My Brother Played with Fire and Killed the Whole Family

I walked down the mountain for four hours, and my heels were in great pain. I borrowed someone's phone to call and find out which hospital to go to.

When I arrived at the hospital, I saw my dad with a bandage on his head and several bloody wounds on his face that had stopped bleeding.

My brother was sitting and watching a game livestream, laughing gleefully.

My mom saw me first. Without any concern about whether I was tired, she snatched the bag from my hand. "You took so long! I thought you might have died on the way! I'm exhausted. Hurry up and peel me an apple."

"I want one too." my dad didn't say a word, just raised his hand to indicate he wanted one as well.

I peeled apples for my dad, mom, and brother.

My brother and mom took theirs and started eating, but my dad threw his apple on the ground, making a thud sound.

"Why didn't you save your brother earlier?! He fell down, and you didn't go to rescue him? If you had saved him, would I be in this condition now? You're a heartless thing! What use is it to raise you? The purpose of raising you is to protect your brother. What did you do?!"

My dad kicked me hard in the belly.

I stumbled back, hit the bench, and fell to the ground.

My dad was injured because he saved my brother, so how was it my fault?

"It's my younger brother..."

My mom stepped forward and slapped me. "You are heartless. Not only did you not save Kane, but you're also blaming him!"

"How is your dad supposed to go and earn money now? Hmm?! I think you should just go out and work, forget about school! Go out and earn money for your dad's surgery!"

In my past life, I begged my parents for cosmetic surgery, but they would rather spend hundreds dollars on trendy shoes for my brother than spend a penny on me. I whispered, "Child labor is illegal."

I whispered, "Child labor is illegal."

"We'll get you a fake ID and send you to an electronics factory, done deal!"

I hung my head. Now that I was only in junior high, studying was the most important thing. I had to swallow my pride and promise to behave and treat my brother well.

Only then did my parents drop the idea of making me drop out to work.

My brother, who was playing his game, casually threw the apple core, missing the trash can.

"Sister, go pick it up."

I immediately went to pick it up, like a dog being ordered around.

"Is Steve here?" A man called my dad's name from the door of the ward.

My mom immediately went to greet him. "Who are you?"

"I'm the forest ranger from the mountain. Did you start a fire?"

My mom instinctively looked at my dad. My dad sat up from the bed and firmly denied it. "No."

The ranger took out photographic evidence showing clear signs of burning. "Who did this?! It's illegal, and there will be detentions!"

My parents exchanged glances, finally setting their eyes on me.

I was scared and instinctively shook my head in denial.

The ranger, sensing something was wrong, questioned again. "Who did it? Confess now!"

My dad decisively pointed at me. "It was her."

My mom nodded repeatedly. "Yes, it was her."

My brother, frightened, started crying, "It wasn't me, it was my sister."

The ranger, using his experience, looked around. "The drone footage will show who did it, and there will be severe punishment!!"

My brother panicked, and a strong smell of urine filled the air.

My brother had peed himself and hid behind my mom, where he stood, drops of urine dripping from his pants.

My dad yelled, "Emma! How could you be so disobedient? You just said you'd behave and protect your brother! Why didn't you admit it?"

My mom added, "So disobedient, huh? If you did something wrong, you should admit it and apologize!"

My parents stared at me as if they were going to eat me alive. The meaning of their words was obvious. They wanted me to admit it.

Just then, I heard the ranger's noticeably more relaxed tone.

It turned out that the ranger had found burn marks while patrolling and had come here to prevent a bigger mistake.

He warned us not to let this happen again and issued thirty dollars fine.

My parents finally breathed a sigh of relief, paid the fine, and watched the ranger leave. I turned around to see my parents and brother glaring at me angrily.