Chapter 3

At dinnertime, the table was laden with lavish dishes.

Linda brought over a steaming bowl of beef stew and personally placed it in front of me.

"Cassie, eat up. It'll be good for you."

She smiled so kindly, the wrinkles at the corners of her eyes smoothing out.

*[I put half a sleeping pill in this soup. Once she's out cold, we'll take her straight to the hospital first thing tomorrow morning to draw blood. Saves us the trouble of dealing with a fuss.]*

I looked at the bowl with its oily sheen, my stomach churning.

"Thanks, Linda."

I picked up the bowl and stirred it gently with my spoon.

Linda sat across from me, eyes fixed on my every movement without blinking.

"Hurry up and eat. It'll get fishy if it gets cold," she urged.

I scooped up a spoonful and brought it to my lips, then pretended to be burned and started coughing violently.

"Burned! So hot!"

I bent over, spitting all the soup into a tissue I'd prepared earlier, then quickly stuffed it into my sleeve.

"You careless child." Linda frowned, a flash of impatience in her tone.

*[What a useless thing. Can't even drink soup without choking. Hurry up and finish so she can sleep. Can't delay tomorrow.]*

I looked up, my eyes red from coughing.

"Linda, I really can't drink any more. I'm going to bed."

Linda looked at the bowl still more than half full, her expression darkening.

"No way. You have to finish it! I spent all afternoon making this!"

She suddenly stood up, grabbed the bowl, and tried to force it down my throat.

I dodged to the side. The soup splashed onto the tablecloth.

"Linda! I really can't drink any more!" I raised my voice.

Richard slammed his fork down hard on the table with a dull thud.

"What kind of way is that to talk to your mother? She told you to drink, so drink!"

I looked at their faces as they gradually shed their masks, the coldness in my heart growing deeper.

I couldn't confront them head-on right now.

I took a deep breath, putting on a look of surrender, picked up the bowl, and drank it down in big gulps.

Except each time, I cleverly held the liquid in my mouth, then spit it into the sponge hidden in my sleeve while pretending to wipe my mouth.

After the last swallow, I set the empty bowl heavily on the table.

"I'm done. Can I go to bed now?"

Linda's expression finally softened, revealing a satisfied smile.

"That's more like it. Go on, get some good sleep."

*[The drug takes effect in half an hour. Tonight's in the bag.]*