Chapter 3
Everything came to a halt. Only the scrolling comments on the screen remained moving.
“They’re so inhumane! The parents should be the ones on trial!”
“Is she really their biological daughter? They treated her worse than an enemy!”
“Members of the jury,” the judge said, “please deliver your verdict. You may choose to declare the defendant entirely not guilty, or you may judge this specific charge alone. If other charges remain valid, the defendant will still be deemed guilty,”
All 33 votes declared me innocent.
“Even if her family’s a wretched bunch, I have a feeling she might retaliate in a horrible manner later.”
“Yeah. She can’t be that weak and innocent all the time. I’m sure she’s done something.‘
The next charge brought by my parents against me was announced. “Absconding with 200,000 dollars meant for a wedding gift and disappearing without a word, leaving a massive debt on her parents.
The comments flooded in again.
“Just as I thought, she’d done something outrageous!”
“200,000 dollars? That’s enough to land someone in prison if they weren’t her parents!”
Seeing the shift in public opinion, my father straightened.
I looked at Suzy. Although she looked calm on the outside, her trembling fingers betrayed
her fear.
Of course she should be afraid.
The screen lit up again.
