, covered in blood.

It was too ugly. I didn't want Mom and Dad to see me like this.

I stood in front of the door, trying desperately to block him.

But just as his hand touched the doorknob.

Lily accidentally bumped her head in the living room and started crying.

Dad froze. He turned around anxiously.

"What happened to Lily?"

Mom cradled Lily in her arms, shushing her.

"Lily is hungry! How long are you going to keep looking for that ungrateful brat?"

"She probably ran off to one of her friends' houses. She can't handle the slightest bit of discipline. Lily has it a hundred times harder than her!"

My parents always said that it was a miracle Lily even survived.

They told me to look after her, to love her just as much as they loved me.

So, I learned how to prep her baby formula and change her diapers.

I learned to give Lily the first bite of everything, and I washed her clothes.

Chloe had tried so hard.

Why did Mom still call me an ungrateful brat?

Dad sighed.

"Honey, I know taking care of Lily is exhausting for you."

"But Chloe has always been a good kid. She would never leave without saying anything."

He pulled out his phone and called my friend Audrey's mother.

"Is Chloe over at Audrey's place?"

Audrey's mom laughed on the other end.

"Didn't Audrey say she was having a sleepover at Chloe's tonight? You guys didn't know?"

The call ended. Dad's knuckles turned white as he gripped his phone.

My gentle father was angry for the first time.

"She left without a word, and now shes staying out all night!"

Mom smirked, as if she had expected this all along.

"I told you, that girl is rotten to the core. So young, and already lying and sneaking out."

"Forget about her. Let's eat."

I didn't lie.

I really didn't.

Audrey and I weren't even real friends.

She loved to bully me, but she always turned it around and told everyone I was the bully.

At first, my parents believed me.

But then Audreys mom came over and showed them a video of me allegedly hitting Audrey.

They made me get on my knees and beg Audrey for forgiveness.

Audrey said she forgave me and still wanted to be my best friend.

My parents praised her for having a good heart.

But they never noticed the tiny AI watermark in the bottom corner of the video.

After that, Audrey used my name as an excuse whenever she snaked out to party.

And if I dared to tell the truth, she would have her friends beat me up even harder.

I wanted to scream the truth, but no one could hear me.

Helplessly, I sat by the corner of the dining table, watching my parents feed Lily.

My slice of the cake was tossed into the trash can by my mother.

I reached out to grab it.

But I couldn't reach the cake.

And I could never reach their trust again.

After dinner, Mom dressed Lily in a beautiful outfit.

Dad warmed up a bottle of milk and put it in his pocket.

"Lily said she wanted to go to the amusement park. Let's go."

The amusement park.

Chloe wanted to go, too.

In the past, no matter how busy Dad was, he would always make time for me.

Mom would always pack my favorite snacks.

But later, Dad was always "too busy."

And Mom would sneer, "Why would a wicked girl like you deserve to go to an amusement park?"

But now, my soul was tethered to them, dragged along as they walked out the door.

Mom, look! I get to go to the amusement park with you now.

Along the way, whatever Lily wanted to eat or buy, my parents immediately got it for her.

It made my chest feel tight.

Like I had eaten a hundred sour lemons.

But it was okay.

I patted myself. As long as they were happy, it was okay.

After they got off the carousel, the three of them took a family photo.

Dad stared at the picture on his phone for a long time, silent.

"Next time, let's bring Chloe too."

Mom's expression soured, but she didn't say no.

As they were heading over to watch the fireworks, they ran into Audrey, who was hanging out with a group of older boys.

But I wasn't with her.

Dad frowned, confused.

"Audrey, isn't Chloe with you?"

Whenever Audrey snuck out with boys, she used my name. This time was no different.

Her eyes darted around quickly, and she put on a fake, worried face.

"Mr. Miller, Mrs. Miller... please don't tell Chloe I told you... but shes actually off with her boyfriend."

"She asked me to cover for her."

Mom's body began to shake with rage.

Her face turned bright red, and she gritted her teeth.

"That cheap girl! Sneaking out to be with boys at her age!"

"How did I raise such a shameless creature?!"

Dad's fists clenched tightly. He couldn't believe it.

"Are you sure about this, Audrey?"

Audrey exchanged a glance with the boys behind her and nodded solemnly.

"It's true! Her boyfriend is a bad guy who steals money from other kids and bullies people. Chloe does it too, and she even smokes."

"And whenever she took Lily out, she would pinch her. Lily probably still has the bruises on her arms."

Mom's eyes widened in horror. She immediately pulled up Lilys sleeves.

Sure enough, there were dark, purple bruises scattered across her skin.

But Audrey was the one who did that!

Audrey had sneaked into our house, cornered Lily, and pinched her.

When I tried to stop her, Audrey called her friends to beat me up.

They had pushed me into the freezing lake on our property.

If Dad hadn't come home early that day, I would have drowned.

I was only trying to protect Lily!

I didn't do those things!

I never did!

Audrey did all of it!!

"Mom, Dad, I didn't!"

I screamed at the top of my lungs, floating right in front of their faces, but they couldn't hear a thing.

Their eyes grew colder and colder.

Even Dad, who had always tried to believe in me, clutched his chest in agony.

He gasped for air, his face turning pale.

"How... how did I raise such a monster?"

"Is she really just born wicked?!"

Dad's voice cracked. His heart condition was flaring up.

I panicked, circling around him, but my ghostly hands couldn't do anything to help.

Mom's hands shook as she fed him his nitro pills while trying to calm a crying Lily.

"Robert, we need to go to the hospital..."

"This is all because of that cursed girl. She scared Lily, and now shes giving you a heart attack."

"She wanted to freeze Lily to death... what did I do to deserve a daughter like her?!"

Once he stabilized, Dad shook his head.

He closed his eyes in deep exhaustion.

"Let's go home."

They said goodbye to Audrey and drove back with Lily.

Once Lily was asleep, Mom marched into my bedroom and began smashing everything in sight.

"Bitch! Monster! You don't deserve to be my daughter!"

She tore my photos off the wall and trampled on my face with her heels.

"You don't deserve me! You don't!"

The letters I wrote her, the drawings I made.

And the trophies I had bled and cried to win.

Everything was destroyed.

I stared blankly at the ruins of my room, feeling as if my own heart had been trampled into pieces.

It hurt so bad.

Mom, please don't hate Chloe, okay?

I couldn't bear to watch anymore. I floated down to the ice rink where Dad was standing.

He had called a crew of workers over, his voice cold.

"Demolish the ice rink."

Dad once told me that even if I grew tired of figure skating.

They would keep this rink for me forever.

Because I would always be their precious girl.

But now, they believed I was a monster who hurt my own sister.

Even Dad hated me now.

My tears fell, splashing onto the cold floor, but I couldn't wipe them away.

"I'm sorry, it's all my fault... I'm sorry..."

The construction crew worked quickly.

They brought in heavy machinery to break up the thick ice.

And with it, my frozen, brittle body was shattered into pieces.

"Wait, did we hit something?"

One of the workers frowned, looking at the dark red blood spreading across the cracked ice.

It was my leg. It had been severed by the drill.

And my neck.

I'm sorry, sir. I didn't mean to scare you.

I wish Chloe could have died a bit cleaner.

I curled up in the corner.

It was so, so cold.

The workers turned pale and immediately called the police.

One of them ran to get my parents, his voice trembling.

"You... you guys! There's a dead body in your ice rink!"

Mom had just finished bathing Lily and was putting her to bed.

Hearing the worker's words, she snapped, screaming in anger,

"What the hell are you talking about? Say something that cursed again and Ill have you fired!"

"My child is sleeping! If you scare her, I'll sue you!"

The worker, getting yelled at for no reason, lost his temper too.

"Sue me? I don't even want this cursed job! You've got a dead body in there and you didn't even know!"

Dad gently patted Moms back to calm her down.

He tried to keep his voice polite.

"There must be a misunderstanding. No one has used the rink in days."

The last time anyone was in there was three days ago.

After Lily fell, they had locked the doors.

And since they assumed I was just a rebellious brat staying out late.

They never would have guessed it was me.

Instead, Mom seemed to realize something.

She let out a bitter, mocking laugh.

"It must be that little bitch!"

"Shes so malicious. I bet she threw a dead stray cat in there just to spite me!"

"How did I give birth to someone so disgusting?"

The worker stared at her in utter disbelief.

"Do you think I can't tell the difference between a human corpse and a cat?!"

But Mom wasn't listening.

In her mind, I was already the epitome of evil.

No matter what the worker said, she just waved her hand dismissively.

"Just get back to work."

Dad frowned, a sudden chill running down his spine.

"When did Chloe actually leave the rink that night?"

Mom sighed, annoyed.

"With her spoiled attitude? She probably couldn't last five minutes before she ran out."

Dad wanted to say more.

But Lily started crying inside.

The two of them rushed back into the house.

Just a few feet away from my shattered body, they chose to walk in the opposite direction.

The worker spat on the ground, furious.

"What kind of parents are they? Absolute psychopaths!"

"I'm out of here!"

He was angry on my behalf.

I sniffed and whispered softly,

"Thank you, sir."

But honestly, rather than my body being found.

I wished it would just disappear so it wouldn't scare anyone.

And since my parents hated Chloe so much, they probably didn't want to hear about my death anyway.

This was fine.

But a short while later.

The police arrived, knocking loudly on the front door.

Mom, highly stressed, opened the door with a glare.

"What do you want?"

The officer showed his badge.

"We received a report of a deceased body inside your private ice rink."

"We need to go in and inspect the premises immediately."

Mom glared at the construction worker standing behind the police, her teeth clenched.

"I told you it was a stray cat! Was it really necessary to call the cops?"

"What if you wake up my daughter?"

The worker didn't even look at her. He turned to Dad.

"You guys can find someone else to demolish this place. We don't deal with dead bodies!"

Dad rubbed his temples, looking exhausted.

He apologized to the police and tried to explain,

"Our oldest daughter is just playing a prank."

"There can't be a body. It's late, please leave."

But the officers pushed past them, entering the estate.

"Please do not obstruct our investigation."

Mom was furious, but she couldn't stop them.

"Fine! Go look! Let's see what kind of joke you find!"

Lily had been woken up by the noise, so Mom had to carry her along.

I floated in front of them, trying to block Lilys eyes.

She was so little. What if she had nightmares?

But no matter how frantic I was, I couldn't touch them.

As they passed my bedroom door, Lily tugged on Moms sleeve.

Mom kissed her forehead gently.

"What's wrong, sweetie? Are you scared of Chloe?"

"It's okay, baby. Chloe isn't here. She can't hurt you anymore."

Lily kept shaking her head, but Mom didn't understand what she meant.

Instead, one of the officers turned and asked,

"Where is your other daughter?"

Before Mom could start screaming insults about me.

Dad quickly interrupted.

"Shes staying over at a friends house."

I knew why. Dads career was on the rise.

He didn't want the police to know that Chloe was a delinquent.

So, Dad lied.

Mom muttered under her breath,

"It's all because of that curse of a girl, seriously..."

Before she could finish her sentence.

The heavy doors to the ice rink were pushed open.

The overwhelming stench of iron and blood filled the air, making Mom gag.

A young officer inside gasped, his voice cracking.

"Chief! The body... its a young girl!"