A Death Too Cruel, a Mother Unbound

After Mom adopted Juniper, I became the family's dirty secret and began living cautiously.

My room was given to Juniper, my pretty dresses all went to her, and even the nice stationery had nothing to do with me anymore.

I started taking on all the household chores—washing dishes, laundry, mopping, and sweeping. I did everything I thought might please Mom.

When she had a fever in the middle of the night, I stayed up cooling her down with damp towels.

Once, in mid-winter, she woke up and noticed that my hands were red and raw from the icy water I'd used to try to lower her fever. For a moment, I could feel her soften. That lasted until Juniper spiked a fever the next day.

"Sure enough, you're quite a liar, Eloise. It was Juniper watching over me all night, yet you stole the credit just because she fell asleep for a bit.

"You lied and got people killed back then, and you're still lying now. How did I give birth to a daughter like you, Eloise?

"Get out of my house, now!"

Leaning weakly on Mom's shoulder, Juniper murmured in my defense, "Don't blame her, Mom. She might've been taking care of you, too."

The look Mom gave me only grew more disgusted, while Juniper flashed me a triumphant smile.

Clumsily and desperately, I tried to prove that I was the one who'd been caring for Mom all night, but she locked me in a dark room as punishment.

"Still lying, huh? Get in there and think about what you've done!"

That was when my claustrophobia started.

When Grandma came to visit from the countryside, I was locked in that dark room, trembling in terror. She dragged me out and marched straight to Mom, who was gently comforting Juniper while the latter got a shot.

All Mom did was sneer contemptuously. "Eloise is nothing but a liar, Caroline. She lied and got Julian killed back then, and now, she's lying about having claustrophobia. She just wants to steal attention because I stay with Juniper when she's scared of the dark.

"I can always tell, Eloise. Don't lie to me!"

Even during the last phone call I made before I died, she had called me a liar. She hung up right as the killer, standing just on the other side of the wall, opened the storage room door with a maniacal laugh.

"So you were hiding here, whiskers."

Excruciating pain lasted all night. I watched him smile cruelly as he smashed my bones and skinned me. Then, I found myself waking up as a cat.

…

For the past two days, Mom had been taking me to and from work. I had a tiny corner of my own in her office.

It was a place where I, her daughter, had never set foot in, but I could now freely come and go as a cat.

She was carefully examining new updates sent by the police when Grandma burst through the door. "Amelia! Is Ellie here with you? She hasn't reached out to me for so long, so I checked her place, but no one's at home either!"

Mom's initially calm expression shifted at the mention of my name. "This is my office, Caroline. You can't just barge in like this.

"Also, why are you putting on an act, too? Did that brat put you up to this?

"Don't worry. She'll definitely be fine. A menace like her doesn't just die."

Her certainty eased some of Grandma's panic, though the latter remained concerned. "Has Ellie called you these past few days? With everything that's been going on lately, she must be terrified."

Mom dismissively reassured Grandma, "Relax. Eloise won't just die—a menace like her will have a long life."

Grandma let out a helpless sigh. "Amelia… I know you still blame Ellie for lying back then, but how could she have known?

"It's been so many years, so you should let it go…"

Mom shot to her feet. "I can't! If she hadn't lied, Julian wouldn't have died, and Juniper wouldn't be an orphan!"

She snatched her phone up and shouted at the screen showing my chat, "Where the hell are you messing around now, Eloise Hawthorne? If you're not coming home, just die out there for all I care!

"Someone as shameless as you is no daughter of mine! Juniper is my only daughter!"

"Congratulations, Mom. You got exactly what you wished for," I thought.

At that, Grandma broke down in tears. "This isn't how a mom should act, Amelia. You treat someone else's child like treasure, yet Ellie is your flesh and blood! Tell me the truth—how long has it been since Ellie last reached out to you?"

Mom glanced at her phone and disdainfully replied, "Don't worry, Caroline. The last time she ran away from home, she hid out at some boy's place.

"She'll be fine. Nothing's ever going to happen to a troublemaker like her, and she's probably just doing this for attention again. Once I get ahold of her, I'm going to set her straight!"

She had just pulled out her phone to dial my number when she received a call from Martin. "Amelia, we've identified the victim's identity…"

He sounded troubled, as if he didn't know how to begin.

"Really? That's great news. Did you contact the family?" Mom asked.

"My condolences, Amelia."

Listening to Martin's inexplicable words of condolence, Mom let out a confused laugh and asked, "Condolences? Why would I need that? Nothing's happened to my family—"

But when she looked up and saw Grandma's tear-streaked face, a thought crossed her mind.

The smile on her face faded, replaced by a slowly spreading pallor.