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!"

Lesson in Pain

"Stellan's sister and mother?" Evelyn burst out laughing as if she'd just heard the funniest joke in the world. "You two? Looking like that? You expect me to believe you're related to Stellan? What, you're trying fraud instead, seeing that your little scam failed? You think tossing his name around will scare me into letting you off the hook?"

The two employees behind her chimed in eagerly.

"Exactly! Our boss is the apple of Stellan's eyes. Who the hell do you think you are?"

"I bet they're professional scammers, boss. Don't fall for it!"

Panic clawed at my chest—my mother's breathing had grown so faint I could barely hear it anymore.

'Her medicine! Right, her emergency heart spray—it's in my bag!'

I bolted toward the shelf where my bag was placed, but I'd barely taken two steps before someone yanked my hair from behind.

Pain tore through my scalp as the two employees grabbed me and slammed me back hard onto the tiled floor. My body hit the ground with a sickening thud, and for a moment, everything went black.

Evelyn, meanwhile, was grinning ear to ear at her phone screen, watching the live comments roll in. "You guys are awesome!" she said gleefully. "Thanks for giving me such a brilliant idea. Today, I'll teach these freeloaders a lesson—and let you all see how it's done!"

Cold dread flooded me as a terrible premonition crept over me. A second later, a sharp metallic heel came crashing down onto the back of my hand.

"Ahhhh!"

Pain shot straight through my bones. I could swear I heard something crack as blood streamed from the wound, staining the spotless white tiles beneath me.

Evelyn adjusted her camera, making sure to frame only my contorted face. "Look at her, guys! She's panicking now! Caught red-handed trying to scam us—then she tried to fight back, but we stopped her just in time!"

"Mom…"

When my mother saw the blood pouring from my hand, her body convulsed violently. She looked ready to faint.

No, no, no! I couldn't let anything happen to her!

Evelyn's smirk deepened as the livestream comments filled with cheers and praise. "Since you claim my products ruined your faces, I'll be kind enough to 'fix' them for you."

She shot a glance at her employees. "Go get a bucket of concentrated salt water from the back, and bring out those bottles of medicated oil. Let's show our audience a little 'ancient remedy'—fight poison with poison."

My blood ran cold. If they put that on my mother's already raw skin, the damage would be unimaginable. "No! Stop it, please!" I screamed, my voice cracking.

Moments later, one of the employees carried in a bucket of salt water crusted with white crystals, while another held several open bottles of medicated oil, their sharp scent flooding the room.

The women pinned my mother down as one soaked a towel in the salt water and began scrubbing her face.

"Ahhhh!"

My mother's scream tore through the air, piercing and unbearable. Her already swollen face turned ghastly before my eyes, oozing yellow fluid through broken skin.

"Stop! Please, stop! I'm begging you!" I thrashed wildly, but the two employees held me down, their grip unrelenting.

My mother was losing consciousness fast, her body twitching in pain. If this kept up, she was going to die.

"Medicine… the medicine…" I gasped, reaching desperately toward the shelf.

Following my gaze, Evelyn strutted over, her heels clicking sharply against the floor. She reached into my bag, pulled out the life-saving inhaler, and twirled it mockingly in her hand. A smug smile curled across her lips.

"You want this?"

Crawling for Mercy

My eyes burned red as I begged, "I'll pay! However much you want, I'll give it to you!"

Evelyn's lips curved in satisfaction. "See? It'd be so much easier if you just did this in the first place, wouldn't it? The products cost 38 thousand, plus my emotional damages and lost wages… let's round it up—an even 100 thousand."

It was a ridiculous sum, but I had no choice. Without hesitation, I entered my payment code. A sharp beep echoed, and 100 thousand dollars transferred instantly.

I thought that once I paid, this nightmare would finally be over. But Evelyn had no intention of handing me the medicine.

"You want it?" she sneered. "Crawl over here."

I froze.

"Crawl to my feet. With every step, you'll bark like a dog. And you'll shout loud enough for all my followers to hear—'I'm a broke scammer, I was wrong.' Do that, and I'll give you the medicine."

'Shameless. Absolutely vile.'

I bit down on my lip so hard I could taste blood. Looking at my unconscious mother, I swallowed my pride and pleaded. "Please… don't do this. My mom—she really is Stellan's mother and Michael Fallow's wife, the wife of Edgewater's richest man. If anything happens to her, none of you can bear the consequences!"

Evelyn burst out laughing, bending over with mock amusement. "You're still pretending to be related to Edgewater's richest family? Who do you think you are—some stray off the street?"

One of the employees quickly chimed in, flattering her. "Exactly! Everyone knows our boss is the real future Mrs. Fallow. Stellan is head over heels for her!"

The other nodded eagerly. "Yeah, Stellan said it himself—he could take care of you both today and no one would dare touch him!"

Evelyn tilted her chin higher, clearly basking in the praise. "Seems like the lesson didn't sink in. Girls, give her something extra—let her learn what happens when someone crosses me."

The two employees cracked their knuckles, smirking as they closed in.

My mother's breathing grew shallower by the second, her swollen face barely recognizable. There was no more time. My clenched fist loosened, and I bowed my head, choking out the words, "Fine. I'll do what you say."

Like a puppet with its strings cut, I crawled toward Evelyn, my voice trembling as I forced the words out. "Woof… I'm a broke scammer. I was wrong."

Laughter exploded around the room. Evelyn and her employees cackled wildly while the livestream comment feed flooded with mocking messages and jeers.

Finally, I reached her feet and lifted my head. "Can I have the medicine now?"

She looked down at me with cruel delight, then lifted her foot and kicked me square in the chest.

The blow sent me sprawling backward, my head slamming hard against the floor. Pain exploded through me, and a mouthful of blood burst from my throat. "Cough!"

Darkness swam before my eyes. My insides felt twisted and broken. Through the haze, I saw Evelyn unscrew the medicine bottle—only to pour every single pill into the filthy water bucket beside her.

The medicine was gone. Mom's last hope was gone.

I watched in horror as my mother's body convulsed one final time before going completely still, her consciousness fading into nothing.

"Noooo! Evelyn Scott! I'll kill you!"

Swallowing the blood pooling in my mouth, I grabbed a nearby metal probe and swung it toward her head with all my strength.