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.

Blood Isn't Family

But before I could strike, the two employees lunged forward and yanked me back with all their strength.

'Smack! Smack! Smack!'

Three sharp slaps landed across my face, so hard that my vision spun and my ears rang.

"You crazy bitch, how dare you fight back?! You're really asking for it!"

Even through the dizziness, I roared back at them, my voice hoarse with fury. "When… When Stellan finds out what you've done to his sister and his mother, he'll tear you apart limb by limb!"

Evelyn stopped hitting me. Instead, she grabbed a fistful of my hair and yanked my head up until I was forced to meet her gaze. "Still putting on an act, even now? You keep saying you're Stellan's sister—take a good look at yourself. Do you even look a thing like him?"

Her words made me falter for a moment. Of course, we didn't look alike. Stellan wasn't my parents' biological child.

…

It had been a snowy winter years ago. I was six, lost in an amusement park, when a faint cry came from a bush nearby. Inside a tattered cardboard box lay an abandoned baby—Stellan.

When my parents finally found me, we called the police, but the surveillance systems back then were primitive. They couldn't locate his real parents. I had grown attached to that fragile baby boy, and my parents—believing it was fate—agreed to take him in.

We'd always planned to tell him the truth once he was older, settled, and ready. Never did I imagine that one day, the boy we raised—the brother we loved—would hide his girlfriend from us and let her destroy the very family that had given him a second chance at life.

…

Before I could pull myself from the memory, a filthy rag was shoved roughly into my mouth.

"Like being an imposter, huh?" Evelyn snarled. "Well, in that case, I'll make sure no one ever falls for your act again. Let's see how you scam people with that pretty little face once I'm done with it."

She pressed the blade of a utility knife against my cheek. The cold metal sent shivers through my entire body. I whimpered, unable to speak as warm blood trickled down my face, the iron scent filling my nose. My eyes squeezed shut in despair.

'Screech!'

A harsh braking sound tore through the air outside just then, and a sleek black Rolls-Royce Phantom came to an abrupt stop at the entrance.

One of the employees gasped in delight. "The boss is here! That's his car!"

Stellan had arrived.