FRAMED

11 PM in the streets of Hamilton, New York City. A few legs walked the deserted road. Alongside the road was a parked Dodge Ram car, which was constantly but slightly shaking, showing obvious evidence of motion inside.

It was difficult to see what was happening inside the car since it was dark and had tinted windows, but anyone passing by would have an idea of what was going on.

It wasn't news to anyone that couples enjoyed themselves in a parked car—it had become a trend as of late. As the shaking of the car became more intense and muffled moans escaped from it, a Lamborghini drove in speedily and recklessly, stopping in front of the shaking car. A young man descended from the car angrily; he was in corporate attire but looked so unkempt that his necktie was left loose.

He ran towards the car's door and kicked it multiple times, yelling.

“Adrian, you bastard! Come out, you fucking prick! How can you be so shameless as to indulge in this kind of act on the street? Where’s your dignity? Come out here and settle with me, you bastard!”

Just as he kept angrily kicking the door, the motions seemed to stop for a moment, then a girl stepped out. She didn’t bother to wear her shirt; she was only in a bra and a folded skirt that looked like she had hurriedly pulled it down.

“Oh… look who it is! It’s my failure of a lover disturbing the moment, Lucas,” she said nonchalantly.

“Charlotte, you shameless bitch! How can you do such a thing with your sister’s fiancé? How heartless can you be?” he asked, raising his tone, but was met with a surprising chuckle from Charlotte.

“My sister, you say? She’s too naïve and undeserving of such a refined man. How do you expect someone like her to have it perfect when she’s not even worth it, only because she’s the elder? I want it all: everything that’s hers; I’ll make it all mine, so I decided to start with her most precious fiancé. The funny thing is that we might even do it at home, but she wouldn’t find out because she’s knocked out from working all day. How pathetic, right?”

“You… you’re a heartless whore. How did I end up falling for you? I feel so stupid.”

“Thanks for the compliment; it’s proof that I’m an undeniable beauty!”

“Laugh while you can. Soon, I’ll have all your atrocities out for the world to see. You know how influential my family is, right? Don’t be surprised if you see it on national TV.” His remark made Charlotte’s mood change to that of fear.

“Don’t do something stupid, Lucas.”

“How about you wait and see? And for Adrian, that bastard…” Before he finished his sentence, there was a gunshot, and a bullet impaled his skull. His body fell lifeless the next minute as a pool of blood surrounded his head.

Upon seeing this, Charlotte’s expression turned pale.

“I thought I heard someone shouting; turns out it was a mosquito that needed to be quieted,” Adrian said as he came out from the other side of the car, holding a gun while wearing only his pants.

“O… oh God!” Charlotte staggered backwards and was supported by the car. “W… why, Adrian? Why did you kill him?!” she yelled at him.

“Hey, keep it down, will you? He was becoming a thorn and a threat; that was the only way to shut him up. This bastard is capable of pulling that shit with national TV,” Adrian explained, his demeanor nonchalant as if he had just squashed a bug. It was obvious it wasn’t his first human kill.

“Even so, you could have done something else, like kidnap or threaten him, not kill him.”

“Get a hold of yourself, Charlotte. Kidnap or threaten the son of a billionaire? That’s literally submitting ourselves to the cops.”

“Then what about this? What do we do about this?”

“Hehe, what do you think of killing two birds with one stone, huh?”

“T… two birds? How?”

“Your sister, Charlotte. I’m talking about Elena. By now, she’d be knocked out from work. Even your loud moaning wouldn’t wake her up, so how about we plant this body beside her and make up a story to frame her? Something like she loved him, but he loved you, so out of jealousy, she shot him and slept with him as a sign of love. Then, as early as six, we shoot a gun, making sure people hear the gunshots and call the cops on her. That way, we’ll have enough evidence to, in thebest-casee scenario, get her imprisoned for life. What do you think?”

“…” Charlotte was dumbfounded by how mischievously calculating he was—ruthless and heartless at the same time—but she also thought of how she was no different from him. They were a match made in hell.

“What? Why are you looking at me like that?” he asked as she smiled and walked up to him, kissed him, and said, “I knew you wouldn’t do such a thing on a whim. To think you’ve calculated this far. Now nothing will stop me from getting my parents’ company.” They exchanged a passionate kiss.

……….

The next morning, just like every other morning, Elena woke up to prepare for work. She had planned that the next day would be her day off to spend time with her lovely fiancé, so she was energized. Only to wipe her face with her hand and notice a stench of iron and a thick liquid on her face.

She looked at her hand to see bloodstains, surprised to see whether she was bleeding. She turned to see the dead body of Lucas by her side.

She screamed; it was loud enough to alert the neighbours. But before she could comprehend anything, cops surrounded the house, came in, and arrested her.

“Miss Elena Carter, you’re being arrested for the murder of Lucas Vance. You have the right to remain silent; anything you say may be used against you in a court of law.”

“Wh… what is going on? Somebody tell me what the hell is going on?!” she yelled as she struggled to free herself. Then she heard distant sobbing.

“H… how could you, Elena? Why? What did I ever do to you? Not only did you covet my man, but you also killed him because he wasn’t interested in you and desecrated his body by sleeping with it. Why would you do such a heartless thing?” Charlotte cried, being supported by Adrian.

“Wha… what the hell are you saying? Me? Covet your boyfriend and kill him?”

“Officers, take her away. I might do something stupid if I keep seeing her disgusting face here,” Adrian said, shattering Elena’s heart.

As she was dragged away, she protested and was captured by the news media that had gathered, who were called in back to Adrian too.

Elena was not only helpless; she was alone—utterly alone. On the day of the final court ruling, she was considered guilty under many fake testimonies and pieces of evidence; people in the streets testified to hearing gunshots. Having no way out and falling victim to Charlotte and Adrian’s plot, she was put into jail to rot for life.