All Chapters of Blamed, Framed, and Frozen: Chapter 1 - Chapter 10

I was dragged forward by iron chains."Quit dragging your feet, you little brat," one of the demon guards rumbled in a deep voice.I quickly picked up the pace, walking toward the center of Hell's trial platform under the hostile stares of the crowd.Standing on the other side were my family.In that moment, it suddenly hit me that I was the middle child, the one always dragged out and placed in front of my sister and brother, Grace and Tommy Lawson, as a living warning of what happened to disobedient kids.I was the example made to warn everyone else.The Grim Reaper saw me arrive and immediately spoke in a booming voice. "Silence, everyone! The trial is about to begin."He continued, "You're accusing your daughter, Joy Lawson, of slander, theft of emergency money, and conspiring with traffickers to sell her own siblings. If the charges are proven, she'll be executed on the spot, her soul destroyed, never to reincarnate! If the charges fail, you will bear the consequences. Do y

Pain shot through my body, and I trembled all over.Mom hissed, "Are you going or not?!"Eventually, I dragged my bruised arm, tears still streaming down my face, and found that boy.On the screen, every hesitant word and every pained expression on my face was magnified. There was no smugness of someone spreading rumors, only the fear and struggle of a seven-year-old being forced to do something wrong.At the end, Mom stood outside the window. She watched Grace's lonely figure walking alone and smiled with satisfaction."Good, now no boys will dare get close to her, and she can finally focus on her studies."The video ended completely, and the entire hall fell deathly silent.Every gaze turned toward Mom was filled with shock and disbelief.Someone exclaimed, "Oh my goodness, the mother was the one who told her to do it?""Is she crazy? She's making Joy slander Grace's reputation! They're both her daughters!"Another whispered, "What did Joy do wrong? She's only seven! She wa

What was supposed to be just a staged dragging turned into forceful gagging and restraining. My mouth and nose were covered tightly as I was dragged not toward the agreed-upon spot, but toward a beat-up van.Mom and Dad froze, but they still said to Grace and Tommy, "See? She didn't listen, and now she's really getting kidnapped by traffickers!"They just stood there and watched as I was shoved into the van.The footage fast-forwarded.I was taken to a filthy hideout where my hair was chopped into a mess, and I was changed into dirty, tattered clothes that were not mine, with grime smeared on my face. My hands and feet were tied, and I was crammed together with several other terrified children.A few days later, at the train station. A woman was leading me by the hand, preparing to board a train heading deep into the mountains. When the woman was not paying attention, I suddenly headbutted her and broke free, rushing toward the nearby police station.Using every ounce of strength

The officer recorded everything with a blank expression. He said, "We'll investigate the specific details thoroughly. Right now, we need to question you and your two other children separately."With that, Grace and Tommy were taken to different rooms.In Tommy's room, faced with the officer's gentle but unavoidable questions, five-year-old Tommy sobbed as he spoke in broken pieces."I really pity Joy. I stole money once to buy cards, and I got caught. Mom didn't hit me. Instead, she called Joy over and made Joy steal Mrs. Grant's purse from next door. Mom said she wanted to show me what happens to thieves; that they get arrested by the police.""Joy refused, so Mom pinched her and threatened her. Later, Joy ran away and really got caught by the police, and Mom made me watch. I was so scared."Tommy looked up with tear-filled eyes."Officer, was Joy used as an example again? Mom always says you have to make an example out of someone. Joy was always that example. Whenever Grace and I

Just as they were about to be pushed into the abyss, I looked up at the Grim Reaper.I said, "Grim Reaper, can you let them go this once?"The Grim Reaper looked down at me. "Foolish child, they treated you this way, and you still plead for them?"I lowered my head, my toes gently scuffing the ground. "S-Sometimes, they were good to me too. I remember when I was really little, I had a fever. Mom held me all night long and sang me lullabies. Her arms were so warm, and the song was so beautiful, even though later, she hardly ever held me anymore."One time, Dad came home from work with a wrinkled piece of candy in his pocket. He secretly gave it to me, but didn't give any to Grace or Tommy. Even though the candy melted a bit and stuck to the wrapper, it was the sweetest candy I've ever tasted."And when I scraped my knee really badly and cried so hard, Dad scolded me for being clumsy, but he still clumsily put medicine on it for me, blowing on it and comforting me."I spoke about t