Revenge of the Substitute Daughter

　　Without the psychological comfort of a priest, Eliza had nightmares for several nights in a row.

　　Deprived of quality sleep, she looked worn out, aging at least five years in appearance.

　　One evening, Mr. and Mrs. Lloyd were still out at a dinner party, and it was already 11 PM.

　　Adding to the tension, a thunderstorm caused a power outage, plunging the entire villa into darkness.

　　Eliza sat on the sofa, trembling.

　　Taking advantage of the darkness, I released a few mosquitoes over her head and quietly opened a wooden box containing a spider as big as a grown man's hand.

　　Although it was harmless, it looked terrifying.

　　Growing up in the countryside, I had no fear of catching snakes with my bare hands, let alone a spider.

　　But Eliza, pampered all her life, turned pale at the sight of a cockroach, let alone such a large spider.

　　When the butler restored the power and the lights came back on, the spider was already perched on her head.

　　Pretending to be scared, I stammered and pointed at her head, "Eliza, there's a huge spider on you!"

　　As expected, she started trembling all over. "Quick... get it off me!"

　　Of course, I agreed to help.

　　I nodded and began slapping her cheeks, one slap after another, thoroughly enjoying the moment.

　　Mr. Lloyd had removed the surveillance cameras, claiming it was to protect everyone's privacy, but in reality, he didn't want any evidence of Eliza's slip-ups.

　　This meant that as I slapped her, she would have no evidence to complain about later.

　　After about a dozen slaps, the spider, startled by the commotion, scurried away.

　　Once it was gone, Eliza sighed in relief, but then, realizing what had happened, she tried to slap me in return.

　　I dodged, and she missed.

　　She accused me of deliberately using this method to get rid of the spider.

　　I claimed that I panicked and thought it was the only way.

　　Knowing she couldn't win a physical confrontation with me, she threatened to tell Mr. Lloyd about the slaps, vowing that he would make me pay for each one.

　　I didn't care about her threat and shifted the topic, asking slyly, "Eliza, did you really kill someone?"

　　Of course, she wouldn't admit it.

　　I looked at her quizzically, "Then it's strange. Why were there three people clinging to you when the power went out?"

　　"That's nonsense."

　　"I'm not lying. The spider was put on your head by them. Otherwise, how could such a big spider be in a villa that's cleaned so often?"

　　Hearing this, she gasped, her breath catching in her throat. After all, what I said made sense.

　　I continued thoughtfully, "One of them was the ghost we saw on the footage, and the other two seemed like they had been burned."

　　My precise description made her almost believe it.

　　A gust of wind blew across her back, sending chills down her spine. She grabbed a pillow and started frantically swiping at her back, screaming, "Get away! All of you, get away!"

　　I watched her panic with calm detachment.

　　Suddenly, she grabbed my arm and pleaded, "Mia, please tell me how to get rid of these ghosts. If you help me this time, I'll never bully you again. I'll even give up Mom and Dad's affection for you."

　　She finally took the bait!