A mysterious necklace forces people to reveal the truth—with deadly consequences.
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GEM GEM brings you the hottest viral short dramas, mini series, and addictive romance stories online. From billionaire love stories and CEO romances to revenge plots and emotional twists, every episode is designed to keep you hooked.
Subscribe to GEM GEM and never miss the latest drama trends!
#gemgem#gemgemdrama#shortdrama#minidrama#verticaldrama#dramaseries#dramahub#reelshort#shortmax#kalostv#romancedrama
#ceolove#billionaireromance#revenge#lovestory#tiktokdrama#viraldrama#engsub#fullepisodes #mysterydrama #darksecret #truthrevealed #fantasyplot #suspense #plotwist
Category
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Short filmTranscript
00:00I was born a liar. That's the label my mom gave me. It all started because my mom, a firm
00:05believer
00:06in scientific parenting, put honesty necklaces on me and my twin sister the day we were born.
00:11Whenever you lied, the pendant on the necklace would glow red, and mom would press a remote
00:16to send an electric current as punishment. My sister's necklace was always green, even when
00:21she cut mom's dress and blamed it on the cat. The necklace just blinked gently with a green light.
00:26But me, just saying, Mom, I'm hungry, would make my necklace flash red instantly, followed
00:32by a jolt of electricity straight to my skin. At first, I tried to defend myself, but mom
00:38said, Machines don't lie. The pain will teach you a lesson. Mom's doing this for your own
00:44good. After thousands of electric shocks, I started to believe it too. Maybe I really was
00:49born a liar. On New Year's Eve, mom was taking my sister to see the fireworks. A sharp pain
00:55tore through my stomach. I curled up on the floor, begging, Mom, my stomach hurts so bad.
01:01Please help me. But my necklace flashed red like crazy. Mom looked down at me, drenched
01:06in sweat, and turned the current to Max. You're faking sick just to come with us to
01:11the fireworks? You're hopeless. She turned and walked out the door with my sister. I couldn't
01:16help but think, Mom must be right. The necklace is red, so I must not really be in pain. I'm
01:21just
01:22lying for attention again. I'm sorry, Mom. In my next life, I'll learn to be an honest
01:27kid.
01:28It hurts so much. It hurts so much.
01:34Mom was back. Mom's a doctor. She must have realized something was wrong. She came to save
01:40me.
01:41Are you done yet? The fireworks are about to start, and Jenny's getting impatient.
01:44Mom! Mom, it really hurts. It feels like my intestines are twisting.
01:51How long are you going to keep this up? You're such a liar. You can just stay home and reflect
01:58on yourself.
01:59Honey, come on. Hurry up. The fireworks show is about to start. If she don't want to go,
02:03fine. Should we save her some food?
02:05Save her food? She has a bunch of snacks in her closet, which she buy with the money she
02:09stole last time. She won't starve. Lock the door. We'll let her out. Only her necklace
02:14turns green. But what? Spare the rod and spoil the child. Look how honest Jenny is. Her necklace
02:21is always green. Stella's just a bad egg, and she needs to be corrected. But my closet
02:27was empty. That time, my sister took the money. She ate all the snacks, too. My sister just
02:33stood there, her necklace glowing soft green. I know one of you took the money. Who did it?
02:39It wasn't me.
02:40And mom believed her. When I tried to say I didn't take it either, my necklace turned
02:45red, and I got another shock.
02:47No, mommy. I did it.
02:55Bye-bye, sister. We're going to see the pretty fireworks.
03:02It hurts so much. I'm not in pain. I'm really not in pain. I'm not in pain. I'm really not
03:16in pain.
03:17Tears streaming down my face, I hypnotized myself. I don't know how long passed. It didn't hurt quite
03:23as much anymore. With my last bit of strength, I crawled to my desk. I had to write a self
03:28-criticism.
03:29That was the rule. Whenever the red light came on, I had to write a thousand words of I am
03:34a liar.
03:34My hands shaking. I opened that crumpled, worn-out diary. It was filled with self-criticisms from before.
03:41But this time, I wanted to write the truth.
03:43Mom, I really love you. It really hurts so much. Why won't you believe me? Mom, please just believe me.
03:53Just once.
03:54Everything was getting blurry. Tears streaming. I used my last bit of strength to write.
03:59After I wrote the last word, the sharp pain in my stomach suddenly vanished.
04:03In its place was a lightness I'd never felt before. My body grew light.
04:07I floated up. I looked down and saw myself slumped over the desk. My hand hanging limply in the air.
04:14On my neck, the necklace was still blinking red like crazy.
04:17So this is what it's like to die? I still haven't learned to be an honest kid.
04:24I'm sorry, Mom.
04:25I was woken up by laughter. It was Mom, Dad, and my sister. Mom's voice held a tenderness I'd never
04:31heard before. I floated in midair, watching the front door open. Even though I was a soul now,
04:37I instinctively floated over to greet them, wanting to get their slippers like I always did.
04:42It was a habit carved into my bones, the need to please.
04:45Mom, I'm not in pain anymore. I'll be good. Please don't be mad.
04:52I opened my arms, wanting to hug the woman still carrying the winter chill.
04:56But my hands passed right through her, like wind through nothing.
05:00Why is it so cold in here? Is the heater off?
05:02I froze, staring at my own transparent hands.
05:05Yeah, I'm dead.
05:09Dead people can't hug the living.
05:11Go check on Stella. She hasn't come out to eat. Maybe she's really hungry.
05:15Good old dad.
05:17I looked hopefully at Mom. If she found out I was dead, would she be sad? Would she regret it?
05:22Mom snorted and walked toward my room.
05:26She pushed my door open. She didn't turn on the light. In the glow from the living room, she saw
05:32me slumped over the desk, not moving, like I was asleep.
05:36Oh, still lying there?
05:39You think lying that will make me carry you to bed?
05:43Stella, you're ten years old, not five.
05:46Mom! I'm not pretending to sleep! I'm dead!
05:51Look at me! Touch me! I'm cold!
05:58But she couldn't hear me. She only believed what she could see.
06:02Sister's a big sleepy head. Look, my necklace is green, but Sister's is still red. Sister's always lying. She's even
06:11lying in her dreams.
06:14Our Jenny's such a good girl. Don't mind this liar. Let her lie there. See how long she can keep
06:22it up.
06:23Maybe we should put her in bed. It's cold out.
06:26Put her in bed? The experts in scientific parenting say you have to be cold in moments like this. She
06:31has to realize her own mistake.
06:34Look at that red light. It means her mental state is still extreme resistance. She hasn't repented at all.
06:39Alright, time for bed. We're going to Grandma's tomorrow for New Year's.
06:44Mom turned sharply and closed the door again. I floated beside my body, staring at that single point of red
06:50light in the darkness.
06:51The sadness in my heart was colder than death itself.
06:54Mom, if you had taken just one step closer, if you had just touched my hand, you would have known
07:00I was dead.
07:01But you didn't. You only believed that cold, lifeless machine, not the daughter you carried for ten months.
07:07Late at night, a mouse crept out of my empty closet. I used to be terrified of mice. I'd scream
07:14every time I saw one.
07:15But now, I could only float on the ceiling, watching it crawl all over my body. I whispered weakly.
07:21But no sound came out. The mouse spit through my toe. A little blackish purple blood oozed out.
07:27I couldn't feel it anymore. Good. It finally didn't hurt. I said to the pitiful shell below me.
07:33It's okay. You can't feel it anymore. It'll be over soon.
07:38The next morning, sunlight fell on my body, but it brought no warmth.
07:43From the kitchen came the clatter of pots and pans. Mom was making breakfast.
07:47The smell of fried eggs drifted through the crack in my door.
07:50Usually, that was the smell I craved most.
07:53But all I ever got was boiled vegetables, because Mom said,
07:57Liars didn't deserve meat.
07:58Today, she banged the spatula extra loud on purpose.
08:02I knew what she was doing. She was trying to tempt me.
08:06She wanted me to give in, come out, and admit I was wrong.
08:10If this were before, maybe I would have confessed to things I didn't do, just for one fried egg.
08:16But now, I didn't need to eat anymore.
08:19Stella still hasn't come out?
08:23Nope. Stubborn as a mule.
08:26Spoiled brat. Fine. Don't eat. See if I care.
08:30My sister drank her milk, her eyes darting around.
08:34She ran up to my door on purpose and took a big sniff.
08:37Then, with a dramatic yell,
08:39Mom!
08:40What?
08:40Sister's room stinks!
08:43Did she poop in there?
08:45The heater was too strong.
08:47After just one night, I was starting to smell.
08:52Mom would hate me even more.
08:55Stella! The bathroom's right there!
08:57Did your legs break?
08:59You actually pooped in your room?
09:01You're hopeless!
09:03You'd rather lose all self-respect than admit you're wrong?
09:06I remembered once, when I was little.
09:09I had acute gastroenteritis.
09:11I couldn't make it to the bathroom and messed up my pants.
09:15Mom not only refused to wash me,
09:17she made me stand in the yard as a punishment.
09:19She pointed at me and told the neighbors I was as dirty as a pig.
09:23Now, she thought I was dirty again.
09:25Leave her alone!
09:26Let her sit in her own stink!
09:28Let it choke her!
09:29The smell's pretty strong.
09:31Let me check it out.
09:32Maybe there's a dead mouse or something.
09:34Dad stood up and walked toward my door.
09:38Dad, open the door!
09:40Look at me!
09:41I'm right here!
09:42Just turn the handle!
09:44And you'll see I'm not moving!
09:46You'll see my face!
09:48Already turning black!
09:52What?
09:52The server crashed?
09:55Okay, okay, I'm coming right now.
09:57Honey, emergency at work.
09:58I gotta go.
09:59Might not be back for a few days.
10:00But what about Stella?
10:02Mom didn't even finish before Dad slammed the door shut behind him.
10:06I was stunned.
10:07So close.
10:08Just one second.
10:09If that call had come a moment later, I'd have been found.
10:13Maybe then I wouldn't have to rot any longer.
10:15That afternoon, Mom took my sister out shopping.
10:18The house was empty except for my body.
10:21At night, they came back loaded with fancy seafood and gifts.
10:24The smell hit them the second they walked in.
10:26Mom covered her nose, even gagging.
10:29B-Stella!
10:31Does this place have to look like a lamb stilt?
10:34She wouldn't even open the door to yell at me,
10:36like looking at that room would somehow dirty her eyes.
10:39She grabbed wide packing tape, crouched down,
10:41and viciously sealed the bottom crack of my door.
10:44You like the smell so much?
10:46Fine!
10:47Rot in there by yourself!
10:48Just don't let it stink up the rest of us!
10:57Ah, peace and quiet.
10:59I stared at that sealed door.
11:00The last bit of hope in my heart suffocated along with the tape.
11:04Turns out, in Mom's heart,
11:06my life or death mattered less than a fancy seafood dinner.
11:09She'd rather seal me and then look to see if I died in there.
11:12Mom, you win.
11:14I win.
11:18I'll never bother you again.
11:23The third morning,
11:25winter sunlight streamed into the living room,
11:27but it couldn't dispel the gloom hanging over the house.
11:30The underfloor heating was cranked up.
11:3226 degrees.
11:33The tape couldn't hold back the smell anymore.
11:35It was a nauseating, greasy stench of decay.
11:39Mom was trimming freshly bought flowers,
11:41but no amount of floral scent could cover the reek of death.
11:43Mom cut a rose viciously,
11:45the thorns piercing her hand.
11:47She'd finally had enough.
11:49In her mind,
11:50I hadn't bathed.
11:51I'd pooped in my room.
11:52I'd probably hidden a dead mouse in there,
11:55all just to spite her,
11:56to defy her authority.
11:57Stella, you've gone too far.
11:59If you don't repent,
12:01I won't let you off easily.
12:02It seems that gentle reminders don't work for you.
12:05I must use hard ARBAP to teach you Jelfitwin.
12:08I floated in front of Mom,
12:10watching her twisted face,
12:11waving my arms desperately.
12:13Even though she didn't love me,
12:15I didn't want her to see me like that.
12:17But she passed right through me.
12:18I'm ugly!
12:20I'm rotten!
12:22You'll be scared!
12:32Stella!
12:34What have you done?
12:38She looked up and saw me,
12:40still slumped over the desk just like three days ago,
12:42my back to her,
12:43not moving.
12:44To her,
12:45it was silent defiance,
12:47the ultimate disrespect.
12:48I'm talking to you!
12:50You hear me?
12:51Still playing dead?
12:52Blind with rage,
12:53Mom charged in,
12:54raising the rolling pin.
12:56But she didn't strike.
12:57She wanted to grab me first,
12:58to see my defiant face.
13:00Her hand grabbed the back of my collar,
13:02touched the skin of my neck.
13:03Then she froze.
13:05No warmth of life at all.
13:06She blinked.
13:07But inertia kept her pulling.
13:09My body fell backward.
13:11Chair and all crashed to the floor.
13:13The chair slammed against the ground.
13:15My body,
13:16stiff as a statue,
13:17toppled over.
13:18My face was finally visible.
13:21It wasn't the shy little girl she knew anymore.
13:24My face was purple black,
13:26my eyes bulging.
13:28My features twisted from the death throes.
13:30Dried white foam and black red blood caked at the corners of my mouth.
13:34And around my blackened neck,
13:36pressed against the rotting flesh.
13:38That honesty necklace Mom was so proud of.
13:41Hanging there,
13:42lifeless.
13:42The skin on my neck was burnt black by the constant current,
13:46fused with the metal pendant.
13:48No more red light.
13:49No more green light.
13:51Just dead silence.
13:53Thump.
13:53A soft sound.
13:55The diary that had been pinned under my arm slid out as my body fell.
13:59It landed at Mom's feet.
14:00Open.
14:02Facing her.
14:03On that page,
14:04crooked handwriting stabbed into her eyes like knives.
14:07Mom,
14:07my stomach really hurts.
14:09The necklace is broken.
14:10I'm not lying.
14:13Please don't shock me.
14:15Mom stumbled back,
14:17her lower back slamming into the bookshelf behind her.
14:20Faces shattered on the floor,
14:22but she didn't feel the pain.
14:24Her eyes were wide,
14:26fixed on me on the ground.
14:30No.
14:33It's a trick.
14:34Make up special effects.
14:36Stella,
14:36get up.
14:37Mom's not mad anymore.
14:39Don't scare me.
14:41That feeling.
14:42It was too real.
14:44It was the temperature of death.
14:47Aunt Shelley called the police.
14:49She'd come running at Mom's screams and collapsed at the door when she saw the scene.
14:53Sirens soon filled the neighborhood.
14:55Police came.
14:57Forensics came.
14:58Yellow tape went up.
14:59I watched them come and go,
15:01watched flashlights flicker over my body.
15:03Mom was pulled onto the living room sofa by a female officer.
15:06Officer,
15:07she was faking sick.
15:09She's lied since she was little.
15:11The necklace was red.
15:13Machines don't lie.
15:14I was just disciplining her.
15:16I did it for her own good.
15:18No one listened.
15:19Everyone looked at her like she was a monster.
15:21When the coroner moved my body,
15:23they ran into a problem.
15:25The necklace.
15:26Because of the prolonged high voltage current,
15:28the heat had fused the metal to my skin.
15:30Like it had grown into my flesh.
15:32Damn it.
15:33He had to get tools.
15:35Force the necklace off.
15:37Rip.
15:38The sound of skin tearing.
15:40An officer picked up the diary from the floor.
15:42Wearing gloves,
15:43he flipped through it.
15:45His face grew darker and darker.
15:47Mom stared at that diary,
15:49eyes locked on it.
15:51Suddenly,
15:51she lunged like a mad woman,
15:53trying to grab it.
15:54That's her self-criticism.
15:55She admitted it.
15:56She admitted she lied.
15:58Look,
15:58she wrote it.
15:59We'll find out if she lie.
16:00That's when dad arrived.
16:01He saw the black body bag being carried out.
16:04That long zipper,
16:06sealing my whole life shut.
16:08Dad's legs gave out.
16:09He collapsed on the spot,
16:11wetting himself.
16:12My little sister was crying,
16:14terrified.
16:14She didn't understand what was happening.
16:17She just pointed at the blood-stained necklace on the table and asked,
16:20Mom,
16:21why is sister's necklace black?
16:24Mine's still green.
16:25She held up the pendant on her neck.
16:27The green light blinked innocently.
16:29Like a giant,
16:31cruel joke,
16:32the police started a temporary inquiry in the living room.
16:35Mom clutched at her last straw.
16:37She pointed at the bloody necklace,
16:39her voice shrill.
16:52The officer frowned at her like she was insane.
16:56Ma'am,
16:56the deceased has multiple old electrical burns.
16:59That was discipline.
17:01Education.
17:02Mom screamed,
17:03cutting him off,
17:04to prove she was innocent,
17:06to prove she wasn't a murderer.
17:08She made a crazy demand.
17:10She lunged for the table,
17:12grabbing the necklace still covered in my flesh and blood.
17:14Ignoring the gore.
17:16Hands shaking,
17:17she forced it onto her own neck.
17:19I'll prove it.
17:21I'm innocent.
17:22As long as it's green,
17:24it means I'm telling the truth.
17:26She clicked the necklace around her own neck.
17:28Click.
17:29It locked.
17:30The cold metal touched her skin,
17:32sticky with my blood.
17:34Mom took a deep breath,
17:35trying to calm herself.
17:37She held up the pendant for the officers to see.
17:39Her eyes wild with certainty.
17:41Watch closely.
17:42I'm Clara.
17:44I'm Stella's mother.
17:45That was the truth.
17:47Absolutely true.
17:48But.
17:54A piercing shriek erupted.
17:56The dormant red light blazed to life.
17:58Red as blood.
17:59Red as evil.
18:00In the dim living room,
18:02it was like a bloodshot eye snapping open.
18:04Mom froze.
18:05The confident expression on her face locked in place.
18:08She slapped the pendant,
18:09like fixing a glitching TV.
18:11What's wrong?
18:13It's broken?
18:14I told the truth!
18:16I'm Clara!
18:17A panic crept into her voice,
18:19her words tumbling out faster.
18:21It must be broken.
18:22That coroner broke it.
18:23Let me try again.
18:24One more time.
18:25It didn't abuse my child.
18:27I did it for her own good.
18:28I love her.
18:30The red light flashed even faster,
18:32a continuous strobe of red.
18:34Sensing her extreme heart rate,
18:35the necklace automatically released the leak current.
18:38Mom jolted,
18:39her neck spasming,
18:40hands flying to her throat as she doubled over.
18:43It hurt.
18:44Even that tiny current made her neck cramp,
18:47goosebumps rising over her skin.
18:49And suddenly she remembered.
18:51Ten years old.
18:52Me.
18:53The current at maximum.
18:55Curled on the floor,
18:56biting through my lip,
18:58afraid to even cry out.
18:59So this is what it felt like.
19:01Mom completely lost it.
19:03She screamed at the necklace,
19:05spittle flying.
19:06Why is it red?
19:07Why?
19:08I'm telling the truth.
19:10Why?
19:10I'm telling the truth.
19:12Turn green.
19:13No matter how she screamed,
19:15the red light kept flashing,
19:17mocking her silently,
19:18you're a liar.
19:19You're a liar.
19:20Enough.
19:21Stopping doesn't detect lies.
19:24He grabbed the instruction manual found during the search
19:26and slammed it on the coffee table.
19:28It's just a simple galvanic skin response and heart rate monitor.
19:31It works like this.
19:32When you're nervous,
19:33anxious,
19:34scared,
19:34or in pain,
19:35your heart rate goes up,
19:36your galvanic skin response increases,
19:38and the light turns red.
19:39Right now,
19:40you're terrified,
19:40anxious,
19:41tachycardic.
19:42Of course it's all red.
19:43He stepped closer to mom.
19:45Your daughter had a perforated appendix.
19:47She was writhling on the floor in agony.
19:50The pain of internal perforation.
19:53How fast do you think her heart was beating?
19:55How terrified was she?
19:57In your eyes,
19:57the more it hurt,
19:58the faster her heart raced,
20:00the brighter the red light.
20:02And you thought that meant she was lying harder,
20:04so you cranked up the current.
20:07Your younger daughter list has been set to green since it left the factory.
20:11No matter what she says or does,
20:13even if she murders someone,
20:15it stays green.
20:16Your scientific parenting?
20:19It's a complete biased joke.
20:21Mom's world collapsed.
20:23She sat there,
20:24staring blankly at the red light flashing on her neck.
20:27Finally understanding.
20:29For ten years.
20:31Every time my red light came on,
20:33it was because I was afraid.
20:35Afraid mom would be mad.
20:37Afraid of being misunderstood.
20:39Afraid of the food I hated on the table.
20:41I was in pain.
20:43Pain made my heart race.
20:44Made me sweat with fear.
20:45I was longing.
20:47Longing for her hug.
20:49Longing for her to hold me like she held my sister.
20:52Every signal of a beating heart,
20:53she'd read as evidence of a lie.
20:55A wail erupted from mom.
20:57She clawed at the necklace around her neck.
21:02But the necklace's clasp,
21:04damaged by her violent struggle earlier,
21:07was jammed.
21:08Stuck tight around her neck.
21:10She couldn't pry it off.
21:11Can't get it off.
21:13Can't get it off.
21:14Stella!
21:15Take the necklace.
21:17Mommy was wrong.
21:18It hurts.
21:19Can't handle this little bit of pain, mom.
21:22I took it for ten years.
21:24To confirm the details of the abuse and build the case.
21:27The police opened the diary,
21:29the key piece of evidence,
21:30in front of mom and dad.
21:32That diary I'd kept for ten years,
21:34filled with humiliation and blood and tears.
21:36The female officer's voice was soft,
21:38but every word cut deep.
21:40February 14th, sunny.
21:42Mom gave me celery.
21:44I'm allergic to celery.
21:45It makes my throat swell up.
21:47I can't breathe.
21:49I said I didn't want it,
21:50that it would make me sick.
21:52Because I was scared of making mom mad.
21:54My heart was racing.
21:56The red light came on.
21:58Mom said I was a picky eater and a liar,
22:00and made me eat the whole plate.
22:02That night, I coughed up blood.
22:04My throat burned like fire.
22:05Mom saw it and said I drank tomato juice
22:08and was faking it.
22:09She shocked me for another ten minutes.
22:11Mom covered her mouth,
22:12her whole body shaking violently.
22:15That night, she really had thought it was tomato juice.
22:18She hadn't even looked closely at my vomit
22:20before turning away to tell my sister a story.
22:23It was blood.
22:24Blood from a throat swollen and torn.
22:26The officer turned the page and continued.
22:29June 1st, children's day.
22:31Sister cut mom's dress.
22:33Sister's heartbeat was slow.
22:34Her necklace was green.
22:36I tried to explain,
22:37because I was scared of getting hit.
22:39All red lights.
22:40Mom shocked me for ten minutes.
22:42Current at level five.
22:44It hurt so much,
22:45but I didn't dare cry.
22:47Because if I cried,
22:48my heart would race faster,
22:49and mom would think I was defiant,
22:51and shock me harder.
22:53I had to hold my breath.
22:54Pretend it didn't hurt.
22:56Mom said,
22:57See?
22:58She's not even screaming.
22:59That means it doesn't hurt.
23:01She's faking.
23:03Dad couldn't take it anymore.
23:05This man,
23:06invisible in this family for so long,
23:08we turned a blind eye to my suffering.
23:10We just wanted peace and quiet.
23:12He lunged forward.
23:14Slap.
23:14You monster!
23:18You monster!
23:20Look what you've done!
23:22That was your own daughter!
23:23You raised her like an animal!
23:26Mom's mouth bled.
23:27She fell to the floor,
23:29but she didn't fight back.
23:30She didn't cry.
23:32She just stared blankly,
23:34muttering.
23:35Not me.
23:36It wasn't my fault.
23:38Suddenly,
23:39she pointed at my sister,
23:41cowering in the corner.
23:42It was her!
23:43Jenny!
23:44Sister's necklace was always green!
23:46Sister was the honest one!
23:48She misled me!
23:50If it weren't for that green light,
23:52I wouldn't have trusted the red one so much!
23:55The little princess
23:56who'd always been cherished.
23:57An officer walked over.
23:59He unclasped the green necklace from my sister's neck.
24:03Got a screwdriver.
24:05Pryed open the pendant.
24:10There were no complex sensor chips.
24:12No heart rate monitor.
24:14Just two cheap LEDs and a few button batteries.
24:17The circuit was hardwired.
24:19Permanently set to green.
24:22This is a two-dollar plastic toy.
24:24The officer tossed the broken pieces onto the table with a clatter.
24:28Your younger daughter list has been set to green since it left the factory.
24:31No matter what she says or does,
24:33even if she murders someone,
24:35it stays green.
24:37Your scientific parenting?
24:39It's a complete, biased joke.
24:41Mom stared at the plastic fragments.
24:43The truth she'd believed for ten years.
24:46The evidence that had sentenced me to death.
24:49Just a toy.
24:50A toy controlled my fate for ten years?
24:52A game where only I was in hell,
24:55and my sister in heaven?
24:56So I wasn't a liar.
24:58I wasn't a bad kid.
25:00What were all those years of suffering for?
25:02I laughed.
25:04And as I laughed,
25:05I cried.
25:06Turns out,
25:07souls can cry too.
25:08The last page of the diary was opened.
25:11The female officer's voice cracked.
25:13The handwriting is shaky.
25:15Probably written right before she died.
25:17Mom,
25:18if I die,
25:19will the necklace stop glowing?
25:20Will you hold me then?
25:22I wasn't lying.
25:23My stomach hurts so bad,
25:25like a knife twisting inside.
25:26Ma,
25:27in my next life,
25:28please don't make me wear a necklace.
25:30I'm begging you.
25:31I just want to be a normal kid.
25:33I want to eat the braid pork you make.
25:36Mom stared at the pile of plastic junk.
25:38The honest green light she trusted so blindly.
25:41Just a cheap toy.
25:42Because of it,
25:43she doted on my sister for ten years.
25:46Because of that damned red light,
25:47she tortured me for ten years.
25:51Fake.
25:52It's all fake.
25:55I killed my most honest child and raised a liar.
25:58My death became a city-wide sensation.
26:01Aunt Shelly,
26:02our neighbor,
26:02was a kind soul but a big mouth.
26:04She posted everything she'd seen online.
26:06The headline was shocking,
26:08girl electrocuted by pseudoscience honesty necklace.
26:10The article detailed my corpse's condition,
26:13and the necklace fused into my flesh.
26:15It exploded.
26:16Online fury ignited instantly.
26:18Mom's personal information was doxxed.
26:21Electrocution demon.
26:22Murderer.
26:23She doesn't deserve to be a mom.
26:25Insults rained down like snow.
26:27Our front door was splashed with red paint,
26:30scrawled with the word death.
26:31Dad was also taken in for investigation,
26:34failure to prevent abuse,
26:35neglect of parental duties.
26:37Though he wasn't heavily sentenced
26:38due to lack of direct involvement,
26:40he lost his job.
26:41His reputation was ruined.
26:43His company fired him immediately
26:45to avoid association.
26:46The family went bankrupt.
26:48Pay compensation and legal fees,
26:50the house and car were sold.
26:52Dad couldn't handle the madwoman anymore.
26:55He took what little money was left
26:56and left with my sister.
26:58Even if my sister was a bad seed,
27:00she was still his only remaining child.
27:02Before leaving,
27:03my sister tried to take the green necklace.
27:06Dad crushed it under his foot.
27:08What the hell do you need that piece of junk for?
27:10My sister left, crying.
27:12Mom was released on bail pending trial.
27:15Psychological evaluation showed
27:16severe schizophrenia and PTSD.
27:19She was left in that rented room,
27:21filled with the memory of my stench.
27:24Completely isolated,
27:26her mental state deteriorated.
27:28She always felt I was still in the house.
27:31That red necklace,
27:32she refused to take it off.
27:33In fact,
27:34she became dependent on it.
27:36Because she found that wearing it,
27:38feeling that faint stain,
27:40eased her guilt just a little.
27:41It was her own self-inflicted punishment.
27:43I floated in the room,
27:45watching her daily descent into madness.
27:47She'd cook a whole table of food,
27:49calling out to empty air.
27:50Stella, dinner's ready.
27:52No celery today.
27:54All braised pork,
27:55your favorite.
27:55Then she'd pick up a piece of meat,
27:57hands shaking.
27:58From anxiety,
27:59the necklace turned red.
28:01She'd laugh,
28:02a nervous laugh.
28:03It is crazy.
28:05Mommy's lying.
28:08Mommy doesn't deserve to eat.
28:11Liars must be punished.
28:13She'd put down her chopsticks,
28:14pick up the remote,
28:16point it at her own neck.
28:17Even though the battery was nearly dead,
28:20she'd found new ones somewhere.
28:22The strong current made her convulse.
28:24Foam at the mouth,
28:25it'll look at the look across her face.
28:37It hurts.
28:38It hurts just like,
28:39was this how much it hurt for Stella?
28:42I'm sorry,
28:43Mommy tasted now.
28:44She started punishing herself according to my diary entries.
28:47I was shocked for refusing celery,
28:49so she forced herself to eat rotten food.
28:51Until she vomited blood,
28:53she forced it down.
28:54I was locked in my room,
28:56so she locked herself in there without light.
28:58In the darkness,
29:00she cowed out to my memorial photo.
29:04Her forehead bled.
29:06Bloodstains covered the floor.
29:08Late at night,
29:09she'd watch the red light from the necklace cast shadows on the wall.
29:12Like my bloody eyes staring at her.
29:14On the back page of my diary,
29:16she scribbled frantically in red pen.
29:18I'm sorry.
29:19Mommy was wrong.
29:21Red light is pain.
29:22Red light is love.
29:24Please come back.
29:25Just say it hurts one more time.
29:27Mommy will save you this time.
29:29I promise.
29:30Too bad.
29:31I'm already dead.
29:32Dead people can't say it hurts.
29:34Mom was eventually committed to a psychiatric hospital.
29:37Her self-harm had gotten so bad,
29:39she nearly electrocuted herself at home.
29:41Community services intervened and sent her in.
29:44She was the strangest patient there.
29:46She'd found some red plastic ring somewhere and wore it around her neck.
29:49A homemade necklace.
29:51If anyone tried to take it off,
29:53she'd bite like a rabid dog.
29:55Don't touch my light!
29:57Stella's watching!
29:58If you take it off, she'll get mad!
30:01She'd developed a terrible conditioned reflex.
30:03Whenever a nurse asked,
30:05Clara, have you eaten?
30:07She'd touch her neck first,
30:09then convulse and scream.
30:10Red light, don't shock me!
30:12I'll eat! I'll eat!
30:14Even if the porridge was scalding hot,
30:16she'd gulp it down,
30:17burning her esophagus,
30:18too scared to spit it out.
30:20She was imitating me,
30:21right before I died.
30:23Reliving my hell,
30:24over and over.
30:25Years passed.
30:27My sister grew up.
30:28And she grew up twisted.
30:30With no discipline and that reputation hanging over her,
30:33she ended up at the bottom of society.
30:35Broke,
30:36she remembered the mom still in the psych ward.
30:38She went to visit.
30:40Not for family love.
30:42For money.
30:43Old crazy lady!
30:44Dad's dead!
30:45Give me the secret stash,
30:47you hid!
30:47My sister wore heavy makeup,
30:49her face full of malice.
30:50She looked at mom's pathetic state
30:52and spat in disgust.
30:53Just like your dear Delda's daughter.
30:56If you don't give me money,
30:58I'll pull your plug and let you join her.
31:00At those words,
31:01mom,
31:02who'd been in a daze,
31:03suddenly looked up.
31:04Her clotted eyes focused on my sister for a moment,
31:07sharp and clear.
31:08She remembered the always green toy necklace.
31:10The green that had fooled her for ten years.
31:14You tricked me!
31:16Your green light was fake!
31:18You killed Stella!
31:20Give her back!
31:21Give her back!
31:24Die!
31:25You die!
31:26You're the one who should die!
31:29Help!
31:32Doctors rushed in,
31:33sedated mom,
31:34and took her off.
31:35Help!
31:36Help!
31:38My sister fled in panic.
31:43She ran blindly out of the hospital gate.
31:46Crazy!
31:47All of you are crazy!
31:48A speeding truck couldn't stop in time.
31:50My sister flew through the air.
31:52She survived.
31:54But her legs were crushed.
31:55She'd spend the rest of her life in a wheelchair.
31:58Completely broken.
32:00And mom,
32:01strapped to a restraint bed,
32:02stared at the ceiling with tears in her eyes.
32:05In her dreams,
32:06she finally saw me.
32:07I was still ten years old.
32:09No necklace.
32:10Wearing a white dress.
32:12Smiling,
32:13I ran to her.
32:14She opened her arms joyfully.
32:17Then she saw her own hands,
32:19crackling with electricity.
32:21The moment she touched me,
32:22my body burned up like paper,
32:25turned to ashes.
32:27She woke screaming.
32:30No!
32:34Heart rate spiking.
32:38If she still wore that necklace,
32:40it would have been blazing red.
32:42The eternal pain.
32:43I stood in the void,
32:44watching it all.
32:45Watching mom suffer in the psych ward.
32:47Watching my sister begging with broken legs.
32:49Watching dad,
32:50broken,
32:51drunk,
32:51dying young.
32:52In my heart,
32:53there was no satisfaction in revenge.
32:55Just stillness.
32:56Still as death.
32:57Beside me stood an old dog,
32:59Shao Bai.
33:00The dog I raised as a child,
33:02until mom threw him out.
33:03He'd been waiting for me in the spirit world.
33:05Shao Bai rubbed against my leg and barked softly.
33:08Like he was saying,
33:09come on,
33:10stop watching.
33:11Yeah,
33:11time to go.
33:12This life was too bitter.
33:14Nothing worth holding on to.
33:15I floated to the window of mom's room.
33:17One last goodbye.
33:19Mom lay in bed,
33:20withered,
33:20hair completely white.
33:22She seemed to sense something.
33:23Stella?
33:24Is that you?
33:26Mom smashed the necklace.
33:28Mom doesn't believe in it anymore.
33:30Please come back.
33:32Mom will cook for you.
33:33No celery.
33:35Mom will buy you new dresses.
33:36Not for your sister.
33:37Tears slipped down her cheeks,
33:40falling on the pillow.
33:41Sighed softly.
33:42I reached out.
33:43My cold finger touched her forehead.
33:45The last mercy I could give her.
33:47Let her sleep.
33:48Sleep.
33:49And it won't hurt anymore.
33:51She calmed instantly.
33:52Her eyelids grew heavy.
33:53She fell into a deep sleep.
33:55A breeze blew through.
33:56The worn diary on her bedside table flipped open.
33:59The police had returned it to her as a personal effect.
34:02On the last page,
34:04below my dying words,
34:05were a few shaky new lines,
34:07written by mom in her lucid moments.
34:09In the next life,
34:12let mommy wear the necklace.
34:14Let mommy be the liar.
34:17You punish me.
34:19Just don't leave me.
34:22Mommy will do anything.
34:24I looked at those words.
34:26Felt nothing.
34:27Too late.
34:28All the regret in the world,
34:29in the face of death,
34:30is pale and meaningless.
34:31Mom,
34:32I don't hate you anymore.
34:34But I don't love you either.
34:37Mom,
34:38let's don't meet again the next life.
34:40I turned away.
34:41Took Xiao Bai's leash.
34:42In the distance,
34:43a door of light appeared.
34:44The entrance to the next cycle.
34:46I raised my hand to my neck.
34:48The necklace that had always been there in spirit form.
34:50The nightmare that had bound me my whole life.
34:53I grabbed it.
34:54Pulled.
34:54Snap.
34:55It shattered.
34:56Dissolved into specks of light.
34:58Vanished into the air.
34:59I felt lighter than I'd ever felt.
35:01No red light.
35:02No electricity.
35:03No lies.
35:04Just freedom.
35:05I walked toward the door of light.
35:07Didn't look back.
35:08Morning sunlight streamed in.
35:10A nurse opened the door for rounds.
35:12Clara, time for your meds.
35:14No answer.
35:15The figure on the bed didn't move.
35:17The nurse stepped closer.
35:19Clara clutched the tattered diary tightly in her hand.
35:22At the corner of her eye,
35:23one last crystalline tear.
35:25On the heart monitor beside her,
35:26the line that represented life,
35:28had gone perfectly flat.
35:30The line that represented life,
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