I noticed something I had been overlooking this whole time.

Elise kept saying her roommates treated her well, that she liked them.

But in both my last life and this one, I had never seen them actually help her. They had never even offered a single word of comfort.

That kind of cold distance didn't look anything like a close friendship.

Had they picked up on her personality flaws and started manipulating her? And was that strange smell on her part of it?

The thought made my whole body tremble. I couldn't stay calm anymore.

Elise looked at me through tear-filled eyes. "Mom, what are you trying to say?"

I shook my head. I didn't dare say it out loud. I was afraid of pushing her further when she was already so fragile.

I needed proof first.

My sense of smell was fine. That meant the odor on Elise was real.

If no one else could smell it, then there was only one possibility: they were pretending.

If Elise had been manipulated badly enough, her perception might be affected, too. She might not be able to smell it at all.

Proving it wouldn't be hard. I just needed to take her outside.

The smell was so strong, there was no way strangers wouldn't notice.

"Elise, you're feeling better, right? Let me take you out for a bit today. We can pick up some things for your roommates, too. Keep things smooth between you all," I suggested.

Early the next morning, I brought it up again.

Just like I expected, she agreed right away. She really cared about them.

I noticed that no matter where we went, the stench around Elise stayed just as heavy.

Strangely, even after we left the apartment complex, no one looked at us twice. Could they not smell it, or did they just not know it was coming from her?

A sense of panic started creeping in. I stopped a passerby. "Excuse me, do you smell anything strange?"

He gave me an odd look. "No, I don't smell anything."

How was that possible? We were standing that close. How could he not smell it?

My hands started shaking. I pulled Elise along and stopped another person, then another.

I asked ten people in a row. Every single one of them said the same thing. They smelled nothing.

Something was seriously wrong.

There was nothing wrong with my sense of smell.

"Mom, what are you doing? You're acting weird." Elise grabbed my arm, embarrassed, then turned and walked off.

I felt like I was about to break.

Where the hell was the problem coming from?

My plan had been simple: use strangers to make Elise realize there was a smell on her. Only then would she agree to go to the hospital and figure out where it was coming from.

But now, she thought I had lost my mind. She insisted on going back and refused to go out with me again.

I didn't know why strangers couldn't smell it, but one thing was certain: her roommates were strongly against me hiring cleaners. They were hiding something.

Whatever it was, it had to be the reason for the smell on Elise.

In my last life, I had called a cleaning service while her roommates were out. The moment Elise told them, they rushed back to stop me.

This time, I went behind Elise's back and called one anyway.

Even if they killed me again, I had to find the truth and save her.

"Elise, I'm sorry. If you don't want to go out, just drink this milk and get some rest at home."

After drinking the milk that I had slipped a sleeping pill into, Elise quickly fell into a deep sleep.

I rushed to open the door and let the cleaner, Sabrina García, in. I told her to clean every room, every corner, thoroughly.

If we found anything, Sabrina would be my witness. Even if Elise's roommates tried to kill me again, they wouldn't get away with it.

However, the first thing Sabrina said hit me like a bolt of lightning.

"This place is already clean. What exactly do you want me to clean?"

The calm look on her face made my voice rise without control. "You don't smell that awful stench?"

She glanced at me. "Is your nose broken? There's no smell."

In that instant, every assumption I had was shattered.

Strangers couldn't smell it on my daughter.

Sabrina couldn't smell anything in the apartment.

No one could smell it. Not a trace of that overwhelming stench.

Was the problem really me?

No.

That couldn't be it.

If something was wrong with me, the hospital would've found it.

"Just start cleaning. I'll help you. Check everywhere. Every corner. Cabinets, under the beds, everything. If you find anything unusual, tell me right away. I'll pay you ten times your usual rate."

At that point, I couldn't think about anything else. There was only one thought left in my mind.

I had to find what was wrong in this apartment.

I rushed into the roommates' rooms like I had lost my mind, ignoring any sense of privacy, opening every bottle and container, searching for the source of the smell.

An hour later, after checking everywhere we could, there was nothing. Nothing out of place.

Looking at the mess we had made, I collapsed onto the floor, drained.

So they weren't the problem.

Was it me?

Was I smelling something that didn't even exist?

The thought had barely formed when Elise's four roommates stormed back in.

"Who said you could go into our rooms and touch our stuff without permission?"

"I've had enough of this! I don't care if you're Elise's mom. You don't get to violate our privacy. Get out. You're not welcome here!"

They grabbed at me, trying to drag me out.

Last time, it was in this exact struggle that I had been shoved, fallen, and died in despair.

This time, I couldn't let it happen again.

I struggled free and backed toward the soft couch, forcing out an explanation.

"I'm sorry. I didn't mean to invade your privacy. I smelled something strange. I was trying to find where it was coming from…"

Before I could finish, Sabrina, who had been watching, cut in. "That's nonsense. The place is spotless. There's nothing here. What smell are you talking about?"

Hearing that, Elise's roommates grabbed my hair and dragged me toward the door. "You hear that? This place is clean! You're the filthy one. Get out!"

"Stay away, or we'll call the police and let everyone know Elise has a crazy mom!"

They yanked so hard that it felt like my scalp was being torn off. The pain was blinding, stealing the air from my lungs.

But at that moment, I wasn't angry.

I laughed, cold and sharp.

I finally understood. I finally knew where Elise's smell was coming from.

"There is something filthy in this place…but it's not me."