Chapter 2The Verdict of Ashes

"Get your hands off me!"

I fought with everything I had, grabbed my car keys, and sprinted downstairs. I blew through every red light, racing toward the state penitentiary.

Watching the executioner's rifle already aimed at my father, I held up the evidence and opened my mouth to scream.

The next second, Liam suddenly grabbed me from behind, clamping his hand tightly over my mouth.

"Stop making a scene! Will you only be satisfied when Mia is put under criminal investigation? Besides, forging evidence is a felony!"

I struggled wildly. But just as I broke free,

Bang.

The gunshot echoed.

I froze, only one thought remaining in my mind.

My father was dead.

Killed by the man I loved most in the world.

A mouthful of blood surged up my throat. My vision went black, and I lost consciousness completely.

As if trapped in an endless nightmare, I saw my father donating his life savings to the local elementary school.

I saw his bloodshot eyes as the charges were read against him.

I saw the utter despair on his face as he sat in the defendant's chair, wrongfully sentenced to death by his own son-in-law.

"Dad!"

I screamed and jolted awake, drenched in cold sweat. I grabbed my phone and dialed the number for a major news outlet.

"I am officially filing a public whistleblower complaint against District Attorney Liam Davies. He covered for his intern, Mia, and forced my father to take the fall for a murder committed by her brother."

Right after the evidence was sent, Liam walked in carrying a bowl of hot soup, his voice thick with guilt.

"Stella, don't be sad. I'll do whatever I can to make it up to you from now on."

I almost laughed out loud.

Who cared about his compensation?

All I demanded was justice for my father.

His assistant rushed in from the hallway, looking panicked. "Liam, it's bad! Mia is surrounded by reporters downstairs!"

He snapped his head toward me, his face darkening instantly.

"Did you do this? The dead can't come back to life! Your endless crusade is only going to destroy Mia's career! Go down there right now and tell the reporters you made it all up!"

I met his gaze head-on.

"Keep dreaming. I will never let my father die carrying the stigma of a murderer."

He was silent for a moment, then spoke with chilling detachment:

"What about your mother? Do you want to see her locked up in a psychiatric ward until she dies? Psychiatric patients tend to get agitated in the spring. It wouldn't be unusual for fights or even fatal accidents to happen."

My heart violently seized.

I never imagined that after killing my father, he would actually use my mother's life to threaten me!

For Mia, he had completely abandoned all his principles, all sense of the law.

My fingernails dug so deeply into my palms they drew blood, but I couldn't feel the pain.

I could only walk toward the cameras in utter despair.

"I'm sorry. I fabricated everything to frame them. I want to thank DA Davies and Mia for upholding justice for the victim..."

With every word I spoke, it felt like my heart was bleeding.

As the reporters dispersed, Liam took my trembling hand.

"Stella, thank you for doing that. Let's go, we'll go pick up your mother and take her home together."

Home?

Liam, thanks to you, I don't have a home anymore.

Just as I was about to pull my hand away, Mia spoke up, her voice fragile.

"Mentor, my incision still hurts so much. Could you take me to a different hospital to get it redressed? I'm scared to go alone."

So, he only came to this hospital to get her bandages changed.

Visiting me, and bringing the soup, were just things he did because he was already here.

He didn't hesitate for a single second.

"Okay. Stella, you go pick up your mother by yourself. Drive safely."

Mia handed me my mother's discharge papers. As I reached for them, her hand "slipped," and the papers fell into the decorative fountain next to us.

"Pick them up."

Mia pretended to act timid and leaned down to pick them up, but he frowned and stopped her.

"She didn't do it on purpose. Besides, your wound needs to be redressed. What if it gets infected from the water? This wouldn't have happened if it weren't for you."

"Pick them up yourself. Your pregnancy is stable now, stop acting so delicate."

Looking at his self-righteous, supposedly just demeanor, I spoke as if to exact some small measure of revenge.

"Liam, the baby is already—"

Before I could finish, he had already walked away with Mia.

The water in the fountain was bone-chillingly cold. I was soaked from head to toe, shivering uncontrollably.

When I finally fished the discharge papers out, my fingertips were numb from the cold.

Suddenly, a group of the victim's family members surrounded me.

"There she is! The rabid dog born from a murderer and a psycho! Stella Smith!"

"You still trying to overturn the verdict? Smash this heartless bitch!"

Countless objects were hurled at me. A dull, throbbing pain exploded across my face, and blood trickled down from my eyebrow.

I gripped the discharge papers tightly, my face deathly pale.

I remembered telling Liam that when I was a kid, other children used to throw rocks at me and call me a "little psycho."

He had held me tightly and said earnestly, "Your mother's illness is not your fault. As long as I'm here, no one will ever dare treat you like that again."

I used to think he was my armor.

But now, he was the one tearing open my scars, indulging others as they beat and cursed me.

My heart felt like it was submerged in a block of ice; it no longer beat for him.

Another sharp cramp seized my lower abdomen, and fresh blood gushed down my legs.

Unable to hold on any longer, I collapsed heavily into the fountain.

When I woke up again, Liam was sitting beside my hospital bed.

His voice was laced with lingering fear. "You're awake? How do you feel?"

"Doctor, my wife lost so much blood. Is the baby okay?"

The doctor looked confused. "Your wife didn't have a—"

Before he could finish, my phone suddenly rang.

"Ms. Smith, your mother suffered a massive heart attack ten minutes ago and passed away. My deepest condolences."