1 The Final Witness
"I didn't kill them!" Xu Anyi screamed, her voice cracking as her empty words slowly died out in the large courtroom.
She jumped up from her chair, only to be forcibly pushed down by the guard who stood behind her. Her lawyer who sat next to her shook his head as he slowly tapped his finger against the wooden table.
The judge glanced down at her, "Silence."
Xu Anyi took shallow breaths as she clenched her teeth together, swallowing her words as she looked over at the prosecutor, who was still standing.
"Your Honor, I call my last witness," he announced confidently, "Lu Yuzhe."
At once, it felt like something had punched her stomach so hard that her head went blank, and a ringing sound filled her ears, making her wonder if she had misheard.
The door opened as a man wearing a neat black suit entered the room, stopping in front of the witness stand. He looked straight ahead, staring at the empty benches on the other side of the room.
"Why-" Xu Anyi's voice croaked, her words stopping in her throat. Why was her husband here? Why was he called in as a witness. . . on the prosecutor's side?
As the prosecutor asked Lu Yuzhe questions, Xu Anyi could not process much of what was going on, until they reached the question:
"Mr. Lu, has the accused ever said or done anything that may have been related to the murder?"
Lu Yuzhe paused for a second, "She did tell me before how she hated her parents and. . . she said she was planning on killing them, but- but I never thought she would actually. . ."
Xu Anyi's eyes shot up as her mind completely went blank, and the shock made it hard for her to breathe. When did she ever say that?!
She wanted to scream at him, to run towards him and slap him across the face, to ask him why he was lying, but he wouldn't even look at her right now. She couldn't even show him her shock and disbelief.
For the rest of the interrogation, everything Lu Yuzhe said was false, and one lie led to another, every single one working against Xu Anyi.
"No further questions for this witness Your Honor, I would ask that the witness be excused."
The judge had his eyebrows deeply furrowed together as he nodded, looking at Lu Yuzhe, "You may be excused."
Lu Yuzhe took a step back, and right before turning around, his eyes met with Xu Anyi, and he froze for a moment under her piercing glare filled with disbelief and disappointment. He took a deep breath and with a cold expression, he turned around and walked out of the court room.
After Lu Yuzhe had left, Xu Anyi's lawyer did not say anything, and when the judge asked Xu Anyi if she had anything to say, she mumbled, "I didn't do it."
Of course, no one believed her.
—
A few minutes after the final witness had left, the verdict was decided.
Guilty.
Five years in prison.
"Court is adjourned."
—
As the prosecutor and the few people in the room stood up to leave, Xu Anyi stayed seated in her chair with a blank expression on her pale face.
Her defense lawyer took one look at her as he also stood up, slowly organizing his papers as he spoke, "Ms. Xu, the sentence is very merciful already. . ."
He paused for a moment, and continued after not hearing a reply, "You did murder your parents and the jury classified it as malice aforethought. . . Usually, the sentence would be much w-"
"I didn't." She slowly turned her head over, her voice soft yet fierce.
The lawyer paused, slightly taken aback by her expression, and he sighed before continuing to organize his papers, more quickly this time.
Two guards appeared on either side of Xu Anyi, looking down at her, "Ms. Xu, follow me."
Xu Anyi closed her eyes as she lifted her chin up slightly, slowly standing up from the chair. Once she had straightened her back, the two guards grabbed onto both of her arms and pulled her away from the table to the door at the end of the room.
As they walked around the table, Xu Anyi's eyes landed on a lone figure sitting at the very back of the courtroom, at the edge of a bench. The trial was not open to public, and Xu Anyi had thought that no one would show up.
Her vision was blurry but as the person stood up, Xu Anyi could roughly figure out who it was from the delicate figure and pure white dress.
Xia Yiwei. . . What was she doing here?
The person turned her head around, and Xu Anyi could not be sure if they made eye contact as she was forcefully turned around and pushed into the door, which shut firmly behind her.
Then, she was brought back to her prison cell, where she was to stay for the next five years.
—
One cold day in winter, Xu Anyi's life was turned upside down.
That day, her parents who loved and spoiled her were murdered in their home, and during that time, Xu Anyi remembered being knocked out from behind in her room.
Once she woke up, she was arrested, accused of being the murderer of her own parents.
With CCTV footage in the upstairs hallway that showed her walking into her parents' room holding a knife, her DNA on the bloody knife, and her own husband's testification against her, she had no chance to explain herself.
That winter, the prestigious Xu family disappeared from Country Z.
That winter, the famous beautiful red rose of City A, Xu Anyi - confident and proud, tall and sexy, cold and distant, but also the dream of all upper-class men in the city - was sent to jail, forgotten by everyone who used to admire her, but were also internally jealous of her.
That winter, Xu Anyi's life shattered into pieces.
--- Author's Note:
hello readers ~
Welcome to my 5th novel here on Webnovel and thank you so much for giving it a chance! I am so excited about this novel, and if you like fast-paced stories with face slapping, a strong female lead, and an unbelievably cute love story, you will certainly love this novel ^o^
The first 3 chapters will be available immediately so you can have more to read and get to know the characters and story better.
I am also entering this novel into the 2022 Webnovel Spirity Awards contest, so I would really appreciate it if you could kindly vote for this story and leave a comment :)
Thank you very much and I hope you will enjoy this novel ~
Love you <3
