Ruby's face twisted with regret as she spoke and slapped herself hard across the cheek. The surrounding crowd watched the heartbreaking scene, their voices filled with sorrow and sympathy. "Huft, everyone in the neighborhood knows how well-behaved and polite this child was. He was such a joy to be around."
"Yeah, I remember how much his family loved him. Now that he's gone, how will they go on?"
"Such a tragedy. A bright little boy, gone just like that. How did he suddenly drown in the pond?"
Amidst the murmurs, a police officer investigating the case approached me with a stern expression, holding a tablet. "We just checked the surveillance footage. It clearly shows you bringing the victim here and forcibly drowning him in the pond."
"Do you have anything to say about this?" he asked as he played the surveillance video for everyone to see. The footage clearly showed me leading my son to the pond, dragging him into the water and holding him down until he stopped struggling. Only then did I let go.
The moment the video ended, all eyes in the crowd turned towards me. Shock, anger and hatred filled their gazes. As I watched the video, a scene I had never witnessed before and faced the eyes of a crowd that seemed ready to tear me apart, I felt like I was reliving my previous life. That same feeling of utter helplessness and despair washed over me once again.
Before I could utter a single word, Ruby stormed toward me, her eyes burning with fury. She slapped me across the face, her voice shaking with rage. "Theo, are you even human? Ronan was your own son! He was only five years old! How could you do this to him?"
My wife's hand trembled, but her slap was forceful, leaving a sharp sting on my cheek. Her bloodshot eyes glared at me with pure hatred, as if she wished she could tear me apart. The scene was eerily familiar.
My heart ached with unbearable pain. Ruby hadn't listened to me then and wouldn't listen now. She had sentenced me with a single slap, crushing all my hopes. Alice clutched my son's lifeless body, glaring at me with overwhelming grief and fury. "What did Ronan ever do to deserve this? Why did you kill him?"
She grew increasingly hysterical, clutching her chest as if she couldn't breathe. The crowd erupted in rage, their voices filled with contempt. "This man is worse than a beast! How could he murder his own son?"