They Locked Me in the Closet Until I Died

After I died, Victoria finally smiled.

It was a smile of pure relief, a look I had never seen on her face in my entire life.

She held Lily’s portrait tightly against her chest. The resentment and hatred that had etched deep lines between her eyebrows seemed to vanish the exact moment I drew my last breath.

"Lily," Victoria whispered, her voice cracking with a fragile, broken tenderness. "That nuisance is finally gone. Now, it’s just the two of us left in this house. Aren't you happy?"