Chapter 3

Blood burst out, splattering across my face.

It blurred my vision, too.

The next second, Aurora fell straight backward.

"Aurora!"

Margaret was the first to react. She let out a scream and threw herself beside Aurora, desperately trying to wake her.

But no matter how loudly she called her name, Aurora never answered.

My daughter was dead.

The scene descended into chaos.

"Call an ambulance!"

"Oh my God! Someone's been killed! Joanna drove her own daughter to suicide!"

Crying, screams, and furious curses all blended together.

Some people ran away in terror.

Others scrambled to call 911.

One person even started livestreaming, loudly listing all the terrible things I'd supposedly done.

"Breaking news! Do you remember that home-invasion murder that shocked the whole city?"

"This woman was the only witness to that murder. She's also the victim's wife!"

"Her husband was famous for how good he was to her. When she had kidney failure, he donated one of his kidneys without hesitation."

"In twenty years of marriage, he never once made her do housework. He never even spoke harshly to her."

"A husband that good was stabbed to death right in front of her, and she chose to protect the killer!"

"And now she's driven her own daughter to her death just to protect that deranged murderer!"

The livestream captured everything. The streamer condemned me for all my supposed crimes, growing more outraged with every word.

The accusations were furious and relentless.

Because the incident was so shocking, the livestream's viewership skyrocketed.

Every comment was attacking me.

[What kind of monster protects the person who murdered her own husband? What could that killer possibly have done to deserve such loyalty?]

[Exactly! She wouldn't tell the police anything, and now she's let her daughter die for that murderer. Is this woman out of her mind?]

[If she's protecting the killer this desperately, she must be in on it!]

Amid the flood of curses, Margaret stormed over, her eyes bloodshot, and slapped me hard across the face.

"Joanna, you monster!"

"You actually stood there and watched Aurora die just to protect a murderer?"

"Who could possibly matter more to you than Matthew and your own daughter?"

Margaret was devastated. Her eyes were full of disappointment and hatred as she looked at me.

I stared at Aurora's body lying in a pool of blood.

For the first time, my expressionless face finally broke. Two tears rolled down my cheeks.

But I still said nothing.

When I remained silent, several of the Harrisons' relatives finally lost control.

"Damn it! She protected a murderer, let her husband die without justice, and then drove her own daughter to her death. Why should a monster like her be allowed to live?"

"That's right! If we have to pry the truth out of her, then that's what we'll do!"

"I want to know who this killer is, and why she's so determined to protect them!"

"Let's see if her mouth is tougher than my fists!"

The angrier they got, the more they shouted. Then they rushed at me, cursing and kicking me.

I was knocked to the ground in seconds.

The onlookers actually clapped and cheered, saying someone like me deserved to be taught a lesson.

The livestream comments flooded with people saying they hoped I'd be beaten to death right there.

The endless blows and insults left me physically and emotionally shattered.

At that moment, I seemed to have become the most hated person in the world.

But I thought it was all worth it.

Just as I was being beaten within an inch of my life, someone stepped out of the crowd.

"I'm the one who killed Matthew."