Chapter 1

My mother, Samantha, believed I was born a liar.

Because she was deceived by my father's sweet words in her youth and abandoned after giving birth to me and my sister, Mia, she harbored a deep, bitter hatred for lies. She begged a witch for two magic rings. The rule was simple: if the wearer lied, the ring would glow red and burn them with magic.

Mia's ring never hurt her, even when she broke a vase and blamed it on me.

But if I simply said, "I'm thirsty," my ring would sear my flesh until I screamed.

At first, I tried to defend myself, but Mom would just say, "The ring doesn't lie. Only through repeated punishment can your wicked soul be cleansed."

After thousands of burns, even I started to believe I was naturally evil.

On the day of the Blood Moon Ball, Mom was getting ready to take my sister out. A sudden, agonizing pain hit my abdomen. I curled up on the floor, begging, "Mom, my stomach hurts so bad. Please help me."

But the ring just glowed red, constantly releasing its burning magic.

Mom looked down at me, drenched in cold sweat, with utter disgust. "Faking sick just to tag along to the ball? You never change!"

She turned, took Mia, and slammed the front door behind her.

The intense pain made my body feel light and floaty. Dizzy, I thought to myself: Maybe when I'm dead, I'll finally be an honest child, and Mom will be happy.

Chapter 1

"Still faking it? You're really committed."

The front door was pushed open. Mom was back.

I was still curled up on the floor, the pain in my stomach feeling like tens of thousands of spinning blades. My fingers had long since scratched deep, bloody marks into the hardwood.

But a tiny spark of hope flared in my heart. Mom was the lead healer of the pack. She must have realized I was actually sick.

"Mom... help me. It hurts so much." I used every ounce of my strength to reach out to her.

But she mercilessly kicked my hand away. Her eyes were filled with cold disgust.

"Your acting is getting better and better, April," she sneered, looking down at me.

Right behind her, Mia skipped in like a light butterfly. She completely ignored me rolling on the floor in agony and ran straight to the entryway cabinet.

"Found it! Mom, my purse is right here!" Mia held up a rhinestone-studded bag, smiling with pure innocence.

They hadn't come back to save me at all. They just came back for a purse.

Grandma Martha followed them in. Her gaze lingered on my pale face for a second. "Samantha, the kid is as white as a sheet. Maybe you should check on her? What if she's actually sick..." she started hesitantly.

"Sick?" Samantha scoffed, grabbing my right hand.

The silver ring from the witch flared a blinding red. The boiling burn bit fiercely into my ring finger. The sharp, pungent smell of charred flesh filled the air.

"If she were really sick, why would the ring glow? Why would it punish her?" Samantha's voice rose in anger. "She's lying! She's trying to use this fake illness to stop us from going to the ball!"

I was in so much pain that even my breaths trembled. My tears mixed with cold sweat and smashed against the floor.

"I'm not... Mom... I'm not lying..."

Sizzle—

As soon as the words left my mouth, the red light grew brighter, and the burning magic doubled. I couldn't hold back a horrific, piercing scream.

"That is the price of lying!" Mom grabbed me by the collar and dragged me toward the storage closet. "You're just like your despicable father. Deceit runs in your blood! You are a wicked liar by nature!"

I was thrown heavily onto the closet floor.

"Reflect on your actions in here! You can't come out until the ring stops glowing!" she gave her ultimatum.

Mia peeked through the crack in the door and pulled an exaggerated face at me. "Have a great night in here, sister." She waved her rhinestone purse. "We're going to a fun party."

Bang!

The closet door slammed shut.

Click. The lock turned.

I was plunged into a dead, silent darkness.

"It hurts... it hurts..." I curled up in the corner, my body spasming violently from the agony. My inner wolf was howling, but it was completely suppressed by the magic ring.

Was I really lying?

Mom said the ring was always right.

The ring was glowing, so I must not be in pain.

I was using hallucinations to trick myself. I was using pain to get sympathy.

"I don't hurt... I don't hurt..." I gritted my teeth, frantically trying to hypnotize myself.

I had to confess. According to Mom's rules, whenever I lied, I had to write a thousand-word confession letter before she would forgive me.

Fumbling in the dark, I found a pencil and a crumpled half-sheet of paper in a pile of trash. My hand shook so badly I could barely hold the pen. The ring on my finger still glowed red, constantly searing my skin, but I forced myself to endure it.

Stroke by stroke, I wrote my confession.

I am a wicked liar. I shouldn't have faked being sick. I don't hurt.

Mom, I will definitely learn to be an honest child.

I really love you...

But it really hurts so much.

Mom, please just believe me this one time.

As I finished the last word, the soul-tearing pain suddenly vanished.

I felt lighter than I ever had before. My body floated upwards, completely out of my control.

I looked down.

I saw myself lying motionless on the cold floor, the ring on my hand still glowing red.

Oh, I died. But I hadn't learned how to be an honest child yet. I'm sorry, Mom.

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."

Chapter 3

The next morning, sunlight spilled through the hallway windows. But the storage closet remained dark.

"Mia, wake up! Today Mom is taking you to the high-end mall downtown. Let's go pick out some new dresses!"

Mom intentionally raised her voice so it would carry clearly through the closet door. I knew she was saying it for me to hear.

Because my closet was filled entirely with Mia's hand-me-downs. My biggest wish had always been to go shopping with Mom, just once, to buy a new piece of clothing that was actually mine. Even if it was just a cheap t-shirt.

But back then, Mom just looked coldly at my glowing red ring and said, "Wicked liars don't deserve new clothes."

I floated in the air, smiling bitterly at the door.

Mom, I'm never going to need new clothes again.

Grandma was packing her bags in the hallway. Hearing the commotion, she asked casually, "Has April still not come out to apologize?"

"Leave her be!" Samantha yelled angrily. "She's stubborn to the bone. She won't even say a single word of apology!"

Mia ran downstairs in her pretty nightgown. As she passed the closet, she suddenly covered her nose in an exaggerated way.

"Ew—it smells so bad!" She backed away, pointing at the door crack. "Mom! My sister is so gross! She must be throwing trash and using the bathroom on the floor just to get back at us!"

I looked at her helplessly.

Actually, the central heating had warmed up the closet. Combined with my internal injuries from the stomach bleed, my body was already starting to rapidly decompose, emitting a terrible stench.

Hearing Mia's scream, Mom marched over. She banged hard on the door, her voice dripping with extreme disgust.

"April! You are unbelievable! Just to spite me, you'd even throw away your basic dignity?!"

Inside, it was dead silent, save for the faint sound of rats gnawing on flesh.

"Fine! Since you love sitting in a trash heap so much, let's see how you like starving for a few days! Let's see how long you can last!" Mom viciously gave her order.

Grandma frowned and stepped up. "The smell really is awful. What if there's a dead rat in there? I should open it and check..."

Her hand reached for the doorknob.

I actually felt a flicker of joy. Maybe Grandma will finally find me this time?

But the next second, her phone rang. She picked it up, her tone immediately hurried. "What? You guys are already at the airport? Okay, okay, I'm leaving right now!"

She hung up, grabbed her suitcase, and headed for the door. "Samantha, my friends booked a trip to the islands, so I won't be back for a few days. Keep an eye on the house!"

The front door clicked shut. Watching Grandma leave, my last shred of hope shattered completely.

The house was empty all afternoon. It wasn't until evening that Samantha and Mia returned, their arms full of shopping bags.

As soon as they walked in, Samantha gagged. The stench from the closet had permeated the entire living room.

"This is disgusting! We can't even live in here!" Mia pinched her nose and hid far away.

Samantha's face was livid. Furious, she dug out a toolbox. She pulled out a thick roll of soundproofing weatherstrip tape, marched to the closet, and aggressively sealed the crack at the bottom of the door.

One layer, two layers, three layers. Until not a single trace of the smell could leak out.

"There. Finally some peace and quiet." Samantha dusted off her hands and walked toward the wine cabinet. "Come on, Mia, let's open some champagne to celebrate your new dresses."

I floated against the ceiling, watching her seal the door shut without a second thought. She didn't even want to spend one second wondering how a living person could produce such an overpowering stench of death.

So, in Mom's heart, my life isn't even worth as much as a dress.

Mom, as you wish. I'll never bother you again.

Chapter 4

By the morning of the third day, the stench was no longer something tape could hold back. No matter how low they blasted the AC, the sickening, rotting smell seeped into everything.

"Ugh—"

Mia was sitting at the dining table. After taking one bite of her fried egg, she threw up onto her plate.

"Mom! I can't take this anymore!" she cried, tears in her eyes from the smell. "What exactly is she doing in there? The whole house smells like dead rats and crap! My dresses are going to reek!"

Mom's face was dark like a storm cloud. She grabbed a bottle of perfume and sprayed it frantically around the living room, but it was useless.

All I could do was repeat, "I'm sorry... I'm sorry, Mom... I didn't want this either..."

But no one could hear me.

"She's doing this on purpose," Mom said through gritted teeth. "She knows she lied. She knows she's wrong. So she's using the most disgusting, vile method she can think of to rebel against me!"

Unable to bear it any longer, she grabbed a golf club.

"Since the witch's magic can't cure her evil heart, I'll use the traditional method! Today, I am going to teach her a lesson!"

She gripped the club and stormed furiously toward the closet.

I floated in the air, and my heart—if a soul even had one—clenched violently.

No. Mom, don't go in.

I rushed to the door, spreading my arms to block it, waving my transparent hands desperately.

Mom, don't go in! Please!

I didn't want her to see what I looked like now. It was too scary. Too gross.

But she couldn't see me.

She reached the door and gagged at the overwhelming stench. Disgusted, she covered her nose with one hand and used the other to violently rip the sealing tape off the bottom of the door.

Rip— Rip—

As the tape tore away, the smell of rotting flesh flooded out like a broken dam.

"Cough, cough... April! Get out here right now!"

She roared and kicked the door open.