Chapter 2

I paused for a moment and glanced in Sebastian's direction. He was getting chewed out by Mom and Dad.

"Why did you let her sit down? Do you actually feel sorry for her?"

"Have you forgotten that they still haven't found Jean's body?"

Sebastian kept his head bowed, not daring to look my way. He said in a low voice, "It's just a chair… If she passes out again, she'll use it as another excuse to escape punishment."

That made Mom and Dad shut their mouths, albeit reluctantly. They then turned and shot me another vicious glare.

I withdrew my gaze and forced a bitter smile. They didn't notice that my knees were already rotting and mangled beyond recognition. Even sitting down sent a wave of searing pain through me.

But honestly, it didn't matter anymore. I decided to treat this as my last bit of familial affection for them. After this day, all blood ties between us would be thoroughly severed.

To guarantee I was telling the truth, the staff hooked me up to a lie detector. Right after that, the judge banged the gavel, and the trial began.

"Sonia Shore, what were you doing on the day the victim, Jean Shore, died?"

It took me a long time to react before I slowly opened my mouth. "That day…"

That day was both my birthday and Jean's. Of course, my parents and Sebastian would never celebrate my birthday. They would only gather around Jean with smiles, acting like I didn't exist.

I was long used to it. So, I went up to the rooftop alone to quietly enjoy the small cake I'd bought for myself.

That was when everything went wrong. Someone covered my eyes and abducted me. By the time I opened my eyes again, I found myself lying in an abandoned building, my whole body tightly bound.

A man in black wearing a mask stood nearby, holding an electric baton and shocking me over and over. The sharp pain tore screams from my throat until I finally passed out.

When I came to again, all I saw were my parents' and Sebastian's shattered faces. They told me that Jean had been abducted and asked if I knew where she was.

My whole body hurt so badly I could barely breathe. I had no idea what they were talking about. Then, Sebastian suddenly shouted and found the suicide note Jean had left behind in a bloody corner.

Over the past two years, I'd rehashed these memories more times than I could count. But my parents and Sebastian never believed me.

So right now, I recalled the questions Sebastian had hurled at me back in the lab and answered them loud and clear. "I hired someone to create a diversion, then abducted Jean."

"Did you act alone?"

"Yes."

Mom, Dad, and Sebastian instantly grew agitated.

"I knew it! You're finally admitting the truth!"

"My poor Jean! If I'd known you were this vicious, I never would've brought you home in the first place!"

The spectators were furious, too.

"She admitted she's a murderer! Give her the death penalty right now!"

"And she had the nerve to inflict those wounds on herself to win sympathy! She's beyond redemption!"

"I support giving her the death penalty!"

A storm of curses crashed down on me, but I felt nothing. I just numbly waited for the verdict.

The jury muttered among themselves for a while before having the judge ask me one last question. "Where did you dispose of Jean Shore's body? Please note that this is the most critical piece of physical evidence. If you refuse to answer or give a vague response, the trial cannot proceed normally."

For a moment, every single gaze in the courtroom locked on me.

The body… Jean's body…

I opened my mouth, desperate to answer right away. However, I broke out in a cold sweat. It felt like someone had picked up a hammer and suddenly started pounding inside my skull, sending a sharp, splitting pain through my head.