The power went out at home, and my mom’s adopted daughter was trapped in the dark for five minutes. My mom, who knew I had claustrophobia, locked me in the small, empty room. “You know full well that Erica is terrified of the dark, and yet you deliberately tripped the circuit breaker to scare her! I must teach you a lesson!” I begged my mom through tears, but she responded with a merciless slap. “What claustrophobia? You’re just faking it, you little liar!” Later that night, I sensed someone had entered the house. I quickly called my mom, who was a well-known criminal psychologist, and begged her for help, only to be harshly scolded. “You’re pretending again just to get my attention, aren’t you? “A criminal? Fine! Let him kill you, then! Don’t bother me!” Just as she wished, I was brutally murdered and buried in the flowerbed she loved most. After my death, my soul was trapped inside the body of a cat. All I could do was circle around my mom. Five days later, the police brought in a mutilated corpse and asked her to provide a psychological profile of the killer… “The victim is female, aged between 16 and 20, and the time of death is within the last three days. “Based on the initial examination of the dismembered body, it appears the victim was… skinned, and heavy objects like hammers were used to inflict blunt force trauma, causing multiple fractures. “The victim likely underwent a horrific and inhumane torture before death…” Upon hearing the medical examiner’s preliminary assessment, all the officers in the room sucked in a sharp breath. Even some of the younger female officers, upon hearing the cruel details of the murder, were brought to tears. My mom, who had rushed over upon being notified, also looked grim as she listened. When she arrived, Oscar greeted her. “Martha, you’re here. Can you help with the sketch?” “Of course. It’s my responsibility.” Mom walked directly to my dismembered body, turning to Oscar to ask, “How many cases has this been?” “This is the fifth, but this time… the killer is especially brutal…” As a renowned criminal psychologist, my mom entered the crime scene and gazed silently at the shattered bones on the ground. A tiny spark of hope rose in my chest. Would she recognize me? Seeing her remain transfixed, staring at the body in silence, Oscar grew anxious and asked, “Any progress? Can you make a sketch of the victim?” My mom sighed, sounding somewhat helpless. “Oscar, even with my abilities, I still need a skull to work with.” The next instant, her expression grew serious. “We need to find the skull quickly. As long as the body hasn’t started to decompose, I can reconstruct the victim’s features as best as possible.” The skull! I knew where the skull was! I rushed to my mom’s side, mewing and tugging at her pants, leading her toward the flowerbed. Mom looked at me in confusion, but it was Oscar who spoke first. “Let’s follow her. They say animals have a sense of these things.” They followed me skeptically to the flowerbed, and when Mom saw it, she froze for a moment. Oscar, seeing me stop, took a shovel and started digging. “There it is…” Oscar muttered aloud when he uncovered the skull, now covered in maggots. Mom picked me up and gave me the first smile I had seen in twelve years. “Thank you, Officer Kitty.” That smile, so rare and warm, made my heart ache. If my mom knew that the cat’s body contained my soul, she would probably disinfect her hands with formalin right away. Oscar, still furious at the gruesome discovery, muttered angrily, “What kind of monster could do this?” Mom’s eyes softened with pity as she looked at the remains. “Such a young life… ending so horribly. If her family finds out, they’ll be heartbroken.” Heartbroken? If my mom knew of my death, she would probably celebrate it with immense joy.
Oscar surveyed the neighborhood and couldn’t help but give my mom a heads-up. “I’ve noticed that the spots where the bodies were buried are very close to where Zoe lives. Maybe you should call her and tell her to stay safe.” Upon hearing my name, a flash of disgust crossed my mom’s face, and she tightened her grip around me. “Don’t mention her in front of me! How could anything happen to her?” Oscar paused mid-drag on his cigarette, letting out a sigh. “It’s been so many years since that incident. You should’ve let it go by now. No matter what, Zoe’s still your biological daughter. Even as an outsider, seeing how you’ve treated her over these years breaks my heart.” When the past was brought up, my mom’s eyes immediately filled with tears. “If it wasn’t for her lying about having a stomachache, Jack wouldn’t have died! Erica’s parents wouldn’t have died, either! “It’s all because of her lies. She killed them! Unless she dies, I will never forgive her in this lifetime!” Twelve years had passed, and no matter how much I explained, she still saw me as the murderer. I lied, and my lies killed Dad and Erica’s parents. She sent me to the countryside, adopted Erica, and gave all her love to her. If it hadn’t been for my grandmother and my dad’s friends helping me secretly over the years, I would have died a long time ago. Held in her arms, I couldn’t stop trembling. “Mom, I’m already dead. Can you forgive me now?” I asked quietly. Noticing the shaking in my arms, my mom immediately tried to comfort me. “Don’t be scared, little kitty. I wasn’t talking about you.” My skull, now covered in maggots, made it impossible to continue the sketch. So, mom took me back to the car. The moment she sat in the car, her phone rang. “Martha, have you heard from Zoe recently? She hasn’t called me in days, and I can’t get through to her. Do you think something happened to her?” Grandma’s voice was filled with worry and anxiety. But as soon as Mom heard it, she furrowed her brow. “How would I know? That girl’s as tough as nails! If she’s not dead, don’t bother me with her problems!” Grandma tried to say something else, but Mom hung up the phone harshly. Oscar, standing beside the car, spoke in a concerned tone. “Zoe’s not that kind of person. You should at least try calling her.” Mom sneered. “She’s nothing but trouble. She’ll never be the one to suffer!” With that, she opened our chat box and sent multiple voice messages to me. “Zoe! Still playing the disappearing act, huh? You better call your grandma back right now, or I’ll have you thrown out of the house!” She didn’t even notice that I, who always messaged her daily, hadn’t sent a single message in days. The special ringtone she had set for Erica suddenly played, and her angry expression softened immediately. “Erica, don’t worry. I will be home soon. “Hungry? Well, order takeout. I will be back in a bit.” Mom drove us to a flower shop, grabbed an entire bouquet of sunflowers, then ran over to a nearby bakery to grab a strawberry cake, smiling as she returned to the car. Cake… I’d love to have some, but since that incident, I haven’t been able to eat cake again. When we arrived home, Mom carried the cake in one hand and the flowers in the other, pushing open the door. Erica immediately ran to her and hugged her tightly, not letting go. Mom wasn’t impatient at all, but instead gently soothed Erica in a loving tone. Watching their affectionate interaction, my heart twisted with bitterness. Before I was six, I was my mom’s treasure, too. She’d buy me beautiful princess dresses, make me little cakes, and stay by my side all night when I had a fever. She’d stand up for me when I was bullied. But sadly, all of that came to an abrupt halt on my sixth birthday.
After Mom adopted Erica, I became the unwanted presence in the family, someone who was hidden away. I started living cautiously, walking on eggshells. The room had to be given to Erica, all the pretty dresses were hers, and even the nice stationery no longer belonged to me. I took on all the household chores. Washing dishes, doing laundry, and cleaning floors. Anything I could do to win Mom’s favor, I did. When Mom had a fever in the middle of the night, it was me who used a damp towel to try to cool her down. That night, when she woke up and saw my hands, red from the cold as I tried to bring down her fever in the dead of winter, I felt that maybe Mom’s attitude had softened. But the next day, Erica came down with a high fever. “You’re such a liar. It was Erica who stayed by my side last night, but you stole her credit when she fell asleep! “Your lie killed your father and Erica’s parents, and now you’re still lying! Zoe, how could I have a daughter like you? “Get out of my house!” Erica, weakly leaning on Mom’s shoulder, spoke up for me in a soft voice. “Mom, don’t blame Zoe. She probably stayed up to take care of you, too.” But when Mom looked at me, her gaze only grew more filled with disgust. Erica flashed me a smug expression. I clumsily tried to prove that I had taken care of Mom all night, but Mom locked me in the storage room as punishment. “Still lying? Go in there and think about what you’ve done!” From that day on, I developed claustrophobia. When Grandma came to visit, I was locked in the dark room, trembling uncontrollably. When Grandma found me, she brought me to Mom, who was comforting Erica as she got an injection. Mom just sneered. “Mom, Zoe is a liar. She lied and got Jack killed back then, and now she’s lying about having claustrophobia? “She’s just trying to steal my attention, pretending she’s afraid of the dark because Erica is. “Zoe, don’t you dare lie to me. I can see right through you!” Even in the final moments of my life, as I made my last phone call, she called me a liar. The moment she hung up the phone, the murderer on the other side of the wall laughed and opened the storage room door. “Found you, little mouse.” The excruciating pain lasted all through the night. I watched the killer’s savage grin as he peeled off my skin and snapped my bones. When I woke up again, I had become a cat. For the past few days, Mom had been taking me with her to work. In her office, I had a little space of my own. The space I’d never been allowed to enter as her daughter, I could now move around freely in as a cat. As Mom carefully reviewed the latest information from the police, Grandma barged in. “Martha! Is Zoe here with you? I haven’t heard from her in days. I went to her house, but she wasn’t there either.” Hearing my name, Mom instantly became furious. Her brows furrowed. “This is my office. What’s with barging in like this? “Are you acting for her now? Is that troublemaker the one who told you to do this? Don’t worry, she’s fine. “How could a wicked liar like her ever die?” Grandma’s panic lessened a little, but the worry was still there. “Has Zoe contacted you recently? After what happened, she’s probably terrified.” Mom gave Grandma a dismissive reassurance. “Mom, don’t worry. Zoe’s fine. How could anything happen to her? “Troublemakers live forever. She’s probably going to outlive all of us.” Grandma looked at her with helplessness in her eyes. “Martha, I know you’re angry with Zoe for lying all those years ago, but how could Zoe have known… “It’s been so many years now. You should let it go…” Mom suddenly stood up, her anger flaring. “I can’t let it go! If she hadn’t lied, Jack wouldn’t have died! Erica wouldn’t be an orphan!” She grabbed her phone and sent me a voice message. “Zoe, who the hell are you hanging out with now?” “If you don’t come back, just go to hell!” “I’ll tell you now. I don’t have a daughter like you! My daughter is Erica!” Congratulations, Mom. You got your wish. Hearing her words, Grandma started crying uncontrollably. “Martha, how could you even say that? “You treat other people’s children like treasures, but Zoe is your real daughter! “Tell me, how long has it been since Zoe last contacted you?” Mom glanced at her phone, her voice dripping with disdain. “Mom, don’t worry. She once ran away from home and went to stay with some guy from school. “She’s fine. Someone like her can’t get into any trouble. “She’s probably just trying to get attention. Once I find her, I’ll make sure to teach her a lesson!” She was about to dial my number when she received a call from Oscar. “Martha? The identity of the victim has been confirmed…” Oscar’s voice was filled with concern, unsure of how to break the news. “Really? That’s good news, right? Has the family been contacted?” “Martha, my condolences.” My mom was confused. She chuckled, then asked with a mocking tone, “Condolences? What’s there to mourn? Nothing happened to my family…” But when she looked up and saw Grandma’s tear-streaked face, something clicked. Her face slowly began to lose its color, turning pale.
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