Sculpted in Death

Philip sighed. "If it were Hazel, she would have been able to create something even more impressive."

Brenda's and Layla's expressions hardened.

Tears brimmed Layla's eyes as she burrowed her face into Brenda's chest. "I know I'm not as good as Hazel, but I've done my best."

Brenda wiped Layla's tears off and glared at Philip. "Why did you have to mention that wench? So, what if she's talented? She's just a useless wench now.

"She was such a glutton that she tried to snatch food away from the dogs. She got what she deserved when the dogs bit off her fingers."

I put my head between my hands and squatted down. The stumps of my fingers hurt terribly.

Back then, Brenda neglected me and often left me to starve.

There was one time when Layla had secretly given me a piece of meat. I was starving, so I hid somewhere downstairs to eat it. Somehow, several dogs appeared out of nowhere and pounced at me suddenly.

I held onto the meat with all my might. Yet, I ended up having three fingers bitten off by the dogs. I almost lost all function in my left hand too.

I was squirming on the floor in pain by the time Brenda and Layla hurried over.

Layla clung to Brenda and sobbed loudly, "Mommy, I told Hazel not to take the food away from the dogs. Still, she wouldn't listen to me."

Brenda's anger flared up when she heard those words. She kicked me several times forcefully.

"You useless thing! Did we not give you food to eat or clothes to wear? You went and stole food from the dogs? You should have just acted like them and eaten excrement too! I wouldn't be surprised if the dogs had bitten you to death!"

When Philip saw my torn-off fingers, he said nothing and just walked away.

With her medical background and knowledge, Brenda was worried that I might catch rabies and make things difficult for them. She sent me to the hospital while yelling at me all the way.

In the end, I lost three fingers in my right hand and nearly half of the function in my left hand. Since then, I could no longer use a carving knife.

After that, Philip shifted all of his attention to teaching Layla even though she had no talent for sculpting. The two of them managed to prove that even someone with zero talent could become a sculptor after receiving a professional sculptor's guidance.

On the day of the awards ceremony, Philip and Brenda were dressed in their best clothes as they attended the event.

Layla wore a designer dress that had a long, pink train adorned with fine diamonds attached to it.

The sculpture was carefully packed and transported to the venue at a much earlier time.

Layla held the trophy and stood beside the sculpture while she gave a speech onstage. Brenda was so happy that she cried tears of joy. Meanwhile, Philip stood with his back straight and accepted everyone's praise.

During the celebration party, Layla, being the social butterfly she was, took Brenda along and spoke with almost everyone they met.

I stared at them with a stony gaze. Something bitter seemed to burn inside me.

I wondered if there was some way I could make others notice the sculpture's secret. I went behind the sculpture and tried pushing, kicking, and ramming into the sculpture.

Eventually, I slumped onto the floor since I was completely spent. Despair washed over me in waves.

"Don't you guys think this sculpture looks a little familiar?"

I directed my gaze toward the voice. It was Colin Strauss, my college director's son. He was a young man who was deemed to have a promising future. We did not know each other that well.

He came closer and looked into the sculpture's eyes. Suddenly, he raised his hand and lightly caressed the corner of the sculpture's eye. He muttered, "Why do they look so alike?"

I gazed at him. I could feel my heart pounding in my chest. I wondered if he had recognized me.

"Colin…"

Layla came up to him. She smiled sweetly. "You came?"

She squeezed Brenda's fingers lightly. It was obvious that she was delighted to see him.

Colin gave her a slight nod and turned around. He had only taken a few steps away when he glanced over his shoulder again. "Is your sister the model for this sculpture?"

Layla froze and fell silent.

"Why is she not here today?"

After Brenda gave her a soft nudge, Layla came to her senses and forced a smile. "She's always with her boyfriend these days. She's hardly home."

"That's right. My youngest is quite wild. She's always out there mingling with men. I don't even know how many boyfriends she's had so far," Brenda added.

Colin said nothing and was about to walk away.

Layla instinctively grabbed hold of his wrist. As she did that, the sculpture's finger somehow got caught in the train of her dress. When she moved, a fragment of plaster snapped and fell onto the floor, revealing part of a human bone.

I subconsciously held my breath as I stared hard at Colin. I prayed that he would just take another glance over his shoulder.

Layla was shocked and flustered. She gripped Colin's wrist with both hands and stood rooted to the spot.

Colin, who was pulled backward by Layla, looked down reflexively…