Ook. Once again I look at something posted late night, and after a nights sleep cringe at the typos and other errors (an apostrophe error, a here/hear mixup, and the awkward bit you noted).

So I used some of my lunch hour to try revising a bit and edited the post to show the revised version which hopefully reads a little more smoothly.

I would defend her brother by noting things like their losing their parents when they were young, or that the family has been falling apart for a few generations, but sadly for the most part he's just looking out for himself. If Sarah hadn't pushed it he probably would have suggested a few relatives that might pay a ransom to get her back (gee, willing to help ransom off your own little sister, what a nice brother you are).