It was my daughter's birthday, and my husband took her out to play.
I prepared a large table of food, waiting for them to return, but instead, I received news that Anna Perry had an accident.
When I arrived at the scene, I saw her lying in a pool of blood, her face partially eaten away.
She cried, "Dad let me walk the dog, but I lost it. Mom, help me find the dog."
Her consciousness was fading, but she kept calling out for her dad.
When I found my husband, he was with his first love.
He stoked the injured dog, saying, "Anna couldn't even walk a dog properly. She's so useless."
Anna's body, now unrecognizable, was lying alone in the funeral home.
Even in her final moments, she cried out for her dad repeatedly.
But Eugene Perry never showed up before she passed.
Anna's death shattered my last bit of perseverance and hope.
It was time to end my five-year marriage with Eugene.
I drafted the divorce papers, printed them out, signed them, and prepared to take Anna's belongings to the funeral home.
Eugene returned home and looked around, but there were no signs of Anna.
His gaze fell on me, and he said coldly, "What kind of mother are you? You couldn't even teach Anna properly. Look at her, such a useless girl. She can't even walk a dog. What can we expect from her?"
I felt a pang in my heart.
Thankfully, Anna didn't have a chance to hear this. It would have broken her heart.
Eugene approached, with hickeys on his neck and a strong scent of perfume on him.
I covered my nose, feeling waves of nausea.
He saw the divorce papers on the coffee table and frowned with displeasure.
"Instead of wasting time on divorce, why can't you manage Anna properly? If you can't do it, I will. Where is she? After causing trouble, she hides. She almost lost Jessica's dog. Do you know how important that dog is?" he said.
"You never fulfilled your duties as a father from the day Anna was born. And now you dare to act like a father? Do you even deserve that title?" I snapped.
The anger that had been building inside me erupted.
I threw the divorce papers at him. "Sign it. From now on, Anna and I have nothing to do with you."
Eugene angrily threw the divorce papers back at my face and kicked the coffee table.
"Are you done? Even if she's dead, I'm still her dad. Who else has the right to discipline her if not me?
"Laura Thompson, don't try to threaten me with divorce. It won't work," he sulked.
Hearing him mention Anna's death made it hard for me to breathe.
I clutched my chest, taking deep breaths, and then started dry heaving.
Eugene frowned. "What kind of trick are you pulling?"
I couldn't hold back any longer. My eyes red, I yelled at him, "Anna is only three years old. How could you let her walk a large hunting dog alone? Do you know that she..."
I couldn't finish my words.
Eugene cut me off. "What's the big deal? Kids need to be toughened up. You spoil Anna too much.
"Get Anna out here and call Jessica to apologize. That dog you mentioned is like family to her."
My face was flushed with anger, but my veins bulged. "Anna did nothing wrong!"
Eugene threw the half-eaten mango cake he brought into the trash.
"Jessica told me not to blame her and gave her a cake. You and Anna are just taking advantage of Jessica's kindness," he said.
Anna was three years old, but he didn't even know she was allergic to mangoes.
I took the cake out of the trash and stomped on it. "Don't bring this garbage to disgust Anna."
In all the time I'd known Eugene, I rarely confronted him like this.
I grabbed the suitcase with Anna's belongings and started to leave.
Eugene was furious. "If you leave now, don't ever come back."
He thought this was just a way for me to get his attention, but this time, it was truly over between us.
Chapter 2I met Eugene through work.
I started a small company, and he was one of the employees.
We dated and eventually got married.
Once, while on a business trip, he had a car accident.
I was busy with work and didn't have much time to take care of him.
By the time he recovered, he had Jessica Barnes by his side.
Eugene and I had a fierce fight.
He accused me of caring only about money, not him.
During his most vulnerable time, only Jessica was there for him.
In the end, I proposed divorce but unexpectedly found out I was pregnant for a month and a half.
Eugene apologized, explaining that there was nothing between him and Jessica, and promised to keep his distance from her.
I softened.
Having grown up in an orphanage, I had no family.
The life growing inside me, connected by blood, made me reluctant to let go.
After Anna was born, I stayed home full-time to take care of her.
The company was left in Eugene's care.
Later, he became increasingly blatant in his relationship with Jessica.
I started to act like a shrew, constantly arguing with him and doing everything to keep him close.
I even deceived myself, convincing myself that it was for the sake of giving Anna a complete family.
But now Anna was gone.
Our marriage was also coming to an end.
I handed a photo of Anna in a princess dress to the mortician, begging him to restore her to her original appearance.
I didn't expect to see Eugene there.
He locked eyes with me, fury boiling in his gaze.
His first love, Jessica, clung to his arm, surrounded by a group of bodyguards. Her eyes were red from crying.
Eugene strode over. "It's good that you're here. Where's Anna? Where did you hide her?"
I glanced at the small figure lying quietly on the operating table.
He grabbed my collar and shouted at me, "I'm asking you a question. Are you deaf?"
I pried open his hand and shoved him away. "I told you, Anna has nothing to do with you anymore. Now you can realize your dream and be with your lover."
Eugene slapped me across the face.
His chest heaved with anger. "With your sharp tongue, no wonder Anna turned out so malicious."
For a few seconds, my vision went black, and my ears buzzed.
I stared straight at him. No one could insult Anna like that.
"How dare you talk about Anna like that? What did she do wrong? You better explain yourself," I snapped.
"She drugged Jessica's dog, causing all its puppies to die. Isn't that malicious enough? If she has the heart to kill these small animals, she'll murder people when she grows up."
Eugene showed me the surveillance video on his phone.
The person in the footage looked like Anna. In Anna's clothes, she squatted beside the large dog and put something into the dog food.
Eugene put away his phone after I watched the video.
"What else do you have to say? This is the good daughter you raised. It's my misfortune to have such a daughter," he said.
I had naively hoped Eugene would see Anna one last time. It turned out to be my wishful thinking.
Jessica tugged at Eugene's sleeve, pretending to soothe him.
"It's normal for children to learn from their mothers. It's fine if she targets me, but those poor puppies are innocent," she said.
Eugene patiently comforted her and coldly looked at me. "Bring Anna here and make her apologize to those puppies."
I sneered, "They're just animals."
Jessica cried even harder, raising her voice to refute me, "They're not just animals. They are my family!"
"You can die with them and be buried together," I countered.
"Laura, shut up!"
Eugene couldn't bear it anymore and interrupted me harshly.
His assistant said something to him, and he looked at the mortician.
He walked over and ordered arrogantly, "I'll pay you three times your salary. Restore these puppies first and make them look their best."
I stood between them. "No! I won't let you do that to Anna."
Eugene finally noticed what I had said.
He sneered, "You say this is Anna? This trick might fool a three-year-old."
I blocked Anna and trembled. "She's dead. She was killed by dogs. Half her face was chewed off. Are you satisfied now?"
Eugene remained indifferent. "It's good that such a troublemaker is dead."
He ordered the bodyguards to pull me away, drag Anna to the floor, and then place the puppies in front of the mortician.
"Laura, you always go against me without considering your situation."
Using all my strength, I broke free and rushed to Anna, holding her tightly in my arms. "Eugene, you're a beast. You deserve to die."
The mortician couldn't stand it and refused Eugene's request.
Eugene's patience was exhausted.
"As long as these puppies can't be properly buried, the funeral home will be out of power. Let's see how long you can hold out," he said.
The other people at the funeral home were dissatisfied and started to make a scene.
But facing such a large group of bodyguards, they didn't dare do anything to Eugene.
Instead, they turned their anger on me.
They drove Anna and me out.
Eugene watched with a hint of schadenfreude in his eyes.
Anna's body had started to rot, emitting a faint stench.
I gently patted her. "Don't be afraid, baby. I am here. I'm sorry for your suffering."
Jessica's dog was brought over.
I tightened my hold on Anna and covered her eyes with my hand.
Eugene stood in front of me. "Didn't you say this rotting corpse is Anna? Then let her apologize."
Before I could react, the dog lunged at us.
The smell of blood excited it, and it started biting Anna.
I threw myself over Anna to protect her, but I couldn't cover her entirely.
The pain from the bites was so excruciating that I almost fainted.
Crying, I apologized to Eugene, "I'm sorry. Please, let me go."
"Only now do you know to apologize?" Eugene raised an eyebrow.
I kept bowing to him. After what felt like an eternity, he was finally satisfied and had the dog taken away.
I hurried to check on Anna.
Eugene's voice sounded from above, commanding me, "Go send those puppies on their final journey."
Holding Anna tightly, I staggered to guard the dead puppies until they were buried.
Anna's body could no longer be restored and could only be buried.
As I moved, her death certificate fell out.
Eugene picked it up and opened it.
The name on the death certificate was clearly Anna.