Her
words were like a spark in a tinderbox. The crowd erupted.
They all tumed on me, their eyes filled with condemnation and hatred. Someone even picked up a rock and threw it at me.
I couldn’t dodge in time. The rock grazed my cheek, breaking the skin and drawing blood.
The crowd froze for a second. The livestream chat paused.
But after a brief silence, they surged forward again, fists raised, demanding an explanation.
Just then, the police noticed the commotion and sent a patrol unit over to investigate.
When the lead officer, Officer Davis, saw me, he paused.
“Melody? You just got out. Shouldn’t you be heading home for a shower instead of standing out here?”
His words silenced the crowd.
Seeing Officer Davis, a dark glint appeared in my eyes. I saw the flash of panic on Mark’s face and deliberately spoke loudly.
“Officer Davis, since you’re here, I’d like you to be a witness for me!”
“A witness for what?” he asked, confused.
Under everyone’s gaze, I lowered my head, my shoulders trembling as tears streamed down my face.
My voice was filled with anguish. “I just got out of the station, and I was surrounded by this mob. They’re saying I did a lot of terrible things and that I have to pay.”
“I told them it wasn’t me, but they showed me security footage, and the person in it is me.”
“But they might not know, but the entire police department knows! I’ve been locked in a holding cell for the past three days! How could I possibly have been out
here?!”
Officer Davis paused, then confirmed my words. “That’s right. You’ve been in custody for the past three days and have been a model detainee. You never caused any
trouble. We were even going to recognize you as a model prisoner.”
Hearing this, the business owners were stunned. The livestream viewers were shocked.
“So, after all that, they got the wrong person!”
“These businesses are so irresponsible! They came here all aggressive without getting their facts straight! I saw some of them get physical. The poor girl’s forehead is bleeding!”
I looked at the business owners and the victim’s family earnestly “Now do you believe me? I really didn’t do any of the things you said, because I’ve been locked up
in the police station the whole time.”
They hesitated, looking from the security footage to me and back again. “But the person in the footage is you. The cameras can’t be wrong, can they?”
A bystander chimed in. “Maybe they can be! She said she was at the police station, and the station’s security footage has to be real!”
At everyone’s request, the police brought out their equipment and examined the footage on the spot.
But when the results came in, everyone was stunned again. Even Officer Davis’s eyes widened in shock.
The footage from the business owners‘ phones was completely authentic, with no signs of tampering whatsoever.
Now it was the online viewers‘ turn to explode.
What is going on? The police have to investigate this thoroughly! We can’t let an innocent person be framed, and we can’t let a guilty person go free!”
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Just then, Mark, who had regained his composure after seeing the footage confirmed as real, exchanged a look with Stella and stepped forward.
“The bad guy is Melody!” he shouted. “She’s a terrible person! She could sneak out of police custody to commit crimes!”
“We just checked! There’s a small alley behind the police station, a blind spot for the cameras! Melody must have escaped through there!”
“And her dad’s a locksmith! Who knows if she learned the trade from him? She could have easily picked the lock while the guards were asleep and snuck out to do
bad things!”
All eyes turned to me, filled with suspicion.
Even Officer Davis began to doubt me.
Mark smiled triumphantly. “Officer, you have to arrest her! She killed someone! She has to pay with her life!”
The victim’s family chimed in emotionally, “Yes! I want her to pay for my son’s life!”
The crowd grew rowdy again.
Eyes filled with scrutiny, contempt, doubt, and disgust lingered on me.
I trembled under the weight of their negativity.
But I wasn’t scared. I was thrilled.
Becaus
Because…
I had anticipated this moment.
