Mom brought Esther and Emily to a fancy restaurant.

"Let's bring some food back for Elmer," Esther said, looking at Mom and asking her for permission. Mom smiled and nodded.

"I'm relieved to see how well the three of you get along. You really look out for each other."

Esther and Emily pulled their lips into a thin line. I knew that their feelings for me were mostly out of guilt and nothing more.

When we were younger, Mom had always taken Esther's and Emily's studies very seriously. However, they were both quite playful and often sneaked out of the house to play.

When Mom came home and saw that I was the only one left in the house, she asked me darkly, "Where are your sisters?"

"They're playing outside," I replied, proudly showing off the small flower brooch that I had made for her. "Mom, Happy Mother's—"

I hadn't even managed to finish my wish when she tore my clothes off my body and began lashing at my frail body with a leather belt.

"Why didn't you keep an eye on them?"

She lashed at me again.

"Didn't I tell you about the dog that had to fulfill its purpose? What does it mean to be a dog?"

I sobbed and replied, "I-It means to be made a sacrifice… S-So that the lions are taught to be obedient…"

She lashed at me a third time.

"And who's the dog?"

"M-Me, Elmer Kingston…"

Mom continued whipping me with the belt until Esther and Emily finally came home with a jump rope in their hands. They got a huge shock when they saw me lying in a pool of blood on the ground.

"Mom! You… You can't hit Elmer like that… Please…"

Esther was the first to apologize, falling to her knees and grabbing the leather belt from her. However, Mom just gave her a hard look and continued whipping me on the back.

"Did I not tell you and Emily that I would punish Elmer every time you did something wrong? Did you not understand a word I said?"

Esther began to cry and beg Mom for mercy, promising that she would study hard and never dare to sneak out to play again.

When Emily heard that, she hurriedly snipped the jump rope in two and also promised tearfully that she would study hard from then onward.

It wasn't until then that Mom finally dropped the leather belt, smiling in satisfaction when Esther and Emily returned to their desks.

However, Mom's demands only got higher and higher.

If they failed to get full scores in their exams, Mom would beat me up with a stick. If they took a minute too long on their break between studies, she wouldn't let me sleep at night. And if they accidentally tore a hole in their clothes, she would cut up all my clothes and tie me to the front door.

I was on the verge of having a mental breakdown. I cried and asked her why she was doing this to me. It was Esther and Emily who made the mistakes, so why was I the one getting punished instead?

Mom then replied that Esther and Emily were both smarter than me, and she couldn't afford to hit them in case it affected their intelligence. Therefore, I had to be made the scapegoat to force them to study harder.

She told me that they would be my pillars of support in the future.

I then stared at the failing exam grades on my desk and felt a little dazed. Was I really made the "sacrificial dog" just because I wasn't as smart as they were?

…

Just then, Esther and Emily brought up the same topic at the dinner table.

"Mom, you should just punish us next time if we make any mistakes. Please don't hurt Elmer anymore.

"He's always had a weak body. Also… Elmer's sensible and understanding enough."

Mom was stunned for a second. Then, she smiled extremely gently at them and said, "Silly girl. I could never bring myself to beat you."

I reached out and looked at the crisscrossing scars on my hands and arms. Thanks to them, I could only wear long-sleeved shirts and long pants every day, even in the sweltering heat.

I always thought that Mom didn't like me because I was not as smart as Esther and Emily. I also thought that she didn't want to hit them because it would make them stupid.

But now, Mom was saying that she simply couldn't bring herself to beat them.

What about me? Was I born only to be made a scapegoat, a "sacrificial" dog to force Esther and Emily into obedience?

I couldn't stop my tears from falling after learning the truth. I wiped my tears away and glanced at Mom's phone, where a number of netizens had left comments on her live streams and even personal DMs, showing up as notifications on her screen.

"Lady, your son's condition doesn't look very good. Is he out of the tank yet? Don't let anything happen to him!"

"I really think you need to treat your son better, miss. Don't hurt him even if you don't love him!"

Some other commenters even reprimanded Mom and said that what she did was child abuse, and they were reporting her crimes to the police.

Mom just frowned disdainfully and said, "These commenters need to mind their own business and stop sticking their noses into places where they don't belong. How dare they feel sorry for that brat!"

She then replied to their messages and said, "Stay in your lane and stop worrying about how I treat my son. I know what I'm doing!"

Mom got a call right at that moment. It was Dad, who said he was finally home from his business trip, but he'd forgotten to bring his keys with him. He was asking her if she was at home.

"I'm out now, but we'll be right home soon."

Mom was smiling happily because Esther and Emily were being unexceptionally obedient today. However, Dad suddenly exclaimed loudly on the other end of the line.

"Darling, didn't you turn off the tap while you were out? The water's seeping out from the door!"

Mom instantly turned angry at that. "Was it Elmer? That damn brat! All I did was hit him a few times today, and I didn't even draw blood! How dare he try to flood the house? The nerve!"

Next to her, Esther and Emily still didn't know that I was dead, and they were still asking the waiter for a doggy bag to bring home the fried chicken for me.

"Would two pieces be enough for him? Should we order some more?" Emily asked.

Mom suddenly jumped up and threw the chicken in the bag to the dogs outside the restaurant. Esther and Emily were both startled.

They exclaimed, "Mom! What are you doing?"

"That stupid brat is causing a huge mess at home! And he still thinks he deserves to eat after that?"

She then grabbed Esther and Emily's arms, one in each hand, and marched back home as quickly as she could, muttering angrily under her breath.

"That tiresome brat! I should have drowned you as soon as I gave birth to you!"

When Dad finally saw Mom appearing at the door, he complained and said, "I don't know if our furniture inside can still be saved."

He told Mom to open the door, but Mom first took out her live-streaming phone and pointed the camera at the water seeping out of the door.

"Look at this! This is all done by that 'good boy' you guys keep feeling sorry for!"

The comments flooded in.

"Oh my god, why is the floor flooded?"

"You're saying that poor kid did this? I don't believe it."

"But why would a mother frame her own son?"

"You know how some boys will just be boys. They just know how to bring the house down, literally!"

Mom read the angry comments condemning me and felt a little soothed.

"You're absolutely right, everyone. I'm going to live stream me beating that brat black and blue later. If you want to watch it, remember to leave me some gift tokens and give me a thumbs-up!"

I floated mid-air with a bitter smile on my face.

I was already dead, and yet, it seemed like she wasn't going to let my corpse off that easily either.

Right at that moment, two police officers showed up at the door and revealed their police badges.

"Hello. Mrs. Kingston, right? Someone reported you for child abuse. Is there anything of the sort going on here?"

Mom didn't think that the netizens would actually dare to report her to the police. She rolled her eyes at the officers and pointed at the water on the floor. "This is what my son did. What do you mean by child abuse? I was just teaching him a lesson.

"Are you telling me that there's a law that prohibits parents from disciplining their children?"

The officers exchanged glances and said, "Open the door. We will take a look for ourselves."

"Fine. If I don't open it now, that brat's going to continue flooding the entire building at this point," Mom replied angrily while aggressively sticking the key into the lock.