Chapter 3

She screamed in disbelief, "I made sure no one knew about the fire. With so few people there, how could the rescue have worked out?

"Why... why didn't anyone die?"

It wasn't until now that the truth hit me. Mollie had been scheming all along.

At this moment, I was absolutely certain. Mollie didn't just stumble into this; she'd planned everything.

My chest burned with fury, way beyond my control.

She knew damn well that hiding the fire would put lives in danger.

But she still went through with it, all on purpose.

She toyed with people's lives like it was all just a twisted game to her.

Luckily, I immediately contacted the brother fire squad.

They were closer to the scene, so they managed to prevent the tragedy from repeating itself.

But even so, Mollie still had to atone for her sins.

If she dared to play her sick games and hurt people back then, now she had to bear the consequences.

I stared at Mollie, who was still standing there in a daze.

I rolled up my sleeve and hauled off, slapping her hard across the face.

I snapped, "So this is what you call just some kid messing around and torching the grass? You really dared to fake a fire report? Are you tired of living or what!

"Mollie, by the rules of the fire squad, you're out!"

But that wasn't all.

I added, "As soon as we get back, I'm pressing charges against you.

"The financial losses caused by your negligence will be assessed, and you won't get away with paying a single penny less than you owe."

When Mollie met my cold, unforgiving gaze, she finally started to panic.

She whimpered, "No, I don't want this..."

She covered her face, tears streaming down as she sobbed, "I was just fooling around, I never thought things would actually go this far..."

Cedric was beside himself with worry, gently trying to comfort her.

But when he looked at me, his gaze was icy and full of hate.

He snapped, "Phoebe, I really thought you were different. How could you be so heartless, pushing your own sister like this?

"Mollie's already apologized. Why are you still going after her?"

Furious, I couldn't help but laugh. "Mollie was the one who hid the fire in the first place. If I hadn't jumped in right away, not only would the survivors have died, but the rescuers would've lost their lives for nothing.

"She's the one who caused all this, and now she can't even handle a little criticism? Why? Is her life supposed to be worth more than everyone else's?"

My words hit like a hammer, echoing through the room as my teammates stepped up behind me, backing me all the way.

The room was filled with my teammates' furious, almost savage glares, like they could tear someone apart on the spot.

Even Cedric, who always saw himself as Mollie's white knight, couldn't help but get cold feet and started backing away.

I shot Mollie a mocking look and sneered, "If I were you, I wouldn't even think about running. Try it, and your charges will pile up. Trust me, not even heaven could bail you out then."

Mollie stared at me, her voice shaking as she snapped, "Phoebe, have you lost your mind?

"You really want to throw me in jail? I'm your own sister."

Mollie's face went ghostly pale, and she looked like she might just faint right there.

I let out a cold scoff and reached for my phone, but someone knocked it right out of my hand from behind.

The next second, a heavy slap landed across my face.

My mom snapped, "Phoebe, you've got some nerve! You've been jealous of Mollie ever since you were kids, and now you're trying to frame her?

"You want to push your own sister to the edge? How did we end up raising someone so heartless? As long as we're around, don't even think about bullying Mollie."

The slap left my ears ringing, blood smeared across my lips.

My parents rushed in, and they weren't about to let it go.

They barely exchanged a few words before pinning everything on me, yanking me back to 'atone for my sins.'

"This is family business, butt out," they snapped, forcing my teammates who wanted to help to freeze in their tracks.

I returned to the fire station, my face still swollen and red.

Everyone was talking behind my back the whole way.

By the time we got in front of the chief, they'd already cooked up a whole story, twisting everything around.

They accused me of being in cahoots with the factory, hyping up the fire just to make myself look good.

They even cooked up fake evidence. "Why else would Phoebe know about the fire before anyone else did, and be all set before anything even happened?

"The fire was so serious, but she only used two fire trucks and still put it out? No way that's normal. She must've pulled some strings."

As soon as those words were out, the way people looked at me changed completely.

"Damn, she's got some serious schemes. Never underestimate a woman with a heart of stone."

"She'll step on anyone just to get ahead. That's low."

"I knew putting a woman in charge was a mistake. Look at all this drama."

My parents went all out to drag my name through the mud.

They said, "Mollie's always been such a sweet girl. She'd never do something like this. But Phoebe? She's ruthless. We've known what she's really like for years!"

Meanwhile, my boyfriend Cedric was sticking close to Mollie, doing his best to gently soothe her.

Even though I'd already lived through all this once before, those cold, heartless stares still stabbed right through me.

I clenched my fists so tight my nails dug into my palms, then took a deep breath.

I said, "That's not how it went down at all. Mollie was the one who lied about the fire, just to mess around..."

Before I could finish, another slap landed hard across my face.