3
“It wasn’t me! Why would I confess to something I didn’t do?”
I gritted my teeth, suppressing the pain, and shouted with all my strength.
Hannah, my wife, slapped me hard across the face.
“Zach Sullivan, what have you become?” she snapped. “If you’ve done something wrong, own up to it! What are you, a child? Stop trying to dodge responsibility!”
I swallowed my rising anger and tried to explain again.
“I told you–it wasn’t me! The fact that you’re so desperate to frame me shows you’re hiding something!”
Liam Reed, standing smugly nearby, delivered another vicious kick to my side.
“Zach, the evidence is overwhelming, and you’re still denying it?” he sneered.
“People like you don’t deserve fair trials. You should just be executed on the spot!”
His words struck a nerve with the reporters, who immediately turned their cameras toward him.
Liam’s righteous performance was exactly what they wanted to hear–someone condemning me, a supposed monster who ran over a pregnant woman, killing her and her unborn child.
The crowd erupted.
“Execute him right here!”
“Why waste time with a trial? He deserves to rot in hell for what he’s done!”
“Do you know how many lives he destroyed? Two lives gone in an instant!”
As the mob grew angrier, a man with bloodshot eyes suddenly pushed his way through the crowd. In his hand was
The sight of the blade sent shivers through the crowd, People stepped back cautiously, unsure of what he might do.
The man’s voice cracked with rage as he pointed the knife at me,
“Zach Sullivan, you bastard! Give me back my wife! Give me back my child!”
knife.
This was the husband of the pregnant woman who had been killed. The man who had been eagerly awaiting the birth of his child, only to lose everything in one horrific moment.
Now, he had only one thought in i
3:05 PM
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He raised the knife high, ready to plunge it into my chest.
I was pinned to the ground, powerless to move. Cold sweat dripped down my face as my mind raced.
Was this how it would end–again?
I had been given a second chance at life, but was I doomed to meet the same fate?
I clenched my fists, struggling with everything I had, but it was no use.
Just as I was about to give up, a baton swung through the air, knocking the knife out of the man’s hand.
A young police officer stepped in, shouting, “What the hell are you all doing? Everyone, step back!”
Hannah and Liam immediately took a step back, clearly startled.
But the victim’s family wasn’t ready to let go. They tackled me to the ground again, their grief and fury reaching a boiling point.
“Officer, save me!” I shouted desperately.
Hannah sighed dramatically and muttered, “Zach, even the police are here now. Just
confess already.”
From behind her, Liam chimed in, his voice filled with false indignation.
“That’s right! The police wouldn’t be here if you weren’t guilty. Stop lying!”
The officer frowned and turned to me.
“What’s going on here, Zach? You just got out of detention. How are you already involved in something like this?”
The victim’s husband screamed, his voice raw with grief.
“It’s him! He killed my wife and child! Two lives, gone in an instant! Please, officer, we need justice!”
The crowd roared in agreement, their anger building again.
“He’s a monster! He deserves the death penalty!”
“Yeah! He drove over her again and again–how could anyone do that?”
The officer’s expression darkened.
“Hold on,” he said firmly. “Yesterday? Zach has been in custody for the past seven days. There’s no way he could’ve done this.”
The crowd fell silent for a moment, stunned by the revelation.
“What? That’s impossible!” the victim’s husband stammered.
Liam’s face twitched slightly, and he quickly ducked into the crowd, raising his voice in a shrill tone to redirect their anger.
“Officer, are you seriously trying to cover for a murderer?” he shouted.
Hannah immediately caught on, her voice sharp and cutting.
“That’s right! I’m his wife, and I can testify that Zach is guilty! Are you seriously going to let him get away with this?”
The crowd surged forward again, emboldened by her words. Cameras and microphones turned toward the officer, capturing his every move.
The officer hesitated, frowning as he took a small step back.
Hannah’s voice grew louder, more piercing.
3:05 PM
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“Officer, don’t tell me you’ve been bribed by Zach Sullivan! He’s rich–he thinks he can do whatever he wants!”
The crowd’s anger reached a fever pitch.
The victim’s family pinned me to the ground, their hands trembling with rage. It felt like they would tear me apart at any moment.
The officer’s face hardened.
“That’s enough! We don’t take bribes. If you don’t believe me, you can come to the station and check the records yourself!”
Hearing this, the crowd began to waver. For a moment, the chaos seemed to subside.
But then, Hannah and Liam exchanged a glance.
Hannah suddenly shouted, “We have more evidence!”
My heart sank.
With a triumphant gleam in her eyes, she stepped forward, glaring at me.
“Zach, you thought you could bribe the police and get away with it? Think again! Look who we brought here!”
She stepped aside, and an elderly man slowly walked out from behind her.
He approached me, his expression stern and filled with righteous fury.
Pointing a trembling finger at me, he declared loudly, “It’s him! He’s the one who killed that poor woman and her child!”
I froze, my mind reeling.
“Dad?” I whispered in disbelief.
