Chapter 1

I was born cold, a girl with a heart of ice. That changed the day my little sister was born. She was the only warmth in my miserable life.

But then came that day. My sweet, obedient little girl was covered by a white sheet. Her chest and stomach had been hollowed out, leaving nothing but a void.

I lost the only family member I ever truly cared about. My parents, two pathetic gambling addicts, were busy counting their cash. They claimed she died from a fall in the woods while playing.

I didn't believe a word of it. How could a fall leave a child with her heart carved out?

Later, I learned the sickening truth. My sister hadn't just died. She had been used as a living ingredient for a dark, twisted ritual.

1

My beloved sister was dead. She passed away before I could even make it home. By the time I stepped through the door, her small body was already cold and stiff.

My parents stood there, wearing masks of fake grief. They had the audacity to blame me for not watching her closely enough.

"Where were you when it happened?" I wanted to scream. I looked at their shifting eyes and felt a wave of nausea.

My eyes were blurred with tears. I reached out, wanting to pull back the sheet and see her one last time. My father lunged forward, blocking me with a snarl.

"Respect the dead! Do you want Sunny to wander as a restless spirit?" he barked.

Seeing the guilt written all over their faces, I knew something was wrong. I waited for a split second when he turned his head. I lunged forward and ripped the white cloth away.

Sunny's body was covered in needle marks. Her abdomen had been crudely carved open, leaving a bloody, hollow mess. It looked like a butcher had worked on her.

I couldn't hold back my rage. I grabbed my father's collar, shaking him with everything I had. "You call this an accident? Tell me, how is this a damn accident?"

The mask of the grieving father finally slipped. He sneered and backhanded me across the face so hard I hit the floor. "You're just a brat. I don't owe you an explanation for anything!"

I lay on the floor, blood trickling from my forehead. I didn't cry. I just stared at them with a gaze filled with pure, unfiltered venom.

They seemed shaken by the look in my eyes. Without another word, they turned and retreated into the house. They didn't offer a single explanation for the horror they had allowed.