Chapter 1
When my biological father Jaxon Thomson and mother Rosie Thomson brought me home, I only had a backpack and my therapy dog with me.
Just because their adopted daughter Sophie Thomson said she wanted to eat dog meat barbecue on Christmas, they actually killed my dog.
I flipped the table and smashed the Thomson mansion into chaos.
Rosie said disappointedly, “Don’t you know Sophie suffers from depression? She was finally happy for once, and you ruined it all over a dog.”
Jaxon looked at me coldly: “You’re just mentally ill. I really regret bringing you back.”
Sophie’s eyes were red–rimmed as she pushed the barbecue in front of me: “Dad, Mom, don’t blame Olivia. Olivia, since you love this dog, I’ll give it back to you.”
I let out a cold laugh.
What they didn’t know was that Sophie’s depression was fake, but my mental illness was real.
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Rolly was missing.
That Labrador who would always run out to nuzzle me the moment he heard my voice seemed not to have heard my calls today.
I clenched my fists. Rolly was my lifetime therapy dog, and the only method the psychiatric hospital had found to control my behavior.
Without Rolly, I would become like I was in the psychiatric hospital again.
Just thinking about how all the doctors, nurses, and patients in the psychiatric hospital would scream in panic when they saw me having an episode made me shudder.
No! I couldn’t lose Rolly! I didn’t want to be treated like a monster again! I wanted to be normal!
I searched tirelessly throughout the Thomson mansion. Although I had lived here for six months, I still felt like a stranger.
He was nowhere to be found in the bedrooms, storage rooms, or backyard.
I slammed the last door shut hard, realizing I was losing control of my strength.
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Chapter 1
I pinched my arm, barely regaining my composure, and opened the monitoring app on my phone with trembling hands.
After leaving the psychiatric hospital, I had installed monitoring equipment on Rolly’s collar in case I couldn’t find him.
But the live feed showed only pitch black, and the history could only be viewed after finding the memory card.
The ominous feeling in my heart grew stronger, and I began uncontrollably biting my nails.
Just as I was about to go out and post missing dog flyers, Sophie walked in.
She was dressed very sweetly, with a cute smile on her face.
But when she looked at me, her eyes were malicious.
I was used to her looks, so I walked toward the door without hesitation
But Sophie called out to me: “Olivia, where are you going? Today is Christmas. Dad, Mom, and I are planning to barbecue. The ingredients are very special this time. Come eat with us.”
I responded coldly: “No, I don’t celebrate Christmas.”
“There’s a feast today. If you miss it, you’ll regret it.” Sophie’s
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tone was meaningful.
I froze, feeling inexplicably uneasy.
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But the urgency of finding Rolly weighed on my mind, so I quickly left.
When I finished posting the missing dog flyers and returned to the Thomson mansion, the lights had just come on inside, and steam had condensed into water droplets on the glass windows.
Jaxon, Rosie, and Sophie were sitting around the dining table, chatting happily.
Seeing me, Sophie waved and said with a smile: “Olivia, come eat the barbecue. It smells so good.”
Rosie looked at me reproachfully: “We haven’t seen you all afternoon. Sophie specially saved you a big portion.”
I frowned, about to refuse, when Sophie picked up a plate: “We’ve been busy all afternoon. This dog meat is particularly fragrant. Olivia, won’t you really try some?”
Dog meat?
I froze in place, suspecting I was having auditory hallucinations again.
I mechanically turned my head to look at the dining table, then
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Chapter 1
at Sophie’s face.
A nightmarish suspicion formed in my mind.
I tried to find flaws in Sophie’s expression: “Where’s my Rolly?”
Sophie blinked innocently: “You mean that dog? It’s right here.”
I stared intently at that plate of barbecue, feeling dizzy.
“I wanted to eat dog meat barbecue this morning, so Dad and Mom helped me process the dog. There’s still lots of meat left in the fridge. We can continue eating dog meat pizza tomorrow.” Sophie kept talking, like an evil spirit whispering in my ear.
I suddenly raised my hand and knocked the plate from her hands, ignoring the shocked cries behind me, then rushed to the kitchen.
In the freezer, the only place I hadn’t searched, there were large chunks of blood–red meat, bones and flesh covered with a layer of white frost.
There was even a tuft of unplucked dog hair on top, the color of Rolly’s fur.
I suddenly bent over and began vomiting violently.
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