My Alpha Family Faked Their Deaths to Punish Me? Well… See What Your ‘Punishment’ Has Destroyed Chapter 04

My Alpha Family Faked Their Deaths to Punish Me? Well… See What Your ‘Punishment’ Has Destroyed Chapter 04

Greta shrieked, clutching her face.

Smack!

The next second, Tessa’s palm cracked across my cheek.

“Raina, really? If you weren’t so vain and materialistic, would Mom and Dad and I have done this?”

“You think you’re the only one who’s had it hard these past five years?”

“And now you’re throwing punches? I guess the punishment wasn’t enough.”

I stood frozen, listening to her cold voice, and felt something inside me die completely.

After a long pause, I lifted my gaze and let out a mocking laugh. “Not enough? Then would giving you my life be enough?”

“Will you stop being so dramatic?”

Disgust flashed in Tessa’s eyes. She signaled the driver and shoved me roughly into the car.

Tears streamed down my face, but a bitter laugh escaped me anyway. “Are we going home? Which home?”

She didn’t even look at me. Pulling out her phone, she dialed our parents.

“You can come back now. Yeah, Raina knows.”

“I didn’t tell her. She overheard it herself!”

Tessa then threw her phone against the seat in frustration, turning to glare at me with pure annoyance.

“How do you even have the nerve to cry? I suffered right alongside you for five years, and in the end, I’m the one getting blamed!”

“What are you so miserable about? You’re not the only one who’s been through it.”

“Don’t cry, Raina. They don’t deserve your tears or your pity.” I closed my eyes, seeking comfort in the warmth of my wolf. I stayed silent, enduring her lecture the entire drive back to our old estate.

I hadn’t set foot in this mansion for five years. Being pushed inside now, it felt entirely foreign.

The agonizing pain in my stomach flared up again. Unable to hold it back, I bent over and coughed up a mouthful of dark blood.

As I scrambled to wipe it away, Tessa noticed, but she only sneered.

“Nice props. Trying to make me feel guilty?”

“Save the acting for when Mom and Dad get here. Your little tricks don’t work on me.”

Our parents arrived early the next morning.

Tessa had taken heat from them and was in a foul mood. She made me wait on the couch all night.

With no sleep and a burning stomach, cold sweat drenched my clothes, leaving me completely drained.

Yet the moment they walked through the door, I snapped upright.

For five whole years, I thought they were dead.

Seeing them standing there perfectly fine felt like a twisted dream.

“Raina, have you learned your lesson?”

My father’s cold words dragged me right back to reality.

I stood paralyzed, my voice raw.

“What exactly did I do wrong?”

His face darkened.

“After five years, you still don’t understand how hard it is to earn money?”

“We faked our deaths to show you that money can dry up, and even an Alpha’s wealth can be squandered.”

“Now that you finally understand, we don’t have to keep hiding away from our own home.”

His logic was completely absurd.

“So in the end, it’s all my fault that you couldn’t come home?”

“I truly don’t understand. You have billions. I never spent your money recklessly. Why did I deserve this?”

“Do you have any idea how much I suffered? These past five years, I…”

“Raina, just admit you were wrong!”

My mother rushed over and grabbed my hand, her eyes welling with tears.

“To teach you a lesson, your father hasn’t even stepped foot in the Ashborne Pack territory for five years.”

“These past five years haven’t been easy on any of us. Stop being so stubborn!”

“Just apologize, and the punishment ends right now. We can be a family again…”

“I did nothing wrong!”

I screamed, violently throwing her hand off me.

“You’re the ones who are wrong! Your entire mindset is twisted! I did absolutely nothing wrong!”

Smack!

Another stinging slap cut me off as Tessa struck my face again.

“Is that how you speak to our parents?”

“Raina, what right do you have to feel wronged? What right do you have to be angry?”

“You think I had it easy these five years? If I hadn’t been worried about leaving you alone, I would have gone abroad with Mom and Dad from the start!”

My mind went blank, a loud ringing filling my ears.

Her voice faded into a dull buzz.

After standing there for a long time, I finally nodded in resignation.

“Give me back the hundred and thirty thousand dollars.”

I had earned that money with my life.

Tessa threw me a disdainful look and made a quick call.

Moments later, someone walked in carrying the bag of cash.

Wiping away my tears, I grabbed the bag and turned toward the door.

My mother started to speak, but my father stopped her.

“Let her go! Let’s see where she ends up!”

I shut the door behind me and dragged the bag of cash back to the run-down neighborhood where Tessa and I used to live.

I hadn’t gone more than a few steps when that piercing pain in my stomach hit again.

I dragged myself to a nearby hospital.

While waiting for my test results, I went to pay at the counter.

But the moment I handed over the cash, several security guards rushed out, tackling me to the ground.

My head was spinning, and I didn’t have the strength to fight back.

Through the chaos, I heard them shouting about counterfeit bills and calling the police.

Within minutes, the police arrived.

The officer in charge looked down at me, frowning.

“Miss, this money is entirely counterfeit. Where did you get it?”

In a panic, I fumbled through my pockets and handed him the clinical trial contract.

“I don’t know! I earned it from a medical study!”

“I didn’t do anything wrong!”

He scanned the papers, his frown deepening.

“You were scammed. This company is a criminal ring.”

“Did they draw your blood?”

My pupils dilated, and I nodded numbly.

The officer sighed. “The medication itself wasn’t the issue, but the needles they used…”

He couldn’t bring himself to finish the sentence.

A terrible dread settled in my chest.

Right then, a healer came out and handed the test results to the officer.

“Stage-three blood disease. Those scammers are ruthless…”

“Ugh…”

My body finally gave out. I threw up another mouthful of dark blood, collapsing heavily onto the floor.

As my vision blurred, the officer’s voice sounded miles away. “Call her family, now!”

Before everything went black, I thought I saw figures running toward me…