He WENT FOR HIS RIVAL

The day Claire Sutton put me on trial, she made sure the entire town could watch.

The square was packed shoulder to shoulder. Reporters crowded behind barricades with cameras raised, and livestreams from every major platform carried my face across the country.

I was already dying. Multiple organs were failing. Medication and IV nutrition were the only things keeping my body from shutting down. Still, I was dragged onto the platform like a convicted criminal.

A man lunged at me before the guards could stop him. His hands closed around my throat.

"Rachel Vale, why did you protect him?

"You animal! You destroyed my family! Why are you still alive?"

I could not breathe. Black spots swarmed my vision.

The crowd erupted around us.

"That's her! The heartless one! Her friend was assaulted, and she knew who did it but kept quiet!

"Lily killed herself, and when Lily's mother begged at her door until her forehead bled, Rachel would not even open up.

"She even set her dog on people. She's disgusting."

Their hatred crashed over me from every direction.

Claire stood a few feet away, her brows drawn tight as if someone had knotted them there.

In this world, aside from Lily's family, no one hated me more than Claire Sutton.

Ten years ago, Lily Warren, Claire, and I had been inseparable. Then Lily was found dead after being violated in the woods near my house, and everything between Claire and me shattered.

Because Lily's final note said I had seen the man.

I became his accomplice in the eyes of the town.

And the worst part was, they were not entirely wrong.

I had protected the attacker.

Claire stopped in front of me. Her voice was cold enough to cut.

"Rachel, I am giving you one last chance.

"Say his name. Turn yourself in for covering for him. You can still choose that.

"Because once the memory extractor starts, the high-frequency pulses will make every bone in your body feel like it has been crushed a thousand times over. After that, you will not get another chance to explain yourself."

My face went white. I thrashed against the hands holding me.

"Claire, no!

"You cannot extract my memories!"

Claire seized my wrist, her teeth clenched.

"Now you're afraid?

"Too bad.

"I have to get justice for Lily."

Tears blurred my vision.

"Claire, please listen to me. My memories cannot be shown. You will regret this."

Claire laughed once, sharp and bitter. Her eyes were bloodshot when she leaned closer.

"Regret?

"The thing I regret most is ever calling you my sister."

Two guards forced me into the iron chair. Cold metal cuffs locked around my wrists and ankles.

No matter how hard I fought, they held me down. A helmet descended over my head.

Needles burst through my scalp all at once, thin and freezing, burrowing into my skull like ice picks.

Pain detonated through me.

I screamed until my throat tore. My body convulsed so violently the chair rattled beneath me. It felt as if my soul were being ripped out through the top of my head.

Even then, the crowd only grew louder.

Rotten vegetables and eggs struck the platform. Someone shouted, "Traitor! Parasite! Rot in hell!"

Behind me, the giant screen flickered.

My memories began to rewind.

The first scene appeared before everyone.

It was the third day after Lily's death.

I was dragged to the front of her memorial, where everyone demanded the attacker's name.

They spat on me. They threw stones. Hands clamped around my arms, and someone yanked my hair hard enough to tear it loose.

Fists came down from every direction. My face swelled. Blood filled my mouth. Bruises bloomed across my skin.

I stumbled away from the memorial with the villagers chasing me.

Then came fire.

My house, the only place I had left in the world, burned bright against the night.

I stood there helpless as flames swallowed everything I owned.