Chapter 2

When Mom and Nova got home, Dad was sitting in the living room reading the newspaper.

As his eyes swept past them, he instinctively frowned.

"Why is it just the two of you? Where's Tina?"

Mom's expression darkened, and her voice was full of impatience as she snapped, "She threw another tantrum and pretended to be dead, so I left her in the trunk to reflect on what she's done. She can come out whenever she's ready to admit she was wrong."

Dad's eyes widened. "That's ridiculous! You can't leave a child in the trunk! It's boiling hot out there, and something terrible could happen!"

He bolted toward the front door, but Mom threw herself in front of it, blocking his way. "The trunk isn't even locked. She can come out herself if she gets cold or hungry. You know how much Tina lies. She has all those bad habits because you've spoiled her so much!"

Nova chimed in in her usual sweet, gentle voice, "Don't worry, Dad. The trunk has sufficient space and ventilation. My vital monitoring scans show zero abnormalities, so Tina is safe."

Dad still looked uncertain, so Mom simply locked the door.

"Kids these days are too spoiled. Moments like these are exactly when you can't give in, and she has to think it through herself.

"The two of us hold PhDs in Architecture and Artificial Intelligence, yet our daughter is a compulsive liar. I'm embarrassed about that, even if you aren't.

"Stop worrying about it and get some sleep. You have an early shift tomorrow morning; don't let this ruin your schedule."

With a mix of nagging and pushing, Mom ushered Dad into the bedroom and slammed the door shut.

Floating in the dark garage, I watched over my cold body and felt my heart throb painfully.

When I was a kid, Mom was the person who loved me most in the entire world. Holding me in her arms, she would take me to the park, patiently read me stories, and save the best things for me.

Everything changed after she brought Nova home.

At first, she told me Nova was just an AI tool designed to help me grow up healthy and happy. But little by little, Nova stole all of Mom's attention.

Mom treated Nova like a real daughter while growing increasingly critical and indifferent toward me. She believed every word Nova said and refused to trust me at all.

When a stray cat knocked over a vase at home, I told the truth, but Nova immediately sounded a piercing alarm. "Lie detected with 0% credibility."

Without asking a single question, Mom slapped me hard across the face and locked me in a dark room without food for an entire day.

When I was bullied by the other kids at preschool, came home crying, and told Mom what happened, Nova said, "Lie detected. Tina was the instigator of the fight."

Mom lashed out at me for causing trouble, forcing me to bow and apologize to the kids who had hurt me.

When my fever spiked to 102 degrees Fahrenheit and I complained about intense chest pains, Nova pulled up her metrics. "Normal body temperature. No physical abnormalities detected. Tina is lying to skip school."

Mom threw my fever medication away before forcing me to pack my bags and go to school anyway. In the end, it was my teacher who rushed me to the hospital after I passed out.

I used to defend myself, fight back, and cry, screaming that something was wrong with Nova and that I wasn't lying. But Mom would respond with the same cold words every time.

"I built Nova with my own hands, so there can't be anything wrong with her system. If anything, you're the only error here. You're so used to lying that you refuse to change."

Eventually, I stopped trying to defend myself. I silently endured whatever Nova accused me of, thinking that if I was compliant and obedient enough, Mom would believe me again one day.

But I was wrong. Even after I died, she trusted that cold program more than she ever trusted me.

While I drowned in grief, suddenly…

"Click."

A faint sound came from the door.

When I looked around with wide eyes, the entire garage was empty, with not a single soul in sight. But the sound I had heard was unmistakably the sound of a door being locked.

I floated back into the house, where Mom and Dad were asleep. Nova had entered sleep mode, too.

So, who was it?