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Chapter 3

Author: Perfect Timing
I didn't know how to respond to Marie's question. My resentment over Zachary's lack of trust in me intensified.

Mustering a forced smile, I replied, "Zachary's working, Mom. He can't get away."

I wasn't sure if Marie believed me. Her smile seemed to have faded slightly. She gestured for me to come closer. Doing so, I noticed that her eyes were red.

"I know Zachary has done you wrong, Annie. I know what's going on. He has never been home whenever I've gone over to your house recently. How can a person be that busy?" Marie said.

She spoke with strength, and her cheeks looked flushed. My heart clenched at the sight of that. I knew patients often showed signs of improvement before taking their last breath. Seeing this now, I felt even more anguished.

Marie noticed my sorrow. She used her hand, which felt extremely cold to the touch, to wipe my tears away.

"Once I'm gone, there won't be anyone to help you teach him a lesson. You're a lovely person, Annie. You should be happy. Stop allowing yourself to be hurt like this. You should get a divorce," Marie said. "I'm to blame too. I never thought he would end up like his father…"

A tear rolled out of the corner of Marie's eye, and her hand slowly collapsed onto the bed.

I tried not to cry, but it didn't work. I couldn't stop myself from sobbing.

"Mom!"

The heart rate monitor flatlined.

I was never going to get to eat her handmade pastries anymore.

…

When I went over to Marie's house to go through her belongings, I saw a letter on her desk. I didn't know when she had written it, but it was addressed to me. It was only after reading the letter that I found out Zachary's father had cheated on her.

She had suffered a lot in her early years. Life only improved once Zachary was older.

Marie hated unfaithful people the most. Who would've thought that Zachary, the son she adored and raised on her own, would become one such person too?
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  • In Defense of a Murderer   Chapter 13

    Thanks to the release of this footage, the public's opinion of Zachary improved. Some thought he had merely been hoodwinked by Gigi. They even considered him a fellow victim.I saw their comments, and they made me laugh.I didn't know if Zachary was purposely trying to achieve something. Nevertheless, neither John nor I—not even Marie—would forgive him.Gigi was deplorable, but Zachary was far more reprehensible. He was part of our family. He should've been on our side, but he wasn't. There was no way for such hurt to ever be forgotten.No one showed up on the day of Zachary's sentencing. It served as a kind of punishment for him as well. Later on, I heard from John that Zachary took his own life while in prison. With his dying breath, he continued to apologize to Marie, John, and me.Once I heard that he was dead, the last of my anger dissipated. I still resented him, of course. How could I not? I resented him for betraying me and our marriage, for not trusting me, and for indire

  • In Defense of a Murderer   Chapter 12

    Someone went online and posted about the incident at the courthouse entrance. The news was quickly shared by many accounts with massive followings.In today's society, a shocking headline would certainly get a lot of attention, and this one about a lawyer who helped his mother's killer get acquitted undoubtedly fitted the bill.Soon, many people in the comments had unearthed information about Zachary and Gigi. Just like what happened at the courthouse, everyone piled onto the two of them.Gigi remained as arrogant and indifferent as ever, probably because she assumed that Zachary had done away with all the evidence that could've incriminated her. As the news went viral, she even started a livestream."Yes, I was driving the car, but who's to say I hit her? She was just trying to scam me by faking an accident and claiming compensation from me! How can you say such things about me without any evidence?"I was just speeding and driving while drunk. The only punishment I got was havin

  • In Defense of a Murderer   Chapter 11

    Zachary went home in despondence, but awaiting him there was the "surprise" I left for him. Not for a second did I ever intend to forgive his arrogance, mistrust, and mockery of me so easily.As soon as he opened the door and turned on the lights, he saw the familiar-looking jar I left on the dining table. It was the one Marie brought from her place. I even left a note on it."These are the pickles Mom made and brought over immediately after you mentioned them during your call with her. Do you think she would've died if she hadn't come over to deliver this that day?"Zachary fell to his knees. Tears streamed uncontrollably. He looked like an anguished beast, howling in despair."Mom! Mom! It's all my fault! I know I did a terrible thing. I'm to blame for everything!"I witnessed the whole thing through the security footage from my phone, and I sneered at his reaction. What was the use of regretting everything now? There was no way to bring Marie back.Once Zachary calmed down som

  • In Defense of a Murderer   Chapter 10

    The more John said, the more choked up he got from his emotions."In order to get custody of you, Marie didn't take a single thing from your cheating father in the divorce settlement. You know very well all the hardships she went through! But what did you do when she passed away? You didn't even bother attending her funeral!"You helped Gigi get away with her crime, didn't you? It was you, right?"John had gone red with fury. I was worried he would get a heart attack, so I quickly approached him and said, "Calm down, Uncle John. Don't waste your anger on someone like him. I'll file an appeal."After slowly composing himself, John sighed and patted my shoulder. "Thank goodness we have you around, Annie. Even after you've divorced Zachary, I'll still consider you my niece."Smiling, I agreed to that. Meanwhile, Zachary looked utterly dazed. He kept mumbling, "How could it have been my mother? How could it have been Mom?"Gigi carefully walked over to try and comfort him, but she ba

  • In Defense of a Murderer   Chapter 9

    "No. That's impossible. How could this be? You're just trying to trick me, right, Annie? These invoices are all fake, right?" Zachary cried out.Sneering, I replied, "Yes, of course. I'm just trying to trick you."Exhaling in relief, Zachary protested, "How could you joke about something like that? That's too much! But you know, now that I think about it, it's been a while since I last saw Mom. Let me drop Gigi off, and we can visit Mom together."Gigi probably never expected Zachary to refuse to get a divorce. In fact, it even sounded like he wanted to patch things up with me. Her smile was frozen on her face.However, Zachary droned on without paying any attention to her. While speaking, he even got his phone out to call Marie.Alas, when he heard the robotic voice informing him that the number he called wasn't in service, he became well and truly agitated."The number's not in service? How is that possible? Did Mom do something with her number?" Zachary asked, anxious to get a

  • In Defense of a Murderer   Chapter 8

    I glanced at Gigi, who was standing behind Zachary. From the moment I mentioned the word divorce, she couldn't keep the smile off her face.Zachary tracked my gaze. Noticing the joy in her expression, he froze, but he quickly acted as if he hadn't seen a thing. He simply stood there in silence.After a while, he said, "Are you sure you want to get a divorce? You should know that with your family background, it won't be easy for you to marry someone like me again."My heart stung when he mentioned my family background.When we first got married, I asked him multiple times whether or not he cared that I came from a family that favored my brother over me. If he told me he did or even hesitated when he answered, I would've reconsidered my relationship with him. However, at the time, it didn't seem like it mattered to him.The last of my feelings for him finally vanished, but he tried to salvage our marriage by saying, "You should give this more careful consideration, Annette. Think ab

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