Seeing my pathetic state, Leo smirked and ground his foot into my hand, pressing down hard.
Milo, weak as he was, lunged forward and sank his teeth into Leo’s trouser leg in a desperate attempt to protect me.
Leo sneered. Without hesitation, he flung Milo aside with a force that sent him tumbling.
Then, with a sadistic glint in his eyes, he picked up a pair of scissors and stabbed his own leg—three times.
"Ah! Help—!"
His scream pierced the air.
Moments later, my sister rushed in, her face frantic with worry. My younger sister, in her panic, stepped on my already crushed hand as she ran to embrace Leo.
"What happened? Are you okay?!" she cried, holding onto him as if he were the most fragile thing in the world.
Leo buried his face in her arms, shaking as he sobbed.
"I... I just wanted to cut my brother the biggest piece of cake, but he accused me of trying to hurt him... Then—then he called the dog to attack me!"
As he spoke, he lifted his trouser leg, revealing the self-inflicted wounds. His cries grew more pitiful, his body trembling like a helpless victim.
My sister's face darkened with rage. She turned on me in an instant, her voice sharp as a knife.
"Jen, when did you become so cruel?! No wonder people humiliate you—maybe you deserve it!"
My younger sister looked at me, her gaze void of the warmth I once knew. Instead, it was filled with unfamiliar coldness.
"Brother… I never imagined you bullied Leo so much in private. No wonder he’s always afraid when he talks about you! Just how much have you tormented him?"
I said nothing.
Yet in their eyes, my silence was a confession.
But it didn’t matter anymore.
I had already given up.
Then my sister’s gaze shifted.
She locked onto Milo, lying motionless, barely breathing.
"If you did something wrong, you should be punished," she said icily. "Beat this beast to death."
A wave of disbelief crashed over me.
I dropped to my knees, my voice breaking.
"Sister, I was wrong. I won’t do it again. Please, I’ll stay away from him—I won’t appear before him ever again."
"Milo is innocent! Have you forgotten? You bought him for me ten years ago, after Mom passed away!"
Desperation gripped me as I kowtowed again and again, my forehead slamming against the cold floor.
But my sister didn’t even flinch.
She merely gestured to the housekeeper. "Bring me a golf club."
Before she could take action, my younger sister spoke, her tone laced with conviction.
"I almost went into shock from leukemia. It was Leo who saved me with his bone marrow—so I won’t allow anyone to hurt him."
I froze.
Then… who should be blamed for the finger-wide scar on my spine?
For the fevers and chills I suffered every time the seasons changed?
But before I could make sense of it all—
The club swung down.
"No—!!"
A sickening crack filled the room.
Milo collapsed before me, a broken, bloody mess.
My sister nodded in satisfaction before walking away with Leo.
My younger sister lingered for a moment, her expression twisting with disdain as she glanced back at me.
"If you love that mutt so much," she spat, "then stay with it."
With a click, the door locked behind her.
I dragged myself toward Milo’s lifeless body, cradling him in my arms.
And in that moment—
My world shattered.
Mom. Dad.
My sisters.
Milo.
…Gone.
Outside, my sister spared no effort in tending to Leo.
She gathered medical experts from all over the city, ensuring he received the best care.
In the end, all he needed was some bandages and a rabies vaccine.
Only then did she seem to remember me.
For a brief second, the echoes of my screams resurfaced in her mind.
She reached for her phone, intending to call the housekeeper and order a replacement dog—one identical to Milo.
But before she could dial, the housekeeper came running, breathless and panicked.
"Miss… Miss! Bad news! The young master—he jumped from the attic into the sea with the dog! The only thing left behind was his phone!"
