Chapter 3

Arthur practically tripped over himself to submit new evidence to the court: a handful of photos showing me trying to pry open a safe, and surveillance footage of me physically assaulting Camilla as I fled.

"Your Honor! Ladies and gentlemen of the jury!" Arthur yelled, clinging to this narrative like a drowning man to a life raft.

"Even if we handled things poorly back then, her time in the basement completely exposed her sociopathic nature! Not only did she attempt to steal millions of dollars in family jewelry and cash, but she also violently battered Camilla when she was caught! She tried to flee! She is a born criminal!"

Eleanor quickly chimed in, wiping away crocodile tears.

"We just wanted to make it up to her! We lined up the best psychiatrists and even arranged a wonderful marriage for her. And how did she repay us? With zero gratitude, trying to take the money and run! A selfish, violently abusive ingrate like her simply does not deserve the privilege of a healthy body!"

Camilla coughed weakly, her eyes brimming with fresh tears. "Sister, even if you hate me... you shouldn't have tried to steal the money meant to save my life..."

A wave of hesitation briefly washed over the live comments. After all, grand theft and aggravated assault were serious felonies.

"Did the sister actually go crazy and twisted in the basement?"

"I mean, regardless of what happened, stealing and beating people up is still wrong..."

The judge turned to look at me. "Defendant, the plaintiffs accuse you of grand theft and aggravated assault. Do you consent to initiate a second round of memory extraction?"

"I consent," I replied, meeting the judge's gaze head-on.

The machine hummed to life once more. A mild current pulsed through my brain, and the holographic screens flared back up.

The projection snapped back to two years ago.

It was a suffocating basement. Windowless, with the air thick with the stench of mold and pungent bleach.

I was reduced to a bag of bones, huddled into a ball on the freezing floor.

The door groaned open. Arthur and Eleanor walked in.

Trailing right behind them was a potbellied, heavyset man in his fifties with practically meat for a face.

His eyes slithered over my body like a venomous snake, utterly brazen, while a repulsive, lecherous grin twisted his lips.

"Mr. Richard, this is my eldest daughter, Fallon," Arthur said, his face plastered with a fawning, sycophantic smile. "She's been a little sick lately and lost some weight, but she has fantastic bone structure. If she's to your liking, you can take her away tomorrow."

The man named Richard stepped forward, pinching my chin with his calloused, meaty fingers to violently force my head up.

"She does have much more flavor than that sickly adopted one," Richard noted, licking his lips in satisfaction. "I heard she's got a stubborn temper? Good. I love breaking wild horses. My last three wives simply couldn't take a beating—died within a few years."

Outside the hologram, muffled gasps of horror erupted from the jury box.

Richard!

The notoriously brutal real estate tycoon of the Federation, infamous for his horrific history of domestic violence. His previous three wives had all died in gruesome "accidents." Anyone in high society knew he was a sick, sadistic freak!

In the memory, I thrashed wildly, violently shaking off his hand, and stared at my parents in sheer terror. "Dad... Mom... What are you doing?! Are you selling me to this man?!"

Eleanor marched over with a face made of stone and slapped me hard across the cheek. "Shut up! You should thank your lucky stars Mr. Richard has taken a liking to you! Once you marry him, he's going to inject fifty million into our business! Your sister's kidney transplant and the company's survival entirely depend on this money!"

"You're insane!" I shrieked in absolute despair. "He'll beat me to death! I'm your biological daughter!"

"So what if you are?" Arthur sneered down at me with chilling detachment. "Your reputation is already ruined; what other value do you have left? Sacrificing for this family is the only use you have!"

The projection shifted, cutting to the dead of night a few days later.

Taking advantage of a shift change among the guards, I used a sharpened piece of wire to pick the basement lock.

I grabbed only a few hundred dollars of my own childhood allowance and bolted frantically into the dark.

It was pouring rain. I sprinted wildly through the muddy garden. It was the first time in two years I had tasted the sweet, cold air of freedom.

But the illusion didn't last. Blinding floodlights suddenly pinned me down in the mud. Camilla, flanked by several brawny security guards, immediately surrounded me.

I fought back like a cornered, rabid animal, smashing a rock against Camilla's forehead—this was their so-called "aggravated assault."

But my resistance was utterly futile. I was brutally pinned face-down into the muddy puddles.

Camilla looked down at me from above, her eyes cold and merciless.

"Break her legs. As long as she has one breath left to marry Richard, it doesn't matter."

A heavy baton was brought down viciously against my shin.

Accompanied by the nauseating, crunching sound of splintering bone, I let out a spine-chilling, bloodcurdling scream before completely blacking out from the sheer agony.

That agonizing scream echoed, lingering terrifyingly in the ears of everyone present.

Inside the courtroom, a female juror covered her mouth as tears came pouring out.

Seconds later, a tidal wave of furious obscenities completely engulfed the massive hall.

"Animals! They're worse than animals!"

"Selling their biological daughter to a domestic abuser for investment money?! And breaking her legs?!"

"And they had the fucking nerve to charge her with theft? She was just trying to survive!"

"I'm genuinely about to commit murder! How are these 'parents' not rotting in hell yet?!"

Arthur and Eleanor were completely paralyzed, slumped over like deflated husks in their chairs.

The judge slammed his gavel down.

"The first count of 'Narcotics Addiction and Depravity' is dismissed! The second count of 'Theft and Assault' is dismissed!"

The judge's voice boomed with absolute authority and simmering rage.

"Facing severe threats to her life and illegal imprisonment, the actions taken by Defendant Fallon are hereby legally classified as self-defense and emergency evasion! This court issues a preliminary verdict: Defendant Fallon is NOT GUILTY! She is completely exempt from any obligatory organ donation!"

"No—!"