Her gaze drifted to the ring once more. What had seemed like easy money now felt like a cursed temptation, a gilded shackle meant to bind her to a fate she couldn’t escape. She took a step back, her decision made. Whatever wealth the ring promised, it wasn’t worth the price her soul would pay.

Anna turned and fled the room, her footsteps echoing in the empty corridors as she searched for the comfort of light and life. She would return to her life as it was, her dreams of grandeur abandoned like a forgotten tale. The dead had taught her an invaluable lesson, one she would carry with her long after she left the morgue behind: Some riches were not meant to be claimed by the living.