Chapter 3

They locked me in the room and took my phone.

I could only sit there, waiting for the police investigation.

My dad and Leo sat right outside, chain-smoking one cigarette after another.

Whenever I locked eyes with my dad, I realized he didn't see me as his daughter anymore. To him, I was an enemy. A monster that had tortured him for ten years.

I didn’t blame him.

I did watch my mother get murdered. I saw the killer's face. I remembered everything.

But no matter what he did, he would never get a single word out of my mouth.

He loved my mom so much. After she died, getting revenge became the only thing keeping him alive.

He had ruined his life, living like a ghost for ten years just to find the killer.

But he had found nothing.

Then he discovered I could speak, that I wasn't actually mute from trauma, and that I was lying to him.

I was hiding the truth.

And then he found out about my assault.

And the man who assaulted me had died a brutal death—his limbs broken and twisted—on a dark street corner just a week before my mom was killed.

He suspected me.

In his mind, I had a motive, and I was crazy and ruthless enough to do it.

He believed I hated my mother, hired someone to kill her, and that was why I refused to name her killer.

It was a very logical theory.

I didn’t defend myself.

I just silently waited for the police.

*Ring... Ring...*

My dad’s phone suddenly rang. He picked it up instantly.

Detective Miller’s voice, which I knew all too well, came through the speaker. "David, are you with Vivian?"

My dad’s voice was hoarse. "Yes! Did Vivian have anything to do with that bastard’s death?"

"Yes. Keep her there. We’re on our way!"

The moment the call ended, my dad’s fist crashed heavily into my face.

"If you had the guts to kill the guy who hurt you, why did you have to hate your mother?"

"She didn't call the cops because she loved you! Things were different back then! She was terrified of the rumors destroying your life!"

"Before she came back home, she couldn't sleep at night. She would cry herself to sleep holding your picture!"

"How... how could you..."

He couldn't finish his sentence.

He completely broke down, burying his face in his hands, sobbing uncontrollably.

Leo smoked in silence, looking at me as if I were a stranger. A monster.

I held my swollen cheek, staring blankly at the ceiling.

A tear slipped down my cheek, feeling slightly warm.

I quickly wiped it away, whispering to myself in my head.

*Soon. It’s almost over.*

*Everything will end very soon.*

Twenty minutes later, Detective Miller arrived with a few officers.

He pulled out a pair of cold handcuffs and snapped them onto my wrists.

"Vivian, you are under arrest in connection with a ten-year-old homicide. Come with us."