Chapter 4

I stared at my father in utter disbelief, my whole body trembling slightly, my breathing growing shallow.

How could this be?

Why would my dad point the finger at me?

Did he really see it?

But I'd been at the police station, doing nothing!

No, absolutely not!

What in the world was going on?!

At that moment, the crowd erupted again. "Is that Maya's father?"

"Even her own father is pointing her out! It must be her! You monster, what else do you have to say for yourself?"

Many passersby also joined the furious chorus.

"Maya, stop pretending! You're cold-hearted, manipulative, and fake! How long are you going to keep up this act?" Ryan yelled.

I shouted back, fighting for breath, "It wasn't me! Why should I confess to something I didn't do?"

A thought suddenly struck me. "Right! I've been at the police station these past few days! I demand they check the surveillance footage to prove my innocence!"

I looked at the officer behind me; he seemed stunned.

It was true I'd been locked up for days, but these people were so absolutely convinced it was me.

Not only did they have video evidence, but now my own father was testifying against me.

Seeing the crowd swell, the officer quickly made a call.

"I've sent a colleague to retrieve the video! Everyone, calm down!"

The officer pacified the crowd, and soon a duty officer brought up the surveillance footage from the duty room.

If the previous video could be faked, the police station's cameras could not.

I glanced at Ryan and Chloe. I'd intentionally kept myself locked up for days, waiting for this very moment.

I wanted to see what other excuses they could possibly have.

At this, a flicker of guilt crossed Ryan's eyes. Chloe, who had been loudly screaming just moments ago, also frowned deeply.

The duty officer inserted the video and began to fast-forward.

In the video, I was indeed calmly sitting in the police station.

"Ryan, what do you have to say now?!" I demanded loudly. Ryan couldn't retort.

However, Chloe, staring at the video, suddenly yelled, "Wait a minute!"

She pointed at a specific segment of the video. "Look! Isn't that Maya walking out of the police station?"

The blurry video only showed a figure in a yellow coat passing by.

I had been wearing that same coat when I entered the station.

I froze!

Seeing this, Ryan's expression turned triumphant, and he quickly spoke up.

"Maya, you dare to say that's not you?! Ah, you! You bribed the police, didn't you?! You snuck out, committed the crime, and then came back!"

At his words, the crowd immediately started questioning the duty officer.

"What's going on? You said you weren't protecting Maya! Then who is that person?"

The duty officer also looked stunned. They all remembered me wearing a yellow trench coat when I came in.

I had specifically chosen that coat to make myself memorable.

I stared at the video footage, my scalp prickling, a wave of icy dread washing over me from my feet to the top of my head.

"That's definitely not me! I've been inside the police station for the entire seven days!"

Ryan, my husband, secretly breathed a sigh of relief and continued to fan the flames.

"Maya, you're a menace to society! You shouldn't even exist! You committed such a heinous crime, and you're still so arrogant." Chloe, my husband's ex-girlfriend, continued to shriek.

Spurred on by the commotion, one of the victim's family members quietly picked up the knife that had fallen to the ground.

His bloodshot eyes were fixed on me. The moment the officers showed any slack, he would charge forward and stab me to death.

"Oh my god, it really is this damn monster! What's this villain even arguing about?"

"Maya must have bribed an officer, who quietly let her out for half a day, and then she returned to the station."

The two victim's family members were thoroughly enraged. "You monster! Give me back my wife's life!"

They pushed past the officers protecting me, rushing forward, intent on making me pay for blood with blood.

My heart pounded in panic. There was nowhere to hide!

Just then, a voice finally rang out from behind me.

"Everyone stop! I can prove Maya is innocent!"

Hearing those words, I finally let out a breath I hadn't realized I was holding.

I knew it. The person I was waiting for had arrived!