My Mother, My Murderer Chapter 2

"Mom, the ball tonight was amazing!"

Mia's sweet voice broke the dead silence.

I floated in mid-air, watching them walk in, laughing and talking. Samantha smelled of rich champagne, and she wore a gentle smile on her face that I had never seen directed at me.

Instinctively, I floated over to her.

"Mom, welcome home."

I opened my arms, wanting to give her a big hug like I had fantasized about countless times before.

But my hands passed straight through her body.

Samantha suddenly shivered, her brows furrowing instantly. "What's going on? Where did that cold draft come from?" She pulled her shawl tighter, looking around in confusion.

Grandma Martha, who was following behind, glanced toward the storage closet while taking off her shoes. "Samantha, April is still locked in there. Not a single sound all night. Maybe you should go check on her, make sure she didn't pass out."

I looked at Mom with anticipation.

If she found out I was dead, would she be sad? Would she regret it?

Mom's face instantly went cold. "Even if she passed out, it's her own fault for insisting on lying!"

She marched angrily toward the closet and yanked the door open. She didn't turn on the light.

By the dim glow of the hallway motion sensor, she saw me lying face-down on the floor. Motionless, like a lifeless ragdoll.

"Unbelievable. I tell her to reflect on her actions, and she decides to just sleep through it!" Mom sneered, her voice full of contempt. "She really didn't take a single word I said to heart!"

I shook my head desperately in the air.

I'm not asleep! Mom, I'm dead! Look at me, I'm already dead!

I screamed at her. But she couldn't hear a thing.

All she saw was a stubborn daughter using fake sleep to rebel against her.

Mia came over, peeked inside, and curled her lip in disgust. "Mom, my sister is so annoying. She always makes you mad. Not like me. I never lie."

Mia held up her pale right hand. The silver ring, identical to mine, sat quietly on her finger.

"Look, my ring has never glowed once, and I've never had to suffer the burning magic." She proudly sought Mom's praise.

I looked at Mia's innocent face, feeling nothing but grievance and confusion.

Growing up, Mia had done so many bad things and told so many lies. She broke Grandma's favorite vase, stole Mom's necklace, and even mixed toxic herbs into a patient's medicine.

But every time, she would shake her head innocently and say, "I didn't do it. My sister did."

Her ring was always silent.

But the moment I opened my mouth to defend myself, my ring would instantly release a blazing heat, making me scream and roll on the floor.

Because of this ring, Mom believed Mia's lies without a shadow of a doubt.

"Yes, Mia is such a good, honest girl." Mom gently stroked Mia's hair. When she turned back to me on the floor, her eyes turned ruthless again.

Grandma sighed and stepped forward. "Regardless, the floor is cold. We should at least let her go sleep in her room..."

"No!" Mom cut her off sharply. "The witch said you absolutely cannot go soft on a werewolf born this evil! She has to suffer enough now so she can grow up to be an honest wolf!"

Bang! She slammed the door shut again.

Click.

I floated in the air, watching them head upstairs to rest, chatting happily.

It was late at night. A rustling sound came from the corner of the closet. A huge rat squeezed out of a hole in the wall and crawled toward my body, drawn by the smell of blood.

It stopped by my face, bared its sharp teeth, and bit a chunk out of my ear. Dark red blood slowly seeped from the wound, dripping onto the carpet.

I floated above, watching it happen with complete calm.

I slowly drifted down and wrapped my transparent arms around my broken shell.

"Don't be scared," I whispered to the pathetic body below. "You can't feel the pain anymore anyway. It will all be over soon."