"Ugly freak!" I muttered under my breath, flipping the doll over and covering it with a pillow.

For now, I wasn't sure whether Isabelle, who was trapped inside it, could somehow communicate with my adoptive parents.

So, I had to test it out carefully.

I put on a mask and gloves. Then, I carried Vivian's small bottle of aromatherapy oil into the bathroom carefully.

After putting the bottle in scalding hot water, I heated the contents inside until they melted. Next, I poured everything, including the tiny fragments of talisman paper at the bottom, into the toilet and flushed it away.

After I was done, I quickly took out the aromatherapy oil I had bought and placed it in the original spot. I added a few drops of diluted lilac essential oil into it.

Throughout the entire process, my heart pounded so hard that it felt like it might leap out of my throat. I was terrified that something might go wrong and that they might notice even the tiniest of clues.

This bottle was almost identical to the previous one. As long as no one examined it closely, they wouldn't discover that it was different.

Money made the world go round.

These replicas had cost me nearly 100 thousand dollars. Fortunately, Isabelle had transferred a lot of money to me back when she wanted to gain my trust.

The one I bought was a genuine plant-based aromatherapy oil with real calming effects.

However, the one Vivian gave me was made from Isabelle's ashes. It was mixed with some mummy powder and infused with a sinister burned talisman.

It could make a person fall into a deep coma almost instantly by causing the soul to leave the body… It was lethal.

That night, I viciously jabbed the doll's head a few times with an embroidery needle. Then, I flipped it back and restored it to its original position before leisurely climbing into bed.

Just like in my previous life, Vivian came in to tuck me in before I went to sleep. She turned on the dim, eerie bedside lamps and floor lights.

Then, she picked up the bottle of aromatherapy oil and lit it with practiced ease before placing it back on the nightstand.

As she watched the pale yellow smoke curl upward, a satisfied smile appeared on her face. She gently urged me to sleep early.

After she left, I didn't lie down right away. Instead, I took out a few exercise books and pretended to do my homework.

Then, I rested my head on the desk and pretended to sleep through the entire night. Only when dawn was about to break did I quietly climb back into bed and close my eyes.

It wasn't until after 11:00 am that Vivian came to wake me. Her expression was the same as usual as she picked up the doll and said she would choose new clothes for it.

The tension I'd been feeling eased slightly.

When I went downstairs, Cedric looked at my somewhat drowsy face and smiled. "Did you sleep well last night, Beth?"

Scratching my head shyly, I replied, "Yes, I did. I slept so deeply, but I still feel like I haven't slept enough."

Cedric exchanged a glance with Jasper, and their smiles widened. Vivian's attitude toward me was noticeably more affectionate today.

As I held the doll that was now dressed in new clothes, I put on a happy expression too. I could finally relax a little.

As I had suspected, it seemed that Isabelle was currently trapped inside the doll. She was unable to move or speak.

That night, I repeated the same steps as before. I secretly replaced the fatal aromatherapy oil.

This time, I didn't rest at the desk. Instead, I lay in bed and had a genuinely comfortable sleep.

However, in the middle of the night, I suddenly felt a chilling cold seeping from the direction of the willow bed beside me. The lights in the room, which had been on the entire time, suddenly went off.

A shiver ran down my spine.

Tap… Tap… Tap…

There came an extremely faint sound. It was like small leather shoes stepping on the floor.

Tap… Tap… Tap… Tap…

The sound was stiff. Step by step, the sound slowly came closer to my bedside.

After a while, a faint, cool breeze brushed over me. The skin on my exposed arms and neck tingled, as if strands of someone's hair had fallen over them.

A dark shadow silently loomed above me. It carried the eerie chill of a corpse as it slowly pressed down on me...

Suddenly, my eyes snapped open!

Under the dim light, a pair of creepy, black, and hollow eyes met mine.