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"I told you to smash things, and you just did it?"
"If I told you to go die, would you do that too?"
"During the live stream, you were more excited than anyone!"
"Now that there's trouble, you want to pin it all on me? In your dreams!"
The moment Amanda finished speaking, the group surrounded and began beating her.
If the police hadn't intervened, she probably would've been killed.
After the scuffle, they changed their story again, claiming Amanda was the one who broke everything and that they had nothing to do with it.
I immediately presented the security footage from my home, which finally shut them up.
None of these perpetrators were getting away.
Faced with the astronomical compensation, Amanda was helpless. She looked at me pleadingly and begged,
"Jessica, this was all a misunderstanding. Please forgive me."
"Michael said you've always liked me. You'll forgive me, won't you?"
I stared at Amanda, baffled. I didn't understand how she had the nerve to say such things.
Through her, I understood the fickleness and shamelessness of human nature.
I snorted coldly and retorted, "What do you think?"
"First, you led a group to trash my home. Then you dragged me to the wedding venue, shattered our family heirloom, stripped me, abused me, and used a pocketknife to carve up my face like this."
"How dare you ask me to forgive you?"
My voice was weak, but my tone was sharp.
My brother, hearing all this firsthand, instantly erupted in rage and slapped Amanda hard across the face.
"Amanda, are you fucking insane? How could you do this to my sister?"
The force of the slap sent Amanda collapsing to the floor.
She desperately tried to explain, "Michael, I didn't know she was your sister! I saw the photo she posted with you on Twitter, I thought—"
Amanda's voice trailed off. She wanted to keep making excuses, but she didn't know how to continue.
I glared coldly at her. "You didn't know? Before you laid a hand on me, didn't I tell you I was Michael's sister?"
As I spoke, I could still feel the piercing pain on my face and body, and my heart burned with hatred.
Amanda changed tactics again, turning to Michael to whine and coax him.
"Honey, we're about to get married! We're family! Please, help me talk to your sister. There's no way I can pay this much money!"
Amanda began sobbing, but Michael had no patience left for her tears.
"Amanda, you hurt my sister like this, and you still have the audacity to say that?"
"Do you have any idea that after our dad died, it was just her and me relying on each other? She's the closest person to me in this world, my only soft spot. I've never even raised my voice at her. What right did you have to treat her like this?"
"When Jessica saw you crying about the ‘other woman' on your live stream, she specifically called me to ask if I'd wronged you. She told me to treat you well. And you? How did you repay her?"
"Are you even human?"
"We're getting an annulment. You can spend the rest of your life rotting in prison to atone for this."
After hearing this, Amanda stared blankly at Michael.
She knew she had lost.
Seeing Amanda's stunned state, her mother Brenda wept and begged Michael, "Son-in-law, you can't abandon my daughter over something so small! It's not worth it!"
I looked at Brenda, shocked.
"Something so small?"
"If my brother hadn't arrived in time, I would be dead."
With that, I turned to the police and said calmly, "Officers, this Brenda here was involved in the entire incident and significantly damaged my reputation. I hope you deal with her severely."
"Understood."
After the police acknowledged, Brenda fainted.
Later, everyone involved in the incident was sent to prison.
After multiple cosmetic surgeries, my face finally returned to its original state.
Three years later.
My brother married a teacher.
She was kind-hearted, gentle, and thoughtful.
I liked this sister-in-law very much.
The year after they married, they had an adorable son.
My little nephew was clever and cute. Even though my health was poor and I often had to return to Germany for chemotherapy, I still made time to visit him.
After finishing a round of chemo, I took a ten-hour flight back to see my nephew.
The nanny said my brother and his wife had taken him for a walk at the riverbank park.
On my way to the park, I saw a woman in tattered clothes kneeling by the roadside, begging.
She was disheveled, filthy from head to toe, and gave off a foul stench.
I was about to take some change out of my bag to give to her.
When I suddenly realized—this beggar was Amanda.
Doing the math, she must have been recently released from prison.
She seemed to have lost her mind, mechanically repeating, "My husband loves me so much… My sister-in-law is the richest woman in Seabrook… I'm a wealthy socialite…"
I looked at her with disdain, shook my head, and withdrew my hand.
The sins wrought by heaven can perhaps be forgiven.
But the evils we bring upon ourselves? There is no saving us.
A wicked person like her—how could she be worthy of my charity?
