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Home / Emotional Realism Short Story / Clean Verdict, Dirty Truth / Chapter 1 - Chapter 10

All Chapters of Clean Verdict, Dirty Truth: Chapter 1 - Chapter 10

11 Chapters

Chapter 1

"Sandra, I know you're watching."The moment the stream went live, traffic flooded in like a released dam."Bradley, I was wrong! I'm really sorry!"Eric Hoyles, the school bully and my wife's best friend whom she said was like a brother to her, was hanging high above the ground, bound tightly by rope.One of his ankles was already twisted at a sick, impossible angle.I stood beneath the flagpole, gripping a claw hammer slick with blood.The chat exploded.[What the hell is this? Special effects or an actual psycho?][This guy's nuts. Pulling something like this in broad daylight. Is this some kind of revenge?][Wait, I recognize him. He was on the news a few days ago. His crippled sister jumped off a building. The court ruled it a suicide and said no one else was involved.][Oh, right. That girl who had depression, so she killed herself. What does that have to do with this good-looking guy? Guess her brother finally snapped. What a messed-up family!]I ignored the stinging

Chapter 2

"Monica threatened me with those brand new prosthetics!" Eric cried. "She said if I didn't agree to be with her, she would kill herself right in front of me!"Tears streamed down his still handsome face, his expression pitiful enough to break hearts."I'm the real victim here! I just wanted her to calm down, but she tried to frame me with her death!"Now, she's dead, and everyone's attacking me! Bradley, how can you hurt me over a woman who couldn't take rejection and wanted to destroy me?"Sandra! Tell him the truth! Please save me!"The mood in the live chat flipped almost instantly.[I'm actually crying. He's way too tragic. Gets obsessed over by a mentally unstable girl, then hunted down by her psycho brother.][She brought it on herself! She couldn't get the guy, so she burned everything down and dragged everyone with her. That's just gross.][The brother's unhinged, too. Didn't he know what his sister was really like? The cops should lock him up before he hurts someone el

Chapter 3

They had no idea that this place, the newest academic building at Anteopold University, was my project from start to finish. I was involved in the site selection, the structural design, and the final review of every construction drawing. Every blueprint, every detail, passed through my hands.I knew exactly where the load-bearing walls were weakest, where the cameras had blind spots, and which ventilation shafts avoided every infrared sensor.If it weren't for Sandra Pauley, I would've been standing at the very top of this field, not a man who gave up his career to orbit his family as a stay-at-home husband.My phone rang, sharp and sudden.Sandra.I answered and put it on speaker.Her voice exploded through the phone, hysterical and shrill."Bradley, have you lost your mind? Stop this right now! This is a crime! Do you even know what you're doing?"I laughed softly."Judge Pauley, your response time today is a lot faster than when you were supposed to get justice for Monica.

Chapter 4

"Monica was barely laid to rest yet, and you showed up dressed like that to see her. You stood in front of her grave and said, 'For everyone's reputation, let's just pretend nothing ever happened.' Sandra, you make me sick."For a split second, the live chat froze.Then it completely exploded.[What the hell? She cheated with the guy?][This is too much. My brain just overheated. A wife who's a judge with a school bully boy toy? This is insane!][Wait. The more I listen, the more it sounds like Bradley is telling the truth. That woman's been acting the whole time.][If this is real, it's beyond disgusting. Monica isn't even gone yet, and the wife and the killer… I can't even think about it.]Sandra's face flushed bright red."Bradley, stop slandering me! You're crazy! You've been blinded by hatred!"I didn't bother responding. I pulled out my phone and projected a heart rate monitor app onto the corner of the livestream.The line representing Eric's pulse was dropping, slow a

Chapter 5

Sandra faced the camera, tears sliding down the face I once trusted more than anyone.She switched tactics."Bradley, I'm begging you. Please stop."I admit it. I was wrong. I was just scared. I was scared you'd be swallowed by hatred. I didn't want to see another family destroyed like ours."I only wanted this to end as quickly as possible. I never meant to hurt Monica, and I never meant to hurt you. I just…made a choice a judge never should've made."Destroying evidence. Shielding a criminal.All of it reduced to a single phrase. A wrong choice.And she wrapped her crimes in so-called good intentions, claiming she only wanted to prevent more tragedy.The live chat shifted again, completely in her favor.People flooded the screen, begging me to let it go, convinced Sandra had only made a mistake because she loved me too deeply.I watched it all with nothing but emptiness inside.I cut her off mid-performance."Don't talk about us. When you were in that hotel room with Eric

Chapter 6

Angry voices crashed over me from every direction."Psycho! Murderer!""Judge Pauley is awesome! She saved everyone. She's the prettiest and kindest judge ever!"They took me to a heavily guarded hospital room on the top floor.Sandra's performance had been flawless.In the court of public opinion, I was already labeled a deranged loser who snapped after losing a lawsuit and turned into a threat to society.Not long after, the door opened, and Sandra walked in.She had changed into a clean white dress. She wore a gentle, saintly smile, but deep in her eyes sat naked contempt and the thrill of victory.Behind her was Eric, sitting in a wheelchair.Both his legs were wrapped thick in bandages. When he looked at me, his eyes burned with hatred.Sandra waved off the officer at the door, then calmly poured me a glass of water and set it on the bedside, as if we were still a loving couple."Bradley, you poor thing," she said softly. "Look at you. You look awful."She leaned down

Chapter 7

The way I stared at Sandra finally made her uncomfortable.That victorious smile slipped away.She let out a cold snort and turned to leave with Eric.As the door closed, I heard her clearly telling the officer outside, "He's emotionally unstable and highly aggressive. Keep him under strict watch. Make sure he doesn't kill himself."-The trial came faster than I expected.Escorted by court deputies, I walked step by step into a courtroom packed to the brim.The gallery was a solid wall of people. Cameras bristled in every direction. Every eye held the same mix of judgment and disgust as they watched the so-called madman on trial.Sandra sat at the plaintiff's table as the key victim and witness.She wore a plain black suit. Her face looked worn and pale, her expression fragile and grief-stricken.With a slightly trembling voice, she told the judge and jury a tragic story.A story about a woman driven to desperation by her husband's obsessive behavior, forced into making an

Chapter 8

Under Harriet's insistence and the overwhelming pressure of public opinion, the judge finally agreed to a 30-minute recess to allow Harriet time to organize and submit her new evidence.Thirty minutes later, the court resumed.The atmosphere in the room had turned heavy and suffocating.Harriet opened with a complete financial analysis report.Standing in front of the large screen, she used a laser pointer to walk everyone through it step by step.Over the past five years, large sums of money had moved quietly between Sandra's personal accounts, her parents' company accounts, and the company owned by Eric's father.The amounts were enormous. Tens of millions of dollars. And none of it could be reasonably explained."Your Honor, members of the jury," Harriet said calmly, "I don't know what kind of friendly relationship requires this kind of financial arrangement."With that single sentence, the foundation of their so-called innocent bond cracked.Sandra's face had already gone

Chapter 9

"Bradley understands the dark side of human nature far better than any of you imagined."The evidence was overwhelming. There was nothing left to argue.The judge's face had gone livid. He slammed the gavel down, his voice carrying a level of authority and fury the courtroom had never heard before."Order! Bailiffs, take the suspects, Sandra Pauley and Eric Hoyles, into custody immediately. This trial is suspended. The case will be reopened as a separate investigation!"-The truth broke into the open, and public opinion flipped overnight.Nationwide outrage erupted like a volcano, burning away every last trace of the halo Sandra and Eric once wore, leaving nothing but ash and contempt.In the new proceedings that followed, the complete video was finally released to the public.The footage showed Monica being cornered in the art room, bullied, humiliated, and stripped of her dignity piece by piece.Its cruelty shocked everyone who saw it.The despair and agony Monica endured

Chapter 10

Meanwhile, Sandra was left to rot in the shadows, slowly falling apart.That was a punishment far crueler than death.I went to Monica's grave and laid down a huge bouquet of sunflowers, her favorite. They were bright yellow, like the sun itself."Monica, I got justice for you. Everyone who hurt you paid the price. You can rest now."A light breeze passed through. The sunflower heads swayed gently in front of the headstone, as if Monica were answering me from somewhere beyond time.-I am Bradley Porter.I once turned myself into a monster for the sake of revenge, walking the thin line between the law and the abyss.Now, I had chosen to return to the world of the living.With Harriet's help, the Monica Beacon Foundation quickly found its footing.We provided free legal aid and long-term psychological counseling for children who had suffered from school bullying. We also helped children like Monica, kids who lost limbs due to illness or accidents, by giving them the best prost

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