I was floating. My body felt light, and the bone-deep pain was gone. I looked down at that small, frail corpse curled up in the tattered cotton batting. Its eyes were wide open, as if refusing to close even in death, and a dark red trail of blood still lingered at the corner of its mouth.

So ugly. No wonder Mom and Dad didn't like it.

I drifted through the heavy basement door and into the living room. It was brightly lit, the heater blasting warm air. A comedy show played on TV.

Callie, still wearing those spike-studded dance shoes, sat cross-legged on the couch eating cherries. Mom was feeding them for her, while Dad was massaging her legs.

"Callie, does your leg still hurt?" Dad asked in a sickeningly sweet voice.

Callie let out a coquettish scoff. "It hurts. That wretched Arlene has such hard bones—they made my feet ache. Dad, can you break her bones tomorrow? That way they'd be softer to step on."

Hovering in midair, I felt no chill, yet my heart grew utterly cold. It turned out to them, I wasn't a human being but merely an item to be worked on.

Dad dotingly tapped the tip of Callie's nose. "Alright, whatever you say. If Arlene still won't behave, I'll buy a real lambskin mat and stitch her skin onto it."

Mom shot Dad a look of mock disapproval. "Don't scare Callie like that. But Arlene really does need to be disciplined properly. After locking her in the basement these past few days, I wonder if she's learned her lesson."

Callie spat out a cherry pit. "Mom, do you think she might be dead already? When Dad went down earlier, I could even smell something foul."

Mom paused briefly, then smiled nonchalantly. "If she's dead, so be it. It just so happened we bought an accidental death insurance policy for her. The payout should be enough to get you that piano you wanted."

Dad chuckled along. "Don't be afraid, Callie. As long as I'm here, even if she turns into a ghost, she won't be able to hurt you."

The family of three was enjoying a harmonious and joyful time together. Their laughter echoed through the villa, sounding painfully shrill to my ears.

I stared at Dad's familiar face. This was my own birth father. Yet, to please his stepdaughter and his second wife, he had not only abused his own daughter but now, in discussing my death, thought only of the insurance money.

Suddenly, I felt the urge to laugh. What unspeakable sin had I committed in a past life to be born into a family like this?

Just then, Callie suddenly jumped down from the couch and spun in a circle on the wool carpet, barefoot. Her movements were light, her dance graceful. There wasn't any trace of her "walking phobia" at all.

"Mom, what do you think of my dance? I'm going to win the gold medal at the competition tomorrow!"

Mom applauded and said, "You're a genius. As long as you're away from that jinx Arlene, you can do anything."

Dad looked at Callie admiringly. "As expected of my daughter. Although we're not related by blood, you've picked up my poise all the same."

I hovered near the ceiling, watching the scene with cold detachment. So, it turned out Callie's illness was all an act, and everyone knew she was pretending. Only I was foolish enough to have believed it.

To "cure" Callie, I endured five years of torment that left my spine deformed, my internal organs ruptured, and ultimately cost me my life.

This wasn't just abuse. It was premeditated murder.

The next morning, the villa was a flurry of activity.

Callie was to participate in the city's children's talent competition. Stylists and makeup artists buzzed around her.

She was wearing a fluffy tulle princess dress, yet she was throwing a tantrum.

"Where's my doormat? Without Arlene to carry me to the car, I'm too scared to walk!"

She sat in her wheelchair, slamming a hairbrush down with a loud crash.

Frantic, Mom yelled at the housekeeper, Harriet Browning, "Drag Arlene out of the basement. Make sure to wash her properly so that she doesn't dirty Callie's dress."

Harriet scurried off obediently, and I drifted after her into the basement.

She covered her nose and nudged the stiff body on the floor. "Ms. Arlene, stop sleeping. Ms. Callie is waiting."

The body didn't move an inch.

Harriet impatiently gave a hard tug. With a dull thud, the corpse rolled over. The face was bruised and blackened, the pupils clouded and fixed, staring straight up at the ceiling.

Harriet let out a terrified scream and fell on her backside.

"Ms. Arlene is dead!"

The scream pierced through the villa. Before long, Dad, Mom, and Callie rushed down. At the sight of my corpse, Mom's first reaction wasn't grief. Instead, she took a step back in disgust.

"How unlucky! She just had to choose the day of Callie's competition to die. I bet she must've done it on purpose."

Callie covered her nose, tears springing to her eyes instantly. "Mom, I'm scared. Has Arlene turned into a vengeful ghost to come for me?"

Dad held Callie tenderly, pressing her head against his chest. "Don't look. It's filthy."

He turned his gaze toward my corpse, his eyes terrifyingly indifferent. "Maybe it's better this way. Saves trouble for the family later. Harriet, put her in a sack and bury her in the back hills. Make sure no one sees. We can't let this ruin Callie's mood for the competition."

Harriet's hands shook, but she dared not move.

Dad impatiently kicked the body. "Stop playing dead! Get up!"

The corpse rolled over from the kick, a stiff arm twisted at an eerie, unnatural angle.

This time, Dad finally froze. He stared at those small hands that had once reached out to him countless times, begging to be held. They were covered in needle marks and scars from cigarette burns, wounds inflicted by Callie during her "episodes", right under his watch.

He used to say, "Callie is sick, so you have to be understanding."

Now, those hands were utterly still.

Dad's face paled slightly. "She's really dead?"

Mom urged impatiently, "Willard, what are you standing around for? We're about to be late for the competition. For an ingrate like her, death is probably a release."

Dad snapped out of it and took a deep breath. "Right, the competition is what matters. Lock the door for now. We'll deal with this when we get back. The media must not find out. Otherwise, the company's stock price would be affected."

Without even sparing me another glance, he turned and pushed Callie's wheelchair away.

"Callie, don't be afraid. I'll carry you into the car. You're the most beautiful princess today."

The basement door was locked once more, and my corpse lay alone on the cold floor like a forgotten bag of trash.

I drifted in the air, watching them leave. Suddenly, a surge of hatred welled up, threatening to consume me.

So, death wasn't the end. To be regarded as worthless by one's family, to have one's death fail to stir even the slightest ripple in them—that was the greatest punishment.

But why? Why did the wicked get to don finery and receive applause? Why did the victim have to rot in the dark corner? There was no way I was going to accept fading away like this!

Even if I had to become a vengeful ghost, I would drag them all down to hell with me.

Intense resentment set my soul ablaze. The space around me began to twist and warp. In the darkness, it felt as if an invisible pair of hands was tearing me apart.

The pain was worse than breaking a bone.

"Arlene, what are you spacing out for? Get down now!"

A sharp female voice pierced through my consciousness. My eyes snapped open.

Harsh sunlight and the scent of grass mixed with earth filled my nostrils. Before me was a pair of pink dance shoes. The densely packed steel spikes on their soles gleamed coldly.

I froze.

Was I in the yard?

I instinctively touched my chest. My heart was pounding violently, and my ribs weren't broken. And though my breathing was rapid, it was smooth.

I wasn't dead?

No.

I'd been reborn.

And I'd returned to the year I was eleven years old, before my spine had fully deformed and my ribs had been kicked in. I was back to the last time Callie put on those deathly dance shoes and trampled on me.

"Arlene, are you deaf?"

Mom stood nearby impatiently with a parasol in her hand.

"Callie wants to go see the roses over there. Get down on the ground and be her doormat now. I'll make you pay if you delay Callie's flower-viewing."

Callie looked down at me from above, a malicious smile curling at the corners of her mouth.

"Arlene, hurry up. My feet can't touch the ground. You'll help me, right?"

She lifted her foot, the sharp steel spikes aimed directly at my spine.

In my previous life, it was here that I, in a desperate bid to be obedient and to please Dad and Mom, took that kick without a word. It ruined my life from that moment on.

Dad sat not far away under a parasol, sipping coffee, his gaze fixed on us with encouragement.

"Arlene, be a good girl. Callie is sick, so you need to take care of her."

He wanted me to take care of her? To hell with that!

The resentment that had built up before my death exploded in my chest. I stared at the spiked shoe about to descend. This time, I would never again be that fool who let herself be slaughtered.

Callie's foot came down heavily, driven by a vicious force intent on stomping me into the mud.

Just as the sole was about to touch my back, I threw myself violently to the side. The move was sharp and clean, without the slightest hesitation.

A piercing shriek tore through the yard.

Callie's foot landed on empty air. She lost balance and crashed heavily to the ground.

Even better, because she had put too much force into it, the foot clad in the spiked shoe swung back violently and landed a heavy blow on her own other shin.

The sound of steel spikes piercing flesh was unmistakable, and blood instantly soaked through the white stockings.

"My leg! It hurts!" Callie writhed on the ground in pain, thrashing like a fish tossed ashore.

The yard fell into a deathly silence. No one could comprehend what had just happened.

I lay trembling on the grass, not from fear, but from excitement.

Lifting my head, I showed a face etched with terror. Tears instantly welled up in my eyes.

"Callie, I'm sorry. There was a bee, and it stung me."

The show had just begun.