로그인...Carrie suddenly went nuts, slapping herself. "It's me! It's all my fault! I tore up Ava's drawing. I'm not human."Marta, who'd been following quietly behind, couldn't take it anymore. She rushed forward, grabbing Carrie's hands and hugging her tightly. "Stop torturing yourself! It's breaking my heart!"Carrie struggled wildly, crying and screaming until her strength gave out. She went limp in the embrace.Under Marta's care, Carrie gradually calmed down. But she often sat alone, hugging the oven and muttering to herself, "Ava, don't be scared. I'm right here."Stefan came by a few times, but each time Carrie went berserk, smashing things to drive him away. Later, he started a new family and sent money occasionally, but he never set foot there again.Carrie settled down, no longer hugging the oven and muttering my name. She locked herself in her room, not eating or drinking for three days.Marta grew anxious, ready to call someone to break down the door, but Carrie came out
..."We extracted clear fingerprints from the oven's start button. After comparison, they match your adopted daughter's," the officer said.Those words exploded in Carrie's mind. It meant she had brought home a monster who caused my death.Marta gasped, looking incredulously at the innocent-looking girl on the bed. Carrie slowly turned to Cecily, muttering, "It was my fault that Ava died."Her eyes burned with regret and unbelieving rage. "Why? Why did you kill my daughter?"Cecily shrank back from Carrie's terrifying glare, arguing in her childish voice, "You said that Ava and her dad both deserve to die. I-I was just trying to help you."The more she spoke, the more aggrieved she felt. "I didn't know doing that would kill her. I didn't know the oven got that hot. I really didn't know!""Didn't know. You didn't know." Carrie clutched her head in agony, unable to stay in that suffocating room anymore.She jumped up abruptly, but Cecily grabbed her sleeve. "Mom, where are you go
...Those words hit like thunder, drawing everyone's attention.Stefan finally noticed the strange girl in the house. He looked closely at the princess dress Cecily was wearing—it was mine—and then at the charred body in the oven.He got it in an instant, his eyes blazing with anger. "I know cheating was my fault, but Ava was your flesh and blood. How could you dump all your hate for me on her?"His finger shook as he pointed at Carrie. "How could you be so vicious? She was so little, and you locked her in an oven. Are you even human?"Carrie got triggered by his words and stood up, screaming back hysterically, "Oh, now you care about her? Did you think about her when you were cheating? You brought her cakes just to meet that tramp, didn't you?"I huddled in the corner, staring blankly at the farce."Enough!" Stefan bellowed, his face showing a broken resolve. "Fine! I'll tell you the truth. Grace and I getting together had nothing to do with Ava. She was my first love. If you h
...Stefan's breathing grew heavy; he staggered back and hit the wall.Marta let out a stifled scream, clapping her hand over her mouth. "No, it can't be!"Carrie stared fixedly at the charred object by her feet, her lips quivering. "She was just sulking at me. This can't be her!"Then she went berserk, searching the house for me. She flung open the living room curtains, then yanked open the closet. "Ava, stop messing around! Get out here now! I know this is your prank. Can't scare me!"The female officer looked at her with pity. "Ms. Compton, we've searched the whole house. Your daughter isn't there."Carrie's voice cracked, laced with suppressed sobs. "Ava, if you come out now, I'll forgive you and take you to get a strawberry cake."Still, dead silence answered her.The officer sighed at Carrie's loss of control, then turned to Stefan, who could barely stand. "Can you confirm if this is your daughter?"Stefan staggered over to the smashed oven. Inside, that charred, curled-
...Carrie opened the door to see two police officers and my dad, Stefan Obrien, whom she hadn't seen in a while.Stefan rushed up to her, demanding, "What were you saying in the parents' group? And the preschool says Ava hasn't shown up for days. What did you do to her?"The sight of him reignited all her old and new grudges. She barked, "You have the nerve to call the police? You two heartless scumbags teaming up to humiliate me, huh?"The lead officer cut her off, his expression serious. "Ms. Compton, we need to ask about your daughter's disappearance. When was the last time you saw her?"Carrie stormed inside, yelling toward the kitchen, "Ava, are you done throwing your fit? Get out here now! Let your dad and everyone see what a joke I've become. Happy now?""Mom, I'm not hiding," I muttered desperately.The officers exchanged looks and started searching the house. They checked every corner but found nothing. Finally, only the kitchen was left.Carrie crossed her arms, her
...Carrie charged over, her face twisted in annoyance that Marta had opened the door without permission."Mom, stay out of it! I'd like to see how long she can..." Carrie's voice stopped abruptly as she smelled it too.Her eyes locked onto that big oven. A murky, sticky yellow liquid was seeping out from the door seam. That was my rotting body fluids.I thought she would be scared, shocked, and realize what had happened. But she wasn't.After a brief stun, her face twisted with raging anger. She pointed at the stain, her body shaking with fury. "Ava Compton! I told you to reflect on your mistakes, and you peed in there to gross me out? How can you be so low?""No, it's not like that." I spun around her in desperation, trying uselessly to explain. "I didn't mean to gross you out. I just died."I wanted to tell her the truth, but she couldn't hear me at all. Looking at her distorted face, I was overwhelmed by grief and despair.Even my death looked filthy in her eyes.Carrie tu







