My Five-Year-Old Daughter Had Turned Into a Golden Retriever

I woke up to find my daughter transformed into a golden retriever.

I screamed in terror, but my mother-in-law cursed me for raising a dog as a child. My husband asked when I would finally agree to have a real baby. But I distinctly remembered my daughter being five years old, and just last night, she was begging me for a story.

I rushed to the closet; instead of my daughter's princess dresses, there were dog clothes and leashes. I opened my phone gallery; instead of countless photos of my daughter, there were only pictures of that golden retriever. I ran to the daycare; the teachers also said I had never had a child.

"Where is my daughter!" I screamed in despair.

My husband said I had become obsessed with the dog, imagining a daughter to avoid childbirth. My mother-in-law sighed, advising me to see a psychiatrist. But I didn't believe them. Ten months of pregnancy, five years of companionshiphow could it all be a hallucination!

I tried to call the police, but they stopped me, locking me in a mental hospital. I struggled desperately, rushing out onto the road, only to be hit by an out-of-control truck.

When I opened my eyes again, I was back to the day my daughter turned into a golden retriever. This time, I wouldn't scream.

A warm, wet tongue licked my cheek, leaving a faint, unpleasant odor. I snapped my eyes open.

What greeted me was not the soft, pink face of my daughter, Joanna. Instead, it was the yellow-furred face of a dog. In my past life, this dog had replaced my daughter.

The bedroom door creaked open. My husband, David, walked in. "The sun's already high; aren't you getting up?"

My mother-in-law followed close behind. "Aren't you going to get up and make breakfast? Five years in this house, and you haven't produced a single grandchild. How can you sleep so soundly?"

I dug my nails fiercely into my palm. The pain was sharp and real. It wasn't a dream. I had been reborn. I was back on the morning Joanna disappeared.

I pointed at the dog. "David, where is my daughter, Joanna?"

David frowned. "Joanna's right there on the bed, isn't she?"

I grabbed a pillow and hurled it at him. "I'm talking about a human, my daughter, five-year-old Joanna! Not this animal!"

David dodged the pillow. "Elara, we've been married for five years, and you've always refused to have children."

"You insisted on keeping this dog and even named it Joanna."

"You were the one who said you'd raise her like your own daughter. What act are you putting on now?"

My mother-in-law chimed in. "Now you're disgusted by it being an animal? Then hurry up and give me a grandson with a real heir."

Their synchronized performance. In my past life, I had been driven insane by this very narrative. They ganged up, turning black into white.

"I don't believe you. Last night, Joanna was sleeping in my arms, asking me to read 'Snow White'." I leaped out of bed, barefoot, and rushed to the closet. Just like in my previous life. The area that used to be filled with pink fluffy dresses was now entirely taken up by pet clothes.

My mind went blank for a moment. Could those five years of mother-daughter affection really have been just a hallucination, born from my prolonged loneliness?

I opened my phone. The lock screen was a dog. My photo gallery was full of dog pictures.

David snatched the phone from my hand. "Had enough yet?"

"Elara, are you under too much stress? Is something wrong with your mind?" His hand rested on my shoulder. I violently shook him off. "Don't touch me. You're all lying to me."

I ran out of the bedroom, heading straight for the front door. "Where are you going?" David roared from behind me.

"I'm going to the daycare! The teachers will know! Joanna went to school yesterday!" I ignored my mother-in-law's curses, grabbed the car keys, and bolted out.

This time, I would tear through this web of lies.

The car sped down the road. My mind was filled with Joanna's smiling face. "Mommy, I want that balloon." "Mommy, I love you." So vibrant, so real. How could it be an illusion? How could it be a dog?

I arrived at the Sunflower Daycare. It was peak time for parents dropping off children. I rushed to the classroom at the end of the second floor. Mrs. Davis was standing at the door, greeting the children. When she saw me, a flicker of panic crossed her eyes, but it vanished instantly. I rushed forward and grabbed her wrist. "Mrs. Davis, where is my daughter, Joanna Zhao?"

Mrs. Davis frowned, trying to pull her hand free. "What daughter? You signed up for dog daycare here."

My eyes widened as I stared at her. "You're lying! You personally handed Joanna back to me yesterday afternoon."

"You even said Joanna wet the bed during her nap and asked me to wash her pants when I got home."

The surrounding parents and children gathered around. Mrs. Davis rolled her eyes at me, turned, and pulled a registration book from a cabinet. "See, isn't this your signature?"

I squinted. It was indeed my handwriting. But the header of the form read [Pet Short-Term Boarding Registration Form]. The "Boarded Object" column said: [Golden Retriever, Name: Joanna].

I snatched the registration book and frantically tore at it. "Fake, it's all fake! You're all in on this together! My daughter is human, not a dog!"

Mrs. Davis shrieked. "Call security!"

Two burly security guards rushed up, grabbing my arms, one on each side. I struggled desperately. "Let me go! Give me back my daughter!"

"Mrs. Davis, you witch, you clearly know Joanna!"

Just then, David rushed over, panting. He bowed apologetically to everyone. "I-I'm so sorry, everyone. My wife hasn't been well lately."

"She wants a child so badly she's having hallucinations. She's caused trouble for the teacher."

The surrounding parents gave knowing looks. "Oh, so she's crazy."

"How pathetic, she's gone mad from wanting a child."

"Treating a dog like a child, she's definitely seriously ill."

David walked up to me, took off his jacket, and draped it over my head, blocking my vision. "We're going home. If you make a scene again, I'll make sure you never leave the house for the rest of your life."

I stopped struggling. Not because I was afraid. But because I knew that making a scene now was useless. Everyone thought I was crazy. The evidence had all been tampered with. I had to stay calm. I had to survive. Only by surviving could I find Joanna.

Back home, David tossed the car keys onto the coffee table. "Mom, get her medicine."

"I think she's seriously ill today; we need to increase the dosage."

My mother-in-law immediately retrieved a white pill bottle from under the TV cabinet, pouring out two red capsules. Those were the "vitamins" they usually forced me to take. In my past life, I hadn't known until just before I died that they were high-concentration illicit drugs from illegal channels, containing hallucinogens and sedatives. Long-term use would turn a normal person insane.

My mother-in-law brought over a cup of water. "Hurry up, take your medicine, and you won't imagine things anymore."

I clamped my mouth shut, turning my head away. "I won't take it."

David walked over and roughly pinched my chin, forcing my mouth open. "Take it. Don't make me use force." My mother-in-law quickly shoved the pills into my mouth, then poured in a large gulp of water. I choked violently, water streaming down my neck and soaking my clothes. The pills lodged in my throat, a bitter taste spreading through my mouth.

I pretended to swallow. The moment they loosened their grip, I violently shoved my mother-in-law away and rushed into the bathroom. Locked the door. And stuck my finger down my throat.

"Ugh!" The water and pills I had swallowed, mixed with stomach acid, came back up.

Outside the door, David started kicking. "Elara, open this door! What are you doing in there?"

I flushed the toilet. Washed my face, and opened the door. "I took the medicine. I want to sleep."

David stared at me for a while, seemingly judging whether I was telling the truth. Finally, he snorted. "You'd better have taken it."

"Go to sleep. Your mind will clear up after you wake."

I returned to the bedroom, lifted my nightgown, and revealed my flat lower abdomen. There was a ten-centimeter-long, faint pink scar there. It was left five years ago when I had a C-section to give birth to Joanna. In my past life, when I questioned this scar, David had said, "What C-section? You got that climbing a mountain, you fell off a rock."

Climbing a mountain? Who gets a scar exactly where the uterus is? Who gets such a perfectly straight horizontal incision from a fall? They were treating my intelligence with utter contempt. The tragic thing was, in my past life, I had actually believed them. Because during that time, they had fed me so much medicine my memories were a confused mess.

This time, I would never let them lead me by the nose again.

I stood up and began searching the room. Photos could be edited, clothes could be replaced. But Joanna had lived in this house for five years; it was impossible that not a single trace remained.

However, I searched every corner of the room, finding nothing. They had been utterly ruthless. It was a destructive purge. My heart sank deeper and deeper.

Just then, my gaze fell on the fabric armchair. Joanna often sat there reading picture books, eating snacks, and sometimes hiding treasures in the crevices. I rushed over, digging my hand deep into the sofa's cracks, pushing hard. My fingertip brushed against something hard and cold. My heart skipped a beat.

I carefully hooked out the object. It was a silver bracelet. The pendant on the front was engraved with "Joanna," and the back had a QR code. This was a lost-and-found bracelet I had specially custom-made for Joanna's fifth birthday. It had a chip implanted, and by scanning the QR code, one could see my contact information and Joanna's photo.

I pulled out my phone, opened the scanner. Beep. A page popped up on the screen.

[Name: Joanna Zhao]

[Gender: Female]

[Date of Birth: January 8, 2021]

[Mother: Elara Lin Phone: 138xxxx]

Below was a headshot of Joanna. The little girl's eyes were smiling, a gap where a front tooth used to be. I covered my mouth, silently sobbing. I found her. I finally found her. My daughter was real! My entire family was lying to me. They had hidden my daughter. It was even possible I dared not think further.

Just then, footsteps sounded outside the door. I quickly shoved the bracelet into my bra, hiding it against my chest. Then, I lay back on the bed and pulled the covers over my head.

The door was pushed open a crack. David's voice came through. "Asleep?"

My mother-in-law's voice was very low. "She should be. She just took her medicine; she must be drowsy."

"That's good." They closed the door and left.

I got out of bed, tiptoeing to the door, pressing my ear against it to listen to the commotion outside. First, my mother-in-law's anxious voice. "David, it's been days now. Why hasn't the buyer paid the remaining balance?"

My body stiffened. Buyer? Balance? What were they talking about? I held my breath, straining to hear their conversation.

David's voice was filled with greed. "Don't worry, they said that as long as the goods are inspected and there are no problems, the remaining five hundred thousand will be transferred tomorrow."

"Although that little girl is a good-for-nothing, she's quite pretty."

"They happen to need a child bride and plan to take her deep into the mountains."

"Once she goes, she'll never get out in this lifetime."

Child bride? Mountains? They actually sold Joanna!

David let out a cold laugh. "With this money, and by selling Elara, that crazy woman's house, we can pay off my gambling debts."

"Then, we'll make Elara have a son, and our Zhao family will finally have an heir."

My mother-in-law chuckled a few times. "My son is so clever."

"Oh, and that Mrs. Davis, you need to keep her happy."

"It's thanks to her cooperation that all the records were changed."

David said triumphantly, "Don't worry, Davis is my old flame. As long as the money's good, she'll do anything."

I couldn't hear the rest. My mind was filled with a buzzing roar. To pay off gambling debts, to have a son, they sold my daughter. They wanted to drive me insane and seize my property. Even Joanna's teacher was David's mistress!

I wanted to rush out and rip their hearts open to see if they were black. But I couldn't. Joanna was still with the buyer. I couldn't tip them off. I had to endure. I had to wait for the right moment to return this pain to them a thousandfold.

In the evening, David went out.

My mother-in-law called from outside. "Elara, get up and make dinner! You've slept all day; do you really think you're a young mistress?"

Normally, I would jump up and rush to the kitchen, afraid of displeasing her. But not today. If you say I'm crazy, then I'll show you crazy.

I stood up and walked out of the room. My mother-in-law was sitting with her legs crossed, cracking sunflower seeds, the golden retriever lying at her feet. As soon as she saw me, she opened her mouth to curse.

I beat her to it, rushing to the dog's toilet on the balcony. In my mother-in-law's astonished gaze, I picked up a fresh, foul-smelling clump of dog feces with my bare hand.

"What are you doing? That's disgusting, you psycho!" My mother-in-law screamed, dropping her plate of sunflower seeds and scrambling backward.

I rushed to her, grabbing a handful of her hair. As she screamed in terror, her mouth wide open, I smeared the dog feces all over her lips and nose, rubbing it in firmly. "Mom, didn't you say this was my daughter?"

"My daughter's gold! I specially saved it for you, her loving grandmother, to have a taste."

"Look how rich the color is, how nourishing!"

My mother-in-law's eyes rolled back in her head from the stench, and she began retching uncontrollably. I casually grabbed the fruit knife from the coffee table, placing the tip against her throat. "Since you say I'm crazy, then a crazy person who kills isn't held accountable, right?"

My mother-in-law went limp, her pants instantly soaked.

When David returned, this was the scene that greeted him: his mother, face covered in dog feces, slumped in a puddle of urine, while his usually submissive wife held a knife, pointing it at him.

"Elara, put the knife down!"

I stood up and walked toward him. "David, I just had a dream. I dreamt Joanna was crying."

"She said Daddy was going to sell her for money."

David's pupils violently constricted. "Nonsense! I told you that's your imagination. Did you not take enough medicine?"

I pointed the knife at him. "Maybe I really am crazy."

"If I'm crazy, then nothing I do is illegal, right?" I advanced on him step by step. David recoiled, intimidated by my presence. He had never seen me like this. The old Elara was gentle and obedient, never daring to raise her voice. But the current me emanated an aura of destruction.

Just then, my phone rang. It was an unknown number. I answered it. A voice, distorted by a voice changer, spoke from the other end. "Ms. Lin, I hear you're looking for your daughter?"

"If you want to see her, prepare one million dollars."

"Don't call the police, or we'll send you back a hand."

The call ended. I froze. One million dollars? Kidnapping? No, David clearly said he sold her. How did it turn into a kidnapping and ransom? I looked at David, realizing he, too, was utterly bewildered. Clearly, this call wasn't part of his plan either.

What was going on? Was it a double-cross? No matter what the truth was, this call meant Joanna was still alive. As long as she was alive, there was hope. I took a deep breath. Since the situation was already messy, I'd make it even messier.

I looked at David, a smile playing on my lips. "Husband, that call just now said they want a million dollars for ransom."

"Do you think selling your kidney is worth a million dollars?"