Chapter 2

Grandma Beatrice rushed back and lunged at me like a feral animal. "Did you touch my heirloom diamond necklace?!"

I grabbed her by her collar and dragged her straight into her bedroom. "Aren't you the one who loves 'making mistakes'? Don't you love pawning my stuff? Today, I’m going to learn from the best!"

I grabbed her favorite vintage radio from under her pillow and smashed it onto the floor. "This looks like junk! Time to throw it out!"

Grandma picked up the broken pieces, her body trembling with rage. "You monster! You absolute monster!"

I smirked, then picked up a large glass jar filled with her expensive, five-year-old aged herbal tonic.

"No, no! Don't! That's expensive!" she shrieked.

*Crash.*

I smiled innocently. "Oops. My hand slipped."

Looking at the shattered glass and the dark liquid ruining her carpet, she lost her mind. "My five-year-old tonic! Elena, you did this on purpose! Just wait until your father gets home! He’s going to beat you to death!"

I walked over to her altar and picked up her highly prized, creepy vintage porcelain angel statue. My eyes went dead cold. "Let him try. Let's see who dies first!"

*Smash.*

The porcelain shattered into a million pieces.

Grandma Beatrice fell to the floor, wailing and slapping the ground. "This is a sin! You smashed the holy angel! You've cursed this entire family!"

I shrugged. "You're my grandma. If I'm cursed, it's because I learned it from you. I’m just 'confused' today."

I walked over to her closet, pulled out a valuable landscape painting my dad had gifted her, and ripped it in half. "Nice paper. Makes great scrap!"

Grandma Beatrice was so angry she couldn't breathe. She stumbled, fell over the broken glass, and scraped her arms and legs, bleeding onto the floor.

In the hallway, my mom was holding a hyperventilating Austin.

She screamed at me, "Elena! Are you trying to destroy this family?! You hurt your grandma and your brother! Are you going to kill your father and me next?!"

Suddenly, a heavy leather briefcase slammed into the back of my head.

My dad, Arthur, had just walked in. His face was distorted with fury. "Elena! I will end you today!"

He grabbed a wooden golf club from the umbrella stand and chased me through the house.

As I ran outside, I tripped over a stone in the yard and fell hard, unable to get up.

Just as the golf club was about to crash down on my back...

The ambulance sirens wailed, and the paramedics pulled into the driveway.

I burst into tears, crawling toward the medics. "Please, save me! He’s going to kill me! My grandma stole my brother's things, which made him faint. When I argued with her, she fell over her own mess, and now my parents are trying to kill me!"

"Is it because I'm a girl? Is that my crime? Why does Grandma get a pass for stealing, and my brother gets pampered, but I get beaten?! My life matters too!"

The paramedics looked at my dad with absolute disgust.

One of them stepped between us, blocking my dad. "Sir, put the club down. I don't care if she's your daughter, this is domestic abuse. We will report this to the police!"

The other paramedic added, "Favoring your son is one thing, but this is sick. You can't blame this girl for your family's mess."

My dad's face burned with shame. He slowly lowered the club.

Grandma Beatrice, covered in scratches and tonic, hobbled out, screaming at the medics.

"Don't listen to that little witch! She’s lying! She attacked us! You should call the cops on her! She's a useless girl, she deserves to be flayed alive!"

To prove her point, she reached out and violently pinched my arm.

The ambulance driver had enough. "Are we going to the hospital or not?!"

Austin suddenly started throwing up in my mom’s arms.

My dad and grandma panicked. "Yes! Yes, let's go!"

I helped the medics lift the stretcher to load Austin into the back.

Grandma Beatrice pushed me away forcefully. "Get away from my grandson, you curse! Austin is the only boy in this family! If anything happens to him, I'll kill you!"

In her haste, she pulled the stretcher too hard, causing Austin’s shirt to slide up, exposing his torso.

The female paramedic gasped. "Oh..."

My dad, embarrassed and angry, yelled at me, "Can't you do anything right?! You almost dropped him!"

The medic quickly pushed them inside. "That’s enough. We need to go."

The ambulance sped away. The neighbors who had gathered to watch slowly dispersed.

I wiped my tears and let out a cold, satisfied smile.

I wondered if the paramedic was shocked by the cute pink lace bra Austin was wearing under his shirt.

The show was just getting started.