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.

The Stranger He'd Become

A faint spark of hope flickered in my chest as my eyes followed Stellan's every move.

The moment he pushed open the door, Evelyn immediately dropped the knife and threw herself into his arms like a frightened deer. "Bubby, thank God you're here! I'm being bullied!"

Stellan's face softened with concern as he wrapped her in his arms, his voice low and soothing. "What happened, baby? Who's bullying you?"

Evelyn pointed a trembling finger toward my mother and me—both of us filthy, bruised, and barely standing. "It's them! Those two broke-asses came in to stir up trouble. They tried to scam a free treatment, and when I caught them, they pretended to be sick—and then tried to hit me!"

At that moment, covered in grime and blood, my mother unconscious beside me, Stellan didn't even recognize us. He listened to Evelyn's words, and his expression darkened in an instant.

"Who are you two? How dare you try to wreak havoc on my turf?! You must have a death wish! Throw them out! Break their bones and feed them to the sharks!" he barked, disgust twisting his face as he gave the order to the guards without so much as another glance at us.

My heart went cold the moment those words left his mouth. Was this the same obedient, gentle brother who had always listened to me at home? Out here, was this who he really was—a man who threw his weight around and treated lives like dirt?

Anger and despair surged inside me. I wiped the blood from my face with a trembling hand and forced out each word. "Stellan Fallow. Is this how you should be using the name of the richest family in Edgewater? Who did you just say you wanted to have beaten and thrown out?"

The sound of my voice seemed to snap him back to reality. He froze, staring hard at my face as if afraid to believe what he was seeing.

Even Evelyn's whining failed to draw his attention this time. After a long silence, his eyes widened in horror. "H-Hazel?!"