Bullied at the Salon, I Snapped

My younger brother had opened a high-end beauty salon, so I took my mother there for a facial.

We picked the most expensive package, but the moment the mask was applied, Mom's face began to burn. When we peeled it off, her entire face was covered in rashes.

I called for the director, but she looked impatient. "Oh, that's just a normal detox reaction."

I was stunned. "Her face is practically ruined! What products are you even using?"

"Ruined?" She flared up like someone had stepped on her tail. "Your mom's skin is just too bad to handle premium nutrients! Once our products are opened, they're non-refundable—got it?"

I pointed to the brochure. "It says right here—'gentle and non-irritating, full refund if any adverse reaction occurs.' Is this how Stellan Fallow taught you to run a business?"

She crossed her arms and lifted her chin high. "I am the boss! You and your mother look broke as hell—clearly here to mooch a free treatment. Now that it didn't work, you're trying to scam us for money?

"Let me tell you something—this set costs 38 thousand, and with my emotional damages and lost wages, that's a total of 100 thousand. If you don't pay up today, I'll have the police take you both in!"

A hundred thousand for a product that ruined someone's face? It was no wonder Stellan suddenly wanted to open a salon—it turned out he and his girlfriend were running a scam together!

I was about to call Stellan, but before I could, she hit the video dial first. "Bubby, get over here—two broke idiots tried to freeload a treatment and now they're trying to shake us down for money!"

The "High-End" Trap

"You handle it however you see fit, Evelyn. Don't let random nobodies ruin your mood. Our salon is a luxury club, not a garbage dump."

On the other end of the video call came Stellan's familiar voice, but his words sent a chill through my entire body.

"You hear that, pauper? Stellan said I can handle it however I want." Evelyn Scott looked at me smugly, then snatched the phone from my hand before I could react and tossed it straight into a nearby bucket of water.

With a loud plop, the screen went black. Our last link to the outside world was completely cut off.

"What the hell are you doing?" I shouted.

"What am I doing?" she sneered, her voice dripping with malice. "Teaching you and your little scammer mom a lesson in manners!"

Suddenly, Mom let out a sharp gasp and trembled violently. I caught her just in time and froze in terror when I realized her breathing had turned short and shallow, her face flushed a frightening shade of purple.

She was having an asthma attack! My mother had a long history of severe asthma—she couldn't take any kind of shock!

"Mom! Mom, what's happening?" I screamed, pounding on the locked glass door in panic, tears blurring my vision. "Open the door! Please, my mom's having an asthma attack—I need her medicine!"

Instead of panicking, Evelyn calmly pulled out her phone and started a livestream. The camera zoomed right in on Mom's pain-twisted face and my desperate, frantic expression.

"Take a good look, everyone," she said sweetly. "These two tried to scam us for a free treatment. When we caught them, they faked an allergic reaction. And now? Wow, she's pretending to have an asthma attack—acting like she's dying! With talent like this, she should be winning Oscars, not freeloading facials!"

The livestream chat exploded instantly with clueless spectators.

'Damn, scammers these days really go all out—risking their lives for a payout!'

'That old lady's performance is so real! She's wasting her talent not being an actress.'

'Don't worry, boss, we've got your back! You can't go easy on con artists like them!'

My whole body trembled with fury as I screamed at her, "We're not scammers! I'm Stellan Fallow's sister—this is his mother! Open the door right now! If something happens to her, that's on you!"