We Switched Places With My Bruised Twin Sister And Made Her Husband’s Life A Living Hell

A Captured Crime

The two women, armed and bloodthirsty, headed for the bedroom. I backed away and hid in a corner.

I grabbed my cell phone. I started video recording mode; the red light came on.

Mrs. B ordered. “Open the door.”

I opened the door, trembling. I moaned. “Mother-in-law, sister-in-law, help me!”

She said. “Help you? Ask for help in hell!”

The two women ran into the dark room. They only saw the silhouette of a person tied up in bed, writhing and emitting a muffled groan.

They thought it was me. Trina yelled. “Die, you crazy whore!”

Trina was the first to act. She raised the mop handle and began to hit the figure on the bed with all her might, mercilessly.

I yelled. “Boom! Boom! Boom!”

She screamed. “You dare to hit me? You dare to slap me?”

Mrs. B was not far behind with the bamboo cane. She hit his legs and sides.

She said. “I’m going to knock that insolence out of you so you know who’s in charge in this house!”

Boom! Splat! Boom! The sound of the sticks against the flesh, the sound of bones.

I think I heard the sound of bones breaking. Darius, gagged, couldn’t scream; he could only emit a choked moan.

He groaned. “Ugh… ugh!”

But the more he groaned, the more the two women believed it was me suffering, and the more they tormented him.

They screamed. “Scream! Scream louder! I’ll show you how to shut up!”

I was standing at the door recording clearly. When I had been recording for about five minutes, I saw that Darius was no longer writhing; he stayed still.

I decided that was enough. I walked in and turned on the light.

The cold white fluorescent light flooded the room. Mrs. B and Trina stopped, sticks in hand.

They blinked and saw that the person tied up in bed, bloody and gagged, was Darius—their son, their brother.

Trina was the first to scream. She yelled. “Ah!”

She dropped the stick and backed away, her face pale as paper. Mrs. B was stunned.

She looked at Darius, then at me. I was standing at the door with the phone in my hand, the red recording light still blinking.

I smiled. I said. “You hit well, mother-in-law. Hit harder! I have it all recorded. You and your sister-in-law just committed a felony assault, an organized crime with weapons against your own son and brother.”

I held up the phone. I said. “With this video, I can say that Darius kidnapped me and that you, trying to rescue me, mistook the person. Will the police believe that?”

Mrs. B staggered and collapsed. This time she didn’t faint; she peed herself.

The room filled with the smell of Mrs. B’s urine, Darius’s moans on the bed, and Trina’s terrified breathing. With complete calm, I put the phone back in my pocket.

I patted Trina’s pale cheek. I said. “Sister-in-law, if you’re done hitting now, you should call an ambulance for the victim. I think you broke your brother’s bones.”

Trina jumped and stammered. She said. “I… I… you ordered us! You set a trap for us!”

I laughed. I said. “I set a trap for you? It’s true I tied Darius up, but I asked you for help to come hold him down. I didn’t know you would bring sticks and give him a group beating. I didn’t order you to hit him; you did it voluntarily and with great enthusiasm.”

I turned to Mrs. B; she was still on the floor. I asked. “Mother-in-law, so now what do we call—911 first or the paramedics?”

I didn’t wait for her answer and took out my phone. I called the police. I said. *”Hello, precinct? This is Lisa Rakes from East Side, Number X Street. I’m calling to report an emergency. A serious felony assault has just occurred in my house. The victim is my husband Darius and the aggressors are his own mother and sister, Mrs. B and Trina. They hit him with sticks and I think they broke his bones. Come quickly! I’m afraid they’ll kill him.”

I hung up, leaving the two women stunned. And then I called the paramedics.

I said. “Hello, 911? I need an ambulance at this address. The patient suffered a group beating. I suspect broken ribs and a head injury.”

When I finished the call, I dragged a chair to the center of the living room, right in front of the bedroom door, and sat down. I crossed my arms and waited.

Mrs. B finally reacted. She realized what she had done and started screaming.

She screamed. “Crazy whore! Demon! You ruined my family!”

She tried to lunge at me. I simply held up the phone.

I said. “Hit me more, mother-in-law. Hit me too and make it a combo. That way when the police come, they’ll take all of you together.”

She stopped. Trina staggered up, ran to the room and shook Darius.

She cried. “Brother! Brother, wake up! Don’t scare me!”

The Arrest

Sirens sounded. A police car and an ambulance arrived almost at the same time.

The narrow alley was illuminated with blue and red lights in the middle of the night. The neighbors, accustomed to the screams from this house, peeked out curiously.

The same two police officers from yesterday appeared again, this time accompanied by two security agents. The older officer asked seriously. “Who is Mrs. Rakes?”

I stepped forward. I said. “That’s me.”

He asked. “What happened? Another fight?”

I shook my head. I said. “No, it wasn’t me. They fought among themselves.”

The paramedics rushed in with a stretcher. When they illuminated Darius with their flashlights, they too were stunned.

The big man was now a bloody crumpled ball, his clothes disheveled and still tied up. The young officer exclaimed, horrified. “What… what happened here? Who tied this man up?”

I said calmly. “I did. He tried to hit me, so I tied him up. It was in self-defense.”

He asked. “And after tying him up, what did you do?”

I said. “Nothing. I simply went out to ask my mother-in-law and my sister-in-law for help. I told them Darius was tied up and to come help me.”

Trina shouted from the room. “Lie! You tricked us! You… you said you were tied up!”

I shrugged. I said. “She can say whatever she wants now. I have proof.”

Darius, at that moment, after an officer cut the ropes with a knife, whispered weakly. He said. “My side hurts… Mom… Trina.”

He pointed at the two women with his finger and fainted. The paramedics quickly moved him to the vehicle.

One of them told the police. He said. “He’s in serious condition. He has at least two broken ribs and a head injury.”

The older officer turned around. He asked. “Mrs. B, Miss Trina, what happened here?”

Mrs. B started to wail. She cried. *”She… she tricked us! She’s a crazy woman! She escaped from the hospital! She tricked us into hitting my son, officer! She is the instigator!”

I nodded. I said. “Yes, I am crazy. Are you going to believe me, or would you prefer to see this?”

I turned on my phone and played the video. The four police officers and the security agents crowded around to watch.

They saw the dark room clearly. They heard my moan, “Mother-in-law, sister-in-law, help me,” and they also heard the two women’s curses.

They heard. “Die, you crazy whore! You dare to hit me! I’ll show you how to shut up!”

They clearly saw Trina hitting mercilessly with the mop handle and Mrs. B hitting without compassion with the bamboo cane. The older officer’s face went from serious to ashen.

He had been doing this for decades, but such a brutal scene of a mother and sister hitting their own son and brother was beyond his imagination. He turned off the video.

He said. *”Enough.”

He turned to the two women with a face cold as ice. He said. “Mrs. B, Miss Trina, we have the video as evidence. We also have the testimony of the victim, Darius. Both of you will have to accompany us to the precinct.”

Trina squirmed. She cried. “I’m not going! I’m innocent! She tricked me!”

He said. “Whether you’re innocent or not, you will declare that at the precinct. Officers, assist me.”

The young officer pulled out the handcuffs. Mrs. B, seeing the handcuffs, went pale and fainted—really fainted.

The older officer said. “No problem, the paramedics are right there. Put her in the ambulance and wake her up. When she wakes up, bring her to the precinct.”

It was chaos. Trina was taken away while screaming and cursing, making a ruckus throughout the alley.

Mrs. B was taken away on a stretcher like a sack of potatoes. The neighbors muttered and watched.

They said. *”My God. At the Rakes’ house, the mother and daughter hit the son! How barbaric! And the daughter-in-law was so good. Karma is karma.”

I stood at the door watching them with Sky in my arms. The little girl had fallen asleep at some point.

I smiled. I said. “Justice is sometimes quite effective.”

Relearning Humanity

The next morning, the house was strangely silent. Darius was in the hospital, Mrs. B and Trina were in the lockup.

According to news from the precinct, the felony assault charge with clear evidence meant the two women would be detained for at least seven days for investigation. They could only get out if the victim, Darius, dropped the charges.

But right now, Darius probably preferred to be in the hospital than to come home. So, in this hellish house, only Sky, Julian, and I remained.

The boy was sleeping in his mother’s room. In last night’s chaos, no one had worried about him.

He woke up in the morning and saw that neither his grandmother, his mother, nor his uncle Darius were there. He came out and saw me preparing breakfast for Sky.

He asked with his usual arrogance. “Where’s my mom? And Grandma? Why are you making fried eggs? Those are mine!”

He tried to lunge at the table. Sky, seeing Julian, instinctively shrank back and hugged her plate.

I put down the frying pan, turned around, and stood in front of Julian. I said calmly. “Good morning, Julian.”

He yelled. “Get away! Where’s my mom? You hit my mom! I’ll tell Grandma; Grandma will beat you up!”

I crouched down to his level. I said. “Julian, listen to me carefully.”

I no longer called him nephew but used a firmer tone. I said. “The police took your mother and your grandmother away.”

Julian stopped. He said. “Lie!”

I looked him directly in the eyes. I said. “I don’t lie. Your mother and your grandmother did something bad. They took sticks and hit your uncle Darius until they broke his bones. That’s why the police came, put handcuffs on them, and took them away. Now they have to be in jail.”

Julian’s arrogant expression transformed into bewilderment and then into fear. No matter how spoiled a child is, without adult protection, he is very weak.

He started to whimper. “No… no! You’re lying! My mom and Grandma—”

I said. “They are in jail because they did something bad, just like you.”

He yelled, veins popping in his neck. “Me? What did I do wrong?”

I said, my voice still calm. *”You abused Sky. You took her toys, you pushed her, you spit on her plate, you pulled her hair too, didn’t you?”

Julian backed away; he was scared. He didn’t understand how I knew.

I said. *”You also did wrong because you imitated the adults. You saw your grandmother, your mother, and your uncle abuse Lisa and Sky, and you thought you also had the right to abuse Sky.”

I pointed to Sky. I asked. *”But look, what did Sky do wrong to you? Sky is smaller and weaker than you. Why did you hit her?”

Julian went silent and lowered his head. I said. *”Your mother and your grandmother are in jail for doing bad things. Do you want them to take you away too? Do you want to go to jail?”

He shook his head, terrified. “No! No, I don’t!”

I stood up. I said. “Good. Then starting today, you are going to relearn how to be a person.”

I led him in front of Sky. I ordered. “Apologize to Sky.”

Julian hesitated; years of bad habits don’t get corrected in an instant. I frowned.

I asked. “Or do you want me to call yesterday’s police again?”

He hurried to say, looking at Sky with a thread of a voice. “I… I’m sorry.”

I said. “Who are you apologizing to? Speak clearly.”

He said. “I… I… I’m sorry, Sky.”

It was still bad. I shook my head.

I said. *”You are the older cousin and Sky is the little one. But in this house, Lisa and Sky have suffered many injustices and Sky has been very afraid. Starting today, you will call Sky ‘Queen Sky.'”

Julian was puzzled. He asked. “What?”

I said. “Queen Sky. And you are Sir Julian. What is a knight’s mission?”

Julian stammered. “To… to protect?”

I said. “Exactly. To protect the queen. Come on, Sir Julian, apologize to Queen Sky for scaring her yesterday.”

Julian, although he feared me, seemed to find this game of queen and knight quite cool. He took a deep breath.

He said. “Queen Sky, Sir Julian apologizes to Her Majesty.”

Sky was surprised. She looked at me, at Julian, and then burst into laughter—a clear, crystalline laugh that echoed in this house for the first time.

Julian, seeing the queen laugh, felt a little less scared. I nodded. *”Good. Now, Sir Julian, grab a plate and have breakfast. When you’re done, you’ll play together. The knight must yield his toys to the queen. Understood?”

He said. “Yes… yes!”

Julian dociley grabbed a plate. I served him food.

As he ate, he kept glancing at Sky. I know it’s not easy to change a child, but at least I had planted a seed, the seed of respect and fear.

Sometimes before teaching someone kindness, you first have to make them feel fear. A week passed.

The house for the first time had the atmosphere of a home. I made Julian clean his own room.

I prepared decent meals. Sky laughed and talked again.

She and Julian could play together under my supervision. Julian, the spoiled child, now knew to yield his toys to the queen.

The Return of the Demons

On the eighth day, Darius was released from the hospital. He came home limping with a bandage on his head, a cast on his ribs, and his arm in a sling.

He returned in silence. Seeing me reading in the living room, he was startled and froze at the door, not daring to enter.

I said without looking up from the book. “Come in, honey. What are you afraid of? It’s your house.”

Darius entered trembling, looked around. The house was spotless.

His daughter Sky, watching TV, had gained weight and had better color. His nephew Julian was coloring beside her.

Julian said. “Sir Julian is hungry.”

Sky responded cheerfully. “Wait a bit! Her Majesty is finishing watching this cartoon!”

Darius’s eyes widened; he didn’t understand what was going on. He limped to his room and closed the door.

He didn’t dare to cross me. He now knew he was the most useless being in the house: beaten by me, beaten by his mother and sister.

He could no longer hold his head up. Two days later, after completing the seven days of detention, Mrs. B and Trina were released.

Not because they were innocent; they were released because Darius dropped the charges. He was afraid—afraid of having to live alone with me if his mother and sister went to jail.

He thought it was better to bring back those two beasts than to face me, the demon. The two women returned looking pathetic.

Seven days in lockup had been hell for them, who had never known hardship. Their hair was greasy, their clothes smelled bad.

Their arrogance and wickedness were gone, leaving only tiredness, fear, and a hidden hatred. They saw me and kept silent.

They saw the cowering Darius and also kept silent. No one spoke to each other; this family was now completely broken.

That night I was tucking Sky into bed. The door to my room opened and Darius, Mrs. B, and Trina entered limping.

I put a finger to my lips. I said. “Shh, the child is sleeping.”

I went out to the living room and sat down in a chair. I asked. “What’s the matter?”

Darius, Mrs. B, and Trina looked at each other and then something happened that I never would have expected. Mrs. B, that wicked mother-in-law, knelt down.

Darius and Trina exclaimed, stunned. “Mom!”

She snapped. “Shut up!”

She raised her head and looked at me. Her cloudy eyes were now filled with weariness, humiliation, and pleading.

She said in a hoarse voice. “Lisa or Nia… I don’t care who you are. I beg you, please! I implore you!”

Trina, seeing her mother kneeling, burst into tears and knelt too. She cried. “Sister-in-law, I beg you! Please, save this family!”

Darius, with his broken ribs, couldn’t kneel, but he bent as much as he could. He cried. *”Forgive me! I… I’ll give you a divorce! Please, leave! We’ll give you whatever you want, but please go away!”

The entire family that had tormented my sister for seven years was now begging me on their knees to disappear from their lives. Seeing them, I felt more emptiness than satisfaction.

I said. “All right. We will divorce.”

Hearing the word divorce, the three of them sighed with relief like death row inmates receiving a pardon. Mrs. B quickly said. “Yes! Yes, divorce! Tomorrow, tomorrow we’ll arrange the papers! You… you pack your bags and go!”

I arched an eyebrow. I asked. “I should go? Mother-in-law, do you think this is that simple?”

I stood up and started walking.

I said. *”My sister Lisa married into this house seven years ago. Seven years working like a mule. Seven years receiving beatings and insults. Her daughter Sky at three years old has been slapped, starved, and abused. And now you think a simple divorce ends everything?”

Darius asked, trembling. “So… what do we want? Money?”

I said firmly. “It’s money. Let’s end this cleanly with money. We are no longer family.”

I held up three fingers. I said. *”First: child support. Sky is three years old, and Lisa will raise her until she’s eighteen. That’s fifteen years left. You are the father; you have a responsibility.”

Darius asked in a thin voice. “How much?”

I said. *”Lisa doesn’t ask for much. $2,500 a month for food, school, and medical expenses. $2,500 a month for twelve months over fifteen years is $450,000. Let’s make it $350,000 paid in one lump sum.”

Trina screamed. “$350,000? You’re a thief! Where are we going to get that money?”

I ignored her and raised two more fingers. I said. *”Second: marital assets. When they married, my parents gave Lisa $100,000. Lisa gave all of it to you, mother-in-law, to pay the mortgage on this house. Now that they’re divorcing, that money has to be returned, plus $30,000 my sister earned working for seven years. That makes a total of $130,000.”

Mrs. B shouted. “Better kill us! We don’t have that much money in this house! You’re cornering us!”

I smiled coldly. I said. “Cornering you? Compared to what you did to Lisa, this is very humane.”

I raised another finger. I said. “And finally, third: compensation for moral damages. Seven years of assault, choking, fractures, inhuman insults. The price of that pain.”

I looked Mrs. B directly in the eyes. I concluded. *”$140,000. Child support of 350,000, house money return of 130,000, compensation for moral damages of 140,000. Total: $620,000. And the divorce papers signed by Darius. If you give me all that, Sky and I will disappear from this house.”