The only thing my sister left me before she died had been dismissed as something ominous.
My fingers turned icy as I gripped the handle of my suitcase. I didn’t dare look at the two pretenders in front of me for another second. If I stayed any longer, I would be sick to my stomach.
I was just about to leave when my phone suddenly vibrated.
“Julia, come to the hospital now. Your father… he’s been beaten and crippled…”
My mother’s voice trembled with tears, nearly choking.
The living room fell silent.
Heidi and Caleb heard everything, yet neither of them said a word of concern. Not even the slightest hint of guilt crossed their faces.
I didn’t spare them another glance. I ran straight out the door.
By the time I rushed to the hospital, my legs were already giving out.
My father lay on the bed with his eyes tightly shut. His face was mottled with bruises, his chest wrapped in thick bandages, and his leg shattered into a comminuted fracture, encased in a cast that made it look like a cold block of stone.
The moment my mother saw me, her tears fell instantly. She clutched my hand, voice shaking as she told me what had happened.
My father ended up like this… because of Caleb.
All because he wanted to protect his childhood sweetheart, who was pregnant. All because my father happened to glance at Heidi as he walked by.
Caleb hadn’t asked a single question, hadn’t confirmed anything. He attacked my father on the spot, calling him a pervert and claiming he had “frightened a pregnant woman.”
Hearing this felt like someone splitting me open with bare hands.
Looking at my father, barely clinging to life, I forced down my trembling and called the police.
Soon, the court date arrived.
That day, Caleb and Heidi walked into the courtroom hand in hand, as if they were attending a casual gathering.
When they saw me, there was no guilt on their faces, not even the faintest hint of unease. It was as if the person they had hurt wasn’t a living human being, but simply a piece of useless trash.
“Do we really have to make this such a big deal, Julia?”
Caleb stood behind me, his tone filled with impatience and judgment.
I didn’t look back. I only said coldly, “You forced me to this.”
Then I strode into the courtroom, refusing to look at their disgusting faces again.
The trial began.
Caleb immediately put on a righteous expression, his voice firm and clear, as though he were the victim.