842 Days in the Asylum: My Family’s Gift Chapter 09
Lyra’s POV
Papa stopped. Nobody moved.
“Alright,” Mama sobbed. “Alright.”
Her trembling hands searched through her pockets until she found her phone. She opened the recording
app and held the screen up for me to see.
“I, Elara Kane, hereby renounce all ties to Lyra Kane. From this day forward, she will have no connection
to the Kane family.”
“Add this,” I said coldly. “You will never force me to come back. If I leave today, you will never interfere
with my life again.”
Mama’s shoulders shook. But she repeated every word.
When she finished, I lowered the knife. Lily collapsed immediately into Mama’s arms, sobbing
uncontrollably.
Mama held her tight. Papa rushed to them. Matteo stood frozen where he was.
I looked at them one last time, then I turned toward the front door and ran.
I heard Papa yelling for the guards to stop me.
Then I heard Mama shouting back. “Let her go!”
I didn’t look back. I kept running until I found a small pawn shop tucked between two old buildings. Inside, I took off the silver necklace I had worn since infancy.
The owner examined it for a moment before offering me eight hundred dollars.
I accepted.
For years, I had never dared take that necklace off. Ironically, it had even been my lifeline inside the
asylum.
I used to clutch it every night, holding onto it like a child holding onto a fairy tale, convincing myself that
somewhere out there, a better future was waiting for me.
Now, I had sold it, fifteen years of memories, the last piece of the life I used to have, all for eight hundred
dollars.
I stared down at the bills in my hand and took a slow breath.
From now on, Lyra, you live for yourself and just yourself.
Two years passed in a blur.
After leaving New York City, I settled in a small town and found work at a local barbecue restaurant. It wasn’t anything fancy, but with my history and my condition, it was probably the best job I could hope
for.
Most days, only two people worked there.
The owner hadn’t wanted to hire me at first. Then she accidentally saw the fading bruises on my arms.
Something softened in her eyes.
In the end, she gave me a chance.
I worked harder than anyone else. I was the first one to unlock the doors every morning and usually the
last one to leave at night.
Slowly, the bruises faded. The scars remained, but they no longer hurt the same way.
My mind grew quieter and calmer too.
I doubted I would ever be completely normal again. The years with the Kane and the time in the asylum had changed me permanently.
But for the first time in a long while, I felt peaceful, satisfied, and… free.
Just as I had started believing life could finally be simple, Matteo appeared at the barbecue tonight, just
before closing.
He hesitated for several seconds before speaking. “Lyra…”
“What do you want?” I wasn’t polite about it.
He pulled over a chair and sat down. “Are you doing okay?”
I sat across from him. “Who’s asking?”
A faint smile tugged at his lips. He didn’t seem offended by my attitude anymore.
“You know… those two.” He rubbed the back of his neck. “Especially Father. You know how stubborn he
is.”
I stayed silent.
“There isn’t a day that goes by without him mentioning you.” Matteo glanced down at the table.” Yesterday I caught him looking through one of your childhood photos.”
A cold laugh escaped me.
“Lyra His voice softened. “You’ve been out here alone for two years. Father wants you home Mother too
I looked away.
“I was the one who told them to give you time,” he continued. “I knew you needed space I knew you needed a chance to figure things out on your own.”
For a moment, he fell quiet. Then he let out a long breath. “When they finally told me the truth, I was
furious too.”
His voice was low now. “I can’t even imagine what it felt like for you.”
His voice trailed off before he forced out a weak smile. “Lyra, I think I owe you an apology. For everything
that happened after Lily came home.”
He lowered his gaze even more. “Looking back, even if you weren’t my biological sister, the way I treated you was unacceptable. And now that I know you are-”
“Cut the crap, Matteo.” I looked out the window. There were barely any stars in the sky tonight.
“I really don’t know what went wrong with the asylum,” he said quickly. “I swear to God, Father and I never intended for that to happen. We thought you’d just stay there for a while. Not as a patient. More like… somewhere safe and temporary. You’d help Lily, and it wouldn’t hurt you that much.”
He fell silent for a moment before speaking again. “After you left, Father and I investigated what happened at the asylum.”
His voice trembled. “We found out it was Lily. She paid the doctors double…”
He swallowed hard. “To make you suffer.”
I’d never seen Matteo cry like this before. Angry, yes. Frustrated, countless times. But never like this.
He sat across from me with tears streaming down his face, as if the truth had finally broken something
inside him.
“I don’t know how she managed to hide it for so long,” he said hoarsely. “But she kept it a secret from all
of us.”
He lowered his head into his hands. “When Father and I found out, we kicked her out”
His voice cracked again. “Mom couldn’t accept it.”
He let out a broken laugh that sounded more like a sob. “She couldn’t accept what we’d done to you
because of her.”
He squeezed his eyes shut. “And then… she lost her mind.”
“So?” I frowned, genuinely confused.
Matteo’s head snapped up, surprise flashing across his face.
“You thought I was supposed to forgive all of you just because you finally feel guilty?”
“Lyra, I-”
“There isn’t a single explanation you can give that will undo what happened to me.” I turned, looking
back at that black window. “If that’s all you came here to say, then you should leave now before you waste any more of my time.”
I stood and turned toward the counter.
A second later, Matteo grabbed my wrist. “Lyra, please.”
There was desperation in his voice. “Come home.”
I froze.
“Mother isn’t doing well.”
I said nothing.
“She talks to empty rooms.” His voice cracked. “Sometimes she calls the air by your name. Sometimes Father and I find her wandering through your old bedroom in the middle of the night, holding a pillow and singing lullabies.”
His eyes reddened.
“I know I have no right to ask this. I know I have no right to call myself your family anymore. But maybe…” He swallowed hard. “Maybe before it’s too late, you could forgive her. Even for a second.”
“No.” I pulled my wrist free and finally turned to face him. “If you think I should forgive her because she’s suffering now, then you’re wrong.”
