My Sister's Deadly Scam - Chapter 8: Chapter 8

The air crackled with tension as the furious neighbors, their faces twisted with outrage, shoved Julia forward toward the bodyguards.
"Here's Julia! Take her!" one spat.
"Her parents are covering for her! They're trying to pin this on her sister!" another snarled.
"We've watched these girls grow up—don't think we're fools! Julia's always been trouble!" a third added.
The bodyguards moved fast, seizing Julia before she could react. She screamed for her parents, her voice raw with terror, but they stood frozen, their faces drained of color. The Kramer name alone was enough to paralyze them.
Julia collapsed to her knees, sobbing, begging for mercy—but the bodyguards didn't flinch. It was pathetic, watching her grovel.
My parents, who had defended her so fiercely moments ago, now looked just as broken. They trembled, their voices shaking as they pleaded uselessly for her release.
It was obvious now—logic and fairness meant nothing to them. Their blind obsession with Julia had warped their minds. I was nothing but a pawn, disposable, meant to be thrown under the bus to protect their golden child.
When their cries fell on deaf ears, desperation turned to rage.
"Let her go!" my father roared. "Or—or we'll call the police!"
"This is a lawful society!" my mother shrieked. "Who do you think you are, laying hands on my daughter?"
The bodyguards stopped. Their leader turned slowly, his icy glare cutting through my parents' bravado. Without a word, he backhanded my father—hard. The slap echoed, leaving my father's face red and swollen. He didn't dare make a sound.
"Call the police?" The bodyguard smirked. "Go ahead. Let's see who's stupid enough to cross the Kramers."
He leaned in, his voice dripping with threat. "You think plotting against them will go unpunished? If you push this, you'll lose everything. Julia's arrest will be the least of your problems."
A pause. Letting the warning sink in.
"Remember—you still have to live in this city. Piss off the Kramers, and no one will lift a finger to help you. If you've got a death wish, ignore me. Then at least you'll all rot in the same grave—your precious Julia won't have to die alone."
His cold stare shifted to the neighbors. "And if any of you breathe a word about today, you know what happens."
The crowd nodded frantically, faces pale. "We saw nothing," they muttered in unison.
Satisfied, the bodyguards hauled Julia into the car. The engine roared to life, exhaust fumes blasting my parents in the face as the vehicle sped off.
They stood there, hollow-eyed, voices trembling.
"How… how could this happen?" my father whispered.
"Julia saved the Kramers!" my mother wailed. "How could they betray her like this?"
Their denial was pathetic. I had no sympathy left. Turning, I started to walk away—
Then another car pulled up.
A composed man stepped out. "Miss Reid?" he asked, looking straight at me. "Mr. Kramer requests your presence."
My parents' faces twisted with fury. They lunged at me, screaming.
"You snake! I knew it was you!" my mother screeched. "You set your sister up! You jealous little witch!"
"You stole the credit, didn't you?" my father bellowed. "You're a monster! How did I raise such a heartless brat?"
"Confess! Get Julia back, or you're dead to me!" my mother clawed at me.
Before I could react, the assistant moved. One sharp kick sent my parents sprawling to the pavement, gasping.
"Enough," he said coldly. Then, to me, his tone gentler: "Miss Alice, please come with me."
I hesitated. Why would Albert Kramer want me? The only explanation was that he thought I was part of Julia's scheme.
But I'd done everything to distance myself. I'd stood against my parents. And yet—
A sickening thought crept in.
Why won't he let me go?