Too Much to Bear, My Love Chapter 196
“Stephanie, am I a good brother to you?” Oscar asked out of nowhere.
As Stephanie met Oscar’s knowing gaze, her heart began racing. Something told her that if she couldn’t offer a good explanation, her brother might cut ties with her.
She swallowed nervously and racked her brains for a suitable explanation. Ugh, stupid Cassie. If she hadn’t planted that thought in my mind, I wouldn’t have hired someone to hit Amelia. I’ve underestimated how important Amelia is to Oscar.
I wouldn’t have made that reckless decision if I knew Oscar would spend so much effort to find the culprit. Instead, I would make sure to perfect my plan before carrying it out.
“Er, you’re a great brother,” Stephanie gulped and mumbled.
Oscar shot her a disappointing glare and gritted out, “Stephanie, if I’m a good brother, why did you hire a hitman to harm my wife and son?”
Stephanie panicked instantly. She hurriedly waved her hand. “Oscar, he’s lying! I’ve never seen him before, let alone hire him to hit Amelia. It’s true that I don’t like her, but I’m not crazy enough to harm her and my unborn nephew!”
Upon hearing Stephanie’s denial, the man struggled to sit up and declared, “Ms. Stephanie, you liar. I still have the money you gave me in my account. After giving half to someone else, I withdrew a few hundred thousand to pay for my wife’s medical bills. The rest are still in my account. The money can be traced back to you.”
In response, Stephanie glowered and kicked the man repeatedly to vent her anger. “Nonsense! How dare you accuse me? Die!”
Oscar knitted his brows. “Stop her.”
The two bodyguards went up and dragged Stephanie away at his order.
Stephanie couldn’t contain her rage. “Let me go! I’m going to beat that b*stard to death! He’ll find out that I’m no pushover. He can’t frame me as he likes!”
Nevertheless, the bodyguards didn’t release her.
She shot daggers at them and demanded, “Are you deaf? Release me! Otherwise, you’ll be in deep trouble!”
Oscar rose to his feet and commented, “Oh? Deep trouble, you say?”
Stephanie took one look at him and promptly returned to her obedient self.
He glared at her before turning to Kurt. “Kurt, get me her account statement. I want to see where she spent her money for the past month.”
Kurt nodded and spun on his heels to leave.
At once, Stephanie grabbed Kurt’s arm in a state of panic and pleaded, “Oscar, don’t tell me you really believe this man’s nonsense?”
“If it wasn’t you, why would you be afraid?” Oscar returned coolly.
Stephanie was at a loss for wards.
Thus, Oscar urged, “Go now, Kurt!”
Kurt pried Stephanie’s hand off his arm and left without looking back.
As the door opened and slammed shut behind him, Stephanie wrung her hands helplessly. Her mind was in a jumbled mess.
It was clear what she had done.
Still, Oscar refused to believe his sister was capable of doing something this cruel. He had to admit that she was a willful person. That her upbringing gave her the time and resources to seek excitement and deviate against the norm. However, never in his wildest dreams did he expect to see her hiring a hitman to harm his wife.
It was unbelievable. No matter how cruel he was, he would never take someone’s life. His conscience would berate him and plague him with nightmares every night.
However, his willful but kind sister, or so he thought, had hired a hitman to kill his family.
Right now, Oscar was overwhelmed by mixed feelings. The truth was too dreadful. Compared to his peers, he might’ve been an experienced businessman that could withstand anything that come his way, but this still came as a shocking piece of news to him.
Why did my sister have the urge to kill my family? That’s ridiculous! I adore her so much. So why did she break my heart?
Sensing the disappointment in Oscar’s gaze, Stephanie grew increasingly nervous. She spoke carefully. “Oscar, don’t listen to him. I did nothing of the sort. You need to trust me.”
Oscar shot her a look and returned to his seat quietly.
Instantly, Stephanie felt her heart sinking in despair. She immediately vented her anger on the man lying on the ground.
“Just you wait. I’ll make sure you pay for badmouthing me in front of Oscar!”
The man’s face turned ashen.
He couldn’t afford to offend both Oscar and Stephanie.
It took Kurt around half an hour to get what Oscar wanted. When he returned, he went straight to Oscar and whispered something in the latter’s ear.
An array of emotions flashed across Oscar’s face before he managed to calm himself down.
He pointed at the man. “Take him away and cripple him. You know what to do.”
The bodyguards nodded. They hauled the man up without hesitation. Kurt covered the man’s lips so he wouldn’t get to utter a sound before dragging him out.
Standing up, Oscar strode toward Stephanie. As she gave him a perplexed look, he raised his hand and gave her a forceful slap.
Stephanie’s head swiveled sideways from the impact. She covered her cheek in disbelief as tears welled up in her eyes. “Oscar, why did you slap me?”
Clenching his fists, Oscar declared, “Stephanie, I thought you’re just a willful young woman who was bored with your life and ended up seeking excitement. I never knew you were brutal enough to harm your sister-in-law and nephew. I won’t do anything else other than that slap I gave you. I won’t interfere in your business anymore. I’ll also tell Mom and Dad about what you did. It’s up to them to punish you.”
In that instant, Stephanie felt as if her blood was draining from her body. Her hands and feet grew clammy.
“Oscar, that’s not it. That man framed me!” Stephanie blamed everything on that man in desperation.
Disappointment shone in Oscar’s gaze as he said, “You’ve let me down, Stephanie. I adore you, but you tried to kill my wife and son. From today onward, we’re no longer siblings. Even if we meet at home, I’ll pretend not to see you.”
Stephanie grabbed his arm, dumbfounded.
“Oscar, it was Cassie who convinced me to hire a hitman to hit Amelia. I didn’t plan to do so. It was her orders. Trust me. She told me to do it!” Seeing how Oscar refused to budge, she pushed the blame onto Cassie.
The disappointment in Oscar’s heart heightened. He thought she would feel guilty for what she had done and apologize to Amelia. Instead, she kept pushing the blame onto someone else. It didn’t even occur to her how serious her mistake was.
If he handed the evidence to the court, she would have to go to jail for hiring a hitman to kill someone else. For an offense as serious as this, she might get a life sentence or the death penalty.
“Stephanie, you didn’t even realize what you had done was wrong, huh?” Oscar queried calmly.
To his surprise, Stephanie retorted, “Oscar, it was Cassie who egged me to do it. It was all her fault!”
At her twisted words, Oscar’s rage morphed into incredulous laughter. I never knew my sister is this good at making excuses. I feel ashamed of her.
“Stephanie, I’m disappointed and heartbroken. Since young, I’ve tried my best to take care of you. I might be a man of few words, but I’d offer help whenever you got into trouble. Even when you made things difficult for Amelia, I turned a blind eye. We were too lenient with you. In the end, you made a huge mistake by hiring a hitman to kill someone else. Do you know it’s a serious offense?”
Stephanie’s eyes widened in fear and disbelief. “Oscar, are you going to send me to jail?”
Oscar’s fists coiled taut as his expression turned icier.
“If you’re not my sister, I would have a thousand ways to torture you,” he announced coolly. “I won’t send you to jail, but I won’t have anything to do with you from now on. Mom and Dad will find out that you hired a hitman to kill your sister-in-law. That’s it.”
Panic gripped Stephanie.
She dashed over to Oscar. “Oscar, please don’t tell Dad and Mom. Mom dotes on Amelia, if she finds out I paid a hitman to kill Amelia, she’ll disown me” Her voice sounded flustered.
“Stephanie, you need to bear the consequences of your action. No one will keep clearing your mess. This is a lesson for you. Even if you’re a socialite, when you make a mistake, someone will make sure you pay for your mistake.”
With that, Oscar walked past her.
As Stephanie went numb in despair, she suddenly spotted an open window nearby. In a moment of rashness, she ran over to the window and climbed up.
“Oscar, if you tell Mom about what I did, I’ll jump!” Stephanie exclaimed, pointing out the window.
Oscar turned at his shoulder to cast a calm look at her.
“You’re going to jump off the building?”
Stephanie looked out the window and felt her legs turning wobbly. She couldn’t stop herself from trembling in fear.
Turns out, she had a fear of heights.
“Oscar, I don’t want to jump off the building. Please don’t tell Mom and Dad that I hired a hitman to kill Amelia. I mean, she’s fine now and even gave birth to your son safely. It’s a happy ending, right? So why must you insist on digging up the past?”
The corners of Oscar’s mouth turned up into a smirk.
“Stephanie, if you jump, I’ll consider keeping it a secret from Dad and Mom,” he uttered.
Stephanie’s eyes went wide with disbelief.
“Oscar, you want me to jump?”
“No, it’s not me who wants you to jump. You were the one who threatened to jump off the building, right? Otherwise, why would you climb up there in the first place?” Oscar folded his arms and shot her a frosty glare.
At this, Stephanie’s legs wobbled even more.
Her lips quivered as she said, “Oscar, are you seriously leaving me to die?”
“Stephanie, I’m so done with you. I can’t bring myself to forgive someone who tried to harm my wife and son.”
“But isn’t she just a toy to you?”
Oscar was stunned. Am I the reason why Stephanie became this ignorant fool? In other words, did I indirectly harm Amelia?
Stephanie kept her accusations coming. “Oscar, if you didn’t blow hot and cold, I wouldn’t dare to harm her. You’re the indirect accomplice! I only dared to take action because of your indifferent attitude. I thought you didn’t care about her and her baby, so I hired someone to dispose of them. Was I wrong?”
