Chapter 2

My limbs felt like they were filled with lead.

Through the heavy wooden door, I heard Dad’s hesitant voice.

"Eleanor... maybe we should let her out to eat something? Just a little bit?"

"No!"

Mom’s voice was sharp, laced with panic.

"How can you softhearted now, David? Did you forget what happened a few days ago? She snuck a piece of turkey, and Lily had a life-threatening fever in the middle of the night!"

I knew exactly what night she was talking about.

A few days ago.

During my fast, I was so dizzy from hunger that I dragged myself to the kitchen and took a tiny bite of leftover meat from the fridge.

Mom caught me.

She broke down in tears on the spot, crying hysterically.

Dad rushed in and slapped me across the face so hard I hit the linoleum floor.

Blood dripped from my nose, staining the prayer book on the counter.

That night, I was locked in the pantry to "reflect on my sins."

When they finally let me out the next morning, the pain in my stomach was so agonizing I couldn't even stand up straight.

"She is a curse! She knew she would hurt her sister, yet she still snuck out to eat! She did it on purpose!" Mom’s voice had been freezing cold.

Leaning against the pantry door now, I didn't even have the strength to shake my head.

No, Mom.

I was just so, so hungry.

I understood they were terrified of losing baby Lily.

But why did they have to treat me like the enemy?

I wasn't a demon. I was their daughter, too...

I tapped my weak knuckles against the door, over and over.

I wanted to tell them I couldn't hold on much longer.

"Eleanor, the pediatrician said Lily’s illness is just a standard infant infection," Dad’s voice drifted in, carrying a sliver of doubt. "What if that spiritual medium was just a fraud? We can't keep Hazel locked up like this—"

Mom cut him off instantly.

"Shut up! What do you know? I knew something was wrong with Hazel the moment she was born. She was too quiet, and her eyes were so cold. Marcus said there's a dark energy inside her, feeding on Lily’s life force!"

She then turned toward the pantry door, her tone hardening into steel.

"Hazel, stop acting. I know you can hear me. Just stay in there quietly. Once the hundred days are over, the bad energy inside you will be purged, and we can go back to being a normal family, okay?"

I couldn't squeeze a single word out of my throat.

My stomach felt like it was being ripped apart by rusty knives.

The pain in my chest was suffocating.

Using every ounce of life left in me, I struck the door one last time.

Mom stormed over and kicked the door from the outside.

"Hazel! What kind of stunt are you pulling now? Do I need to teach you another lesson?"

She unlocked the door and threw it open.

A crack of warm light spilled into the darkness of the pantry.

My heart flared with a desperate spark of hope—

Am I saved?