Chapter 3

Leo was the most annoying kid I’d ever met. If Mom and Dad hadn’t brought Brooke and him to my place without my permission this time, I would never have allowed that little brat to set foot in my house.

He inherited all of Julian’s worst habits, and with my parents' endless spoiling, he was utterly lawless.

The most malicious incident happened at a wedding, where he deliberately ran into a pregnant woman’s stomach, just because he thought it would be 'fun' to see if her belly would flatten.

He was already in second grade; he knew exactly what a flattened belly meant.

Yet this little monster was treated like gold by the whole family. Brooke refused to divorce, partly because she was hopelessly in love, but also because she couldn’t bear to lose her son.

She was the quintessential doting wife and 'boy-mom,' it had to be said. But people like her never feel like *they* are suffering; only those around her, like me, suffer.

In my last life, I’d urged her to let go, to abandon both father and son. Instead, I got a three-on-one tongue-lashing from her and my parents.

Sure enough, his arrival this time meant more trouble for me.

That night, everyone was asleep, but I faintly heard some rustling in the living room. I opened my door to find that little monster using a utility knife to scratch something on the windowsill.

Sleepy-eyed, I flipped on the light, and the sight before me instantly made my scalp crawl.

On the windowsill, my four pet guinea pigs were splayed open, gutted, lying in a row, blood pooled all over the floor.

“Ah!!!” I shut my eyes and let out the most piercing scream of my life. The sound seemed to hit some twisted pleasure center in his brain; Leo immediately burst into maniacal laughter.

“What are you doing?! Why did you kill the guinea pigs?!” I erupted, fear, rage, and grief clenching my heart. I didn’t even know if I was speaking to a person or a demon.

“It was fun.” He said, then picked one up and started walking towards me, as if trying to provoke me further.

“Get away!” I shrieked, backing away. I was terrified of him, and I dared not scold him, because I truly didn’t know what he was capable of.