- 4.
Andrew was losing it, his mind a hurricane of
<
guilt and horror. But before he could beg the judge to stop the procedure, the screen
flickered back to life, showing a new memory.
This one was brutal, raw, and immediate: a
stark contrast to the previous ones.
This memory showed me in my cell.
Three women, my cellmates, were beating
me, each punch and kick aimed to hurt. They
didn’t even try to hide their viciousness, they
said I looked like I had it coming.
I was hurt every day.
And at night, when the pain kept me awake, I
heard the three of them talking.
“So, are we just doing what Dani told us and
<
taking care of Sarah here?”
“What if she gets cold feet and doesn’t pull
any strings to get us out sooner?”
“Whatever. If she tries to double–cross us,
וויו
spill all her secrets. I just gave her the idea of
pulling that old lady’s oxygen plug. She’s the
one who did it, I’m not scared.”
And then the memory ended.
“Memory Extraction of the defendant
complete. Memory exposure procedure has
finished.”
Andrew blinked, feeling something cold
running down his face.
He touched his cheek and found tears.
<
“Why?” Andrew whispered.
What he thought had happened wasn’t even
close to reality. Everything, every single thing,
had been a lie by Dani.
She had killed his mother, and she tried to kill
her own sister, all for money and power.
Sarah was innocent, she never did anything
wrong.
She was actively trying to stop Dani!
Andrew’s head snapped up. Sarah. How was
Sarah doing?
He could still hear her scream and moan from
the pain during the procedure. Why was it so
silent now?
L
The others in the courtroom finally came to
their senses.
“If she’s innocent, then why are you still holding her?”
“Yeah, that Memory Extraction thing is
supposed to be super painful. What if she’s in
trouble?!”
The court officials finally sprang into action,
rushing over to the memory extraction
platform.
“The defendant has stopped breathing!”
“What?” The courtroom erupted, some people
outraged, others in tears for the injustice.
“What are you waiting for? She was wronged,
she suffered so much! Why aren’t you doing anything?”
Andrew just stood there, the words hitting
him like a physical blow. His heart pounded in
his chest.
Stopped breathing? That’s impossible!
She was just fine a minute ago! Andrew
pushed his way to the platform.
“Get out of the way! Don’t touch my Sarah!”
He shoved past people, not letting anyone lay
a finger on her.
He finally reached her, picking her up in his
arms. He cupped her face, his fingers.
shaking. He gently tried to feel her breath on
his hand.
く
But she wasn’t breathing anymore…
The warmth of her breath was gone, gone
forever.
His breath caught. His heart froze, and his
face went ashen.
