Chapter 3

After Maria's call, the living room went dead quiet for a few seconds. Theodore stared at his phone screen, a strange, restless unease coiling somewhere deep in his chest.

But that unease didn't last. The warmth in front of him quickly washed it away.

"Dad, Mom, Theodore, please don't blame Diana," Elara sniffled, tears still clinging to her lashes, her voice soft and pleading. "It's all my fault. If it weren't for my party, she wouldn't have gotten so upset that she ran off..."

"Elara, this isn't on you," Mom said, pulling her into a tight, protective hug, her voice dripping with tenderness. "You're always so thoughtful and kind. If she had even a fraction of your goodness, this family wouldn't be drowning in all this drama."

Dad and Adrian crowded around too, cooing soft reassurances at Elara.

I hovered in midair, watching them huddle together like that, and all I felt was a bitter, burning irony.

I thought back to when I was twelve. I'd studied until my eyes burned, trained until my bones ached, and scored first place in both theory and combat across the whole pack. I ran home, clutching that certificate, beaming—just hoping for one word of praise from Mom and Dad.

But that day, Elara—who'd placed seventh—was curled up on the couch, sobbing like her world had ended, wailing to our parents about how useless she was, how she could never measure up to her sister.

Dad flew into a rage. He screamed at me, called me selfish, an attention-seeker, a vicious girl who only existed to humiliate her little sister.

That was the day I learned: in this house, my excellence was a crime. My very existence was an offense to Elara.

I'd never been given even a sliver of "family love."

"But... Diana still hasn't come back," Elara suddenly piped up, tilting her head with feigned hesitation. "Do you think she really doesn't want this family anymore?"

"Good riddance!" Adrian scoffed from the side. "What has she ever done for this family? All she does is suck up resources like a parasite. What else? She's not even worth one of Elara's fingernails!"

Elara's eyes darted. She put on that hesitant, guilt-ridden act again. "Then... should we really activate the Moon Goddess Karma Settlement? If it calculates that she owes too much to the family, will she blame us for not being forgiving enough..."

The more she played the martyr, the hotter my parents' fury burned.

"Forgiving? We've been too forgiving with her." Dad let out a cold snort. "Just last month alone, she drained fifty thousand dollars from the family account, claiming it was for supplies."

Hearing that accusation, my soul trembled violently in the air. The injustice flooded through me like poison.

That fifty thousand—Elara had used it to buy designer luxury bags. She'd sweet-talked me into filing the expense report under my name.

"And at the last family gathering," Mom chimed in, her voice sharp and venomous, "all the elders were there. And what did she do? Used 'sick' as an excuse to hide in her room. Didn't even bother to show her face. Absolutely no manners."

The truth? I'd already changed into my gown that day. Elara had locked me in the basement attic. Then she'd smiled at all the elders and said:

"Sorry, my sister says she's not feeling well. She said these gatherings are too 'crude' for her taste."

They believed every single lie that fell from Elara's lips. Every drop of filth they threw, they threw at me.

My soul spun frantically in the air, screaming to set the record straight. But all that came out was silence. Empty, dead silence.

Then—knock, knock, knock. Sharp, urgent raps cut through the living room's tirade.

Mom went to the door. Outside stood two representatives from our pack's council.

They carried a heavy, gilded trophy and a certificate.

"Are Diana Mitchell and Elara Mitchell home?" one of them asked politely. "Today was Diana's ceremony for the Silvermoon Devotion Medal. She never showed up to claim it, so we figured we'd deliver both awards together."

"Oh, thank you so much! Our Elara really is such an exceptional girl. Such a shame she can't travel far."

Mom took my trophy and wiped it down carefully.

"But even without going far, she still brought home such a beautiful award. If it weren't for her weak health, she'd accomplish even greater things."

The rep opened his mouth, probably to clarify that the trophy was actually mine—but before he could, he asked the real question: "And Miss Diana? Where is she?"

Mom let out a laugh, like he'd just said something ridiculous. She waved a hand as she took the trophy inside.

"Oh, her? She was jealous of her sister and tried to hurt Elara. Now she's run off out of guilt. I apologize on her behalf to the council."

She shut the door without waiting to see the stunned looks on their faces.

Outside, the two reps exchanged confused glances.

One of them stared at the certificate in his hand and muttered under his breath:

"Diana hurt Elara? How does that even make sense? Every time Diana comes out of that house, she's covered in bruises."

The other shook his head with a sigh.

"Right? Diana's tiny. What are these people even thinking?"