Chapter 2
As soon as Alex heard that, his face instantly drained of color, and he stared wide-eyed, frozen in fear.
"Jayda, shut up!" Daniel's face turned bright red with anger. "How dare you threaten a kid right in front of us?
"You want to throw Kyla out? And you even want to get someone to hurt her? How can you be so cruel?
"Listen, even if we kick you out, Kyla stays. No way we're ever letting her go!
"She'll always be my sister!"
Helen nodded firmly. "That's right, Jayda. Even though we've welcomed you back, Kyla is still my daughter. You need to remember that!"
Kyla's eyes were rimmed with red. She took a few deep breaths and walked up to me.
"Jayda, I don't blame you. I really did take the life that should've been yours," she said softly.
She reached out and took my hand. "But Jayda, I can't bear to leave Mom, Dad, or Daniel. Please don't make me go... Can't we get along like sisters?
"I swear, I'll spend my whole life making it up to you."
Kyla suddenly gasped in pain and yanked her hand back.
She looked at me in surprise, her voice a little aggrieved. "Jayda, why did you pinch me?"
Alex quickly stepped forward and grabbed the hem of my shirt.
He said, "Mom, please calm down. You shouldn't hit anyone, unless it's me."
As he spoke, he deliberately rolled up his sleeve, revealing the bruises on his arm.
Helen gasped, then grabbed Kyla's hand. Sure enough, there was a red mark between her thumb and index finger from being pinched.
She whipped her head around at me. "Jayda, you really hurt Kyla? Were you out of your mind?"
Daniel was even more blunt. He swung his hand, aiming right for my face.
I grabbed his hand, my voice cold. "Maybe you should check out the bruises on this kid before you start anything."
Daniel paused, then glared at me with disgust. "Oh, now you're acting all concerned? Cut the act, will you?"
I ignored him and grabbed Alex's hand. He instinctively tried to pull away, and there was a hint of anger in his eyes.
I scrubbed his arm roughly, and Helen immediately pulled him into her arms, sounding worried. "What are you trying to do now..."
"Why is your bruise coming off?" I cut her off with a sneer.
"What..." Helen stood there, dumbfounded for a moment, then looked down at Alex's arm.
There was a clear streak where the bruise had been wiped away, showing the unmarked skin beneath.
Before anyone could react, I grabbed Kyla's hand and scrubbed it hard.
"Why is the red mark you got from being pinched rubbing off, too?" I sneered.
Both Kyla and Alex looked panicked.
I folded my arms and said with a smirk, "Oops, I forgot to mention I always carry makeup remover with me."
The room went dead silent. Helen and Daniel just stood there, mouths hanging open, totally at a loss for words.
After a long pause, Helen finally spoke up. "That doesn't mean you didn't pinch Kyla. Maybe you just didn't do it hard enough to leave any evidence.
"As for the red mark on her hand, she probably just got something on it and didn't realize it.
"And as for Alex, that's even more obvious. You've been mistreating him for so long. Of course, he's picked up a few tricks to protect himself."
Honestly, I had to hand it to Helen for coming up with such bizarre excuses.
But Daniel frowned, lost in thought.
Seeing this, Alex quickly pulled out our photo again.
He put on a sad face and said, "Mom, please don't be mad. Even a nobody like me just wanted your attention. That's all...
"You never wanted to be close to me when I was little. I had to beg you over and over before you finally agreed to take this photo with me.
"I just thought, if I got hurt, maybe you'd pay a little more attention to me..."
Helen let out a sigh. "What a pitiful child."
Kyla finally calmed down from her earlier panic and quickly tried to smooth things over.
She said, "Jayda grew up in a place where life was tough, so of course she never got a decent education.
"Even if she did something so cruel, I really don't think she meant it. She just never had anyone to guide her..."
Hearing that, Helen looked at me with even more disgust.