Gemotions

The dim glow of the laptop screen swam before Amelia's eyes. It was late, much later than she usually stayed up, but the nagging worry about her daughter, Chloe, had kept her tethered to the chair in the quiet house. Her eyelids felt heavy, like lead weights. Chloe's phone was charging downstairs. Amelia scrolled through the search history, her head bobbing slightly. Nothing suspicious. Then, a flicker of something new. A different name. A different account. She clicked on the link, her fingers clumsy and slow.

Her breath hitched. The profile picture was Chloe, but not Chloe as she knew her. This girl wore heavy makeup and posed with a calculated coolness. A wave of nausea churned in her stomach. Amelia rubbed her temples, trying to clear her vision. The words on the screen blurred, a jumble of slang and filtered photos.

This was not the daughter she raised.