Chloe’s hands shake. Bowls fall. Crayons drop. Her mother, a doctor, calls her a liar. When Chloe accidentally loses her sister’s asthma inhaler, her mother beats her and locks her out. Desperate, Chloe calls home. “Stop faking,” her mother snaps, then hangs up. Chloe crawls to her sister’s room, hugs a white ballet dress, and dies. Her soul watches as her mother kicks her limp body, screaming insults. An autopsy reveals a rare brain disease — not bad behavior, but years of neglect that killed her. Mother goes to prison. Before leaving, Chloe whispers: “Next life, I don’t want you as my mother.”
