Chapter 3

"Killing a dog is understandable? Now that the dog is gone, I still live above you. If I accidentally make some noise next time, are you going to say killing a person is understandable too?"

I looked helplessly at the two officers and took out my phone.

"Officers, this video is from last September. It might have indeed caused them some disturbance."

"They came up to talk to me about it then. I apologized and even bought silent slippers. I carpeted almost the entire apartment and put away all of the dog's toys."

I showed the officers photos of the carpeted apartment and the purchase record of the new slippers.

"At that time, they seemed fine with it. They even accepted my gifts. I thought the matter was resolved."

"I never imagined they were harboring such resentment and plotting to kill my dog."

I deliberately emphasized the word "plotting."

As expected, under the officers' sharp gaze, the family's confidence visibly deflated.

The woman quickly defended herself, "We never said we forgave you!"

The male officer sternly rebuked, "If you didn't forgive her, why did you accept her gifts?!"

The woman flinched, shrinking her neck, and stammered, "Why refuse something offered for free?"

The female officer looked exasperated. She turned to me and said gently, "We deeply sympathize with your situation. Please tell us what you want for a settlement."

I knew that no matter how important Fluffy was to me, he was still just a dog in the eyes of the law.

I could only treat him as cold property.

"Fluffy was my personal property. I spent $1,500 to buy him initially, and I've invested no less than $5,000 in his care."

The couple's faces immediately turned sour.

"Considering we're neighbors, if you compensate me for the initial purchase price of $1,000 and cover all the costs for Fluffy's cremation, that would be acceptable."

The man quickly looked up pet funeral costs on his phone and jumped up.

"Cremation for a dog? Can't you just throw it in the trash? Are you trying to scam us?"

I slammed the table and stood up to confront him.

"I'm scamming you? What about the $500 you swindled from me last night?"

The two officers were stunned, not expecting there to be fraud involved.

"You dare to commit fraud?" the male officer spoke first.

"Yes, officer. He messaged me last night saying my dog bit someone. I paid $500 in compensation, but today his daughter said my dog was beaten daily and couldn't possibly have bitten anyone!"

The man glared at me, his eyes wide with anger, pointing at me, "What dog doesn't bite?"

I sat back down in my chair, "Fine, then let's check your home security footage."

The man shot a fierce glare at his daughter in the corner before sitting down again.

"I can compensate you. $1,000, plus the $500 you gave last night."

"$1,500, take it or leave it!"

I looked at the three smug faces across from me, seemingly unfazed by the situation, and nodded.

"I refuse to settle, and I won't let you off the hook!"