My father, who had bravely stood up for justice, was on the verge of being sentenced to life imprisonment. Yet, I sat there calmly, observing my manicured nails. The jury members glared at me indignantly, their eyes as if they could flay me alive. Even the judge proposed a temporary recess, suggesting I sort out my thoughts and evidence. After all, at that moment, I was not only my father’s daughter but also his defense lawyer. I slumped casually in the chair and spoke calmly, “Although you rescued the girl from the clutches of the perpetrator, you continued to stab him after he lost the ability to resist. Legally, this constitutes intentional homicide.” My mother dropped to her knees before me, pleading with tears streaming down her face. “Sienna, please plead for your father. He’s your father!” I evaded her outstretched hand and brandished my lawyer’s license. “I’m sorry. I stand for what’s right, not for my relatives merely because of blood ties.” My mother crumpled to the ground, her forehead beaded with sweat, her voice quivering. “But people say the thug was about to attack your father, and your father was just acting in excessive self-defense. “Sienna, you still haven’t forgiven your father, so you’re deliberately making up an excuse to send him to prison, aren’t you?” Her eyes were filled with suspicion. That thought was justified, though. After all, we had a huge fight before my father’s heroic act. I glanced at my mother and let out a cold snort. “I’m your daughter. You should know me well. Who do you believe, netizens or your own daughter?” My mother was momentarily stunned. Soon, she clutched her chest and began to cry her heart out. “So what are we supposed to do now? Just watch your father be sentenced to life imprisonment?” In the end, she even started retching, clearly on the brink of a complete breakdown. “That’s your biological father who has raised you for twenty-six years. Do you really want to send him to prison with your own hands?” The deep affection between my parents made me, their daughter, seem shockingly cold and detached. But I just smiled indifferently. “Isn’t this a good thing? The prison provides food and shelter. I’ll see that he has a place to spend his remaining years. You don’t need to worry about his basic needs. “Frankly, before my dad acted bravely, he probably didn’t consider how we’d manage if he died. Why worry so much about him now? You might as well find a new partner for yourself.” With that, I poured myself a glass of water, turned on the latest variety show, and burst into laughter watching it, waiting for the court session to resume. When my mother saw my nonchalant demeanor, her eyes turned red. But she was just a housewife, lacking the means to solve this problem on her own. She was at her wits’ end, and this desperate act was the only way she could think of to save her husband. She smashed the cup in my hand and pressed a shard to her neck. “Sienna Walker, I don’t care if you hate your father or if, as you claim, he committed murder on purpose. You must save your father! “So many people online say your father was acting in excessive self-defense. There must be room for negotiation. If you don’t find a way out, I’ll die right in front of you.” The other relatives in the recess room regarded me with disapproval. “Sienna, we may not understand legal matters, but there are people on the internet who do. Now everyone is speaking up for your father. If you have any difficulties, just tell us. You can’t send your father to jail just based on what you’ve said.” My mother suddenly seemed to have an epiphany. She tightly grasped my arm, her eyes pleading. “You want to buy a house, right? Weren’t you arguing with your father because he refused to give you the down payment? “Help your father. Then, I’ll use all our family savings to buy you a house, okay?” The relatives in the recess room seemed to have grasped what they thought was my true motive and looked at me with contempt. Before I could respond, the door was flung open. A relative, who had been sent to gather information, rushed in, his face etched with worry. “I heard that the lawyer hired by the other side is the best in the country and has never lost a case. If the case proceeds like this, Steve may never get out.” He gave me a rather furtive glance. The eyes of an elder in my family flashed with anxiety, and then he fixed me with a stern look. “Sienna, I’m asking you one last time. Are you really going to insist that your father committed murder on purpose and let him spend his entire life in prison?”
Under their expectant yet intense gazes, I nodded slowly but resolutely. At the sight of this, the elder angrily crushed the paper cup in his hand, his face contorted with anger while glaring at me. “I can’t believe our Walker family has such an unfilial daughter as you! “I won’t talk about how your father rushed you to the hospital when you were sick as a child. Do you remember the year before last when you had uremia? It was your father who donated his kidney to you! “If it weren’t for him, would you have a healthy body now? “Not to mention, all the living expenses for your family of three were earned by your father, who worked day and night. Without your father’s hard-earned money to support your studies, could you have become a renowned lawyer today? “Sienna, you can’t be so ungrateful. Your father needs your help right now. If you act so heartlessly, you may get your retribution later!” The elder’s heartfelt questioning was sincere, and by the end, he even choked up. The other relatives also chimed in, pointing their fingers at me. “He’s right. You’re the only daughter in the family, and Steve dotes on you the most. If he doesn’t buy a house for you, who else would he buy it for? He must be considering the current declining housing prices and wants to wait and see. You can’t send your own father to jail just because of this.” “Look, you don’t even have a partner yet. If a man finds out that your father is in prison, who would be willing to marry you? Even for your own future, you have to get your father out.” “That’s right. There’s no such thing as an eternal feud between a father and his daughter. Sienna, we all know you’re a smart girl. You can’t be so foolish now.” The relatives’ chatter grew louder and more insistent. I sat on the sofa, legs crossed, looking composed and unfazed. I seemed impervious to everything around me. Seeing my indifference, my mother crumpled in despair, screaming in pain. She knelt before me once again, pleading desperately, “Sienna, I’m your biological mother who gave birth to you and raised you. I’m begging you, please save your father. “As long as you’re willing to save your father, I’ll transfer all the family’s money to you. Whether you want to buy a house or do something else with it, we won’t interfere. What do you say? “If you think that’s not enough, I’ll sell our house and give you the money, okay?” Upon hearing this, I finally uncrossed my legs and sat up straight. When my mother saw my changed posture, a glimmer of hope flashed across her face, and she hastily swore to me, “Sienna, as long as you promise to help your father, I’ll give you everything we have!” The older relatives present, seeing my mother’s abject state, turned away in anger. I took out my phone and started calculating. The combined assets under my parents’ names were sufficient for me to afford a car and a house easily. This sum of money was enough to fund my father’s defense in the upcoming trial. This seemed like a worthwhile deal.
I looked back at my mother and nodded silently in assent. An impatient look flickered across my mother’s face. “Check if the evidence is complete. Is there anything else you need to prepare? You can’t make any mistakes in the upcoming trial.” My hand reached for the materials on the table, but suddenly I clasped my hands together. “I can help my dad, but what if you go back on your word after the trial? “There should be at least one million dollars in cash at home. Transfer it to me first, and then we’ll sign a property transfer contract. I promise to get my dad acquitted later. How about that?” When my mother heard my words, her face was filled with disbelief. She felt as if she was being toyed with, and her face contorted into a hideous expression. “Most of that money is in paper passbooks, and we have to go to the bank to deal with it. How can I transfer it to you right now? “The court will resume soon. We don’t have the time now. Sienna, please don’t do this! I’m begging you. If you’re really worried, give me a contract, and I’ll sign it now. I will never renege on my promise.” I shrugged. “That won’t do. Even if you sign the contract, if you’re set on being a deadbeat, there’s not much I can do, right? “Either transfer the money now, or my dad goes to jail. The choice is yours.” The other relatives in the recess room could no longer tolerate my actions. The eldest among them even threw the wooden bracelet in his hand at me. “Your father must have done something heinous to have a child as disrespectful and unfilial as you. “Your mother shouldn’t have given birth to you. She should have strangled you at birth!” My eyes sharpened as I stared back at the elder. “This counts as intentional injury, and the minimum sentence is three years. What? Do you want to go to jail and keep my dad company?” The elder’s daughter, my cousin with whom I was quite close, looked at me with disappointment in her eyes. “Sienna! When did you become like this? Did you take money from the other side and do this on purpose? “Is money really more important than your family?” Her eyes were bloodshot, brimming with pain and questions. She hugged my mother tightly and consoled her. “Connie, just leave her alone. No matter how much we plead with a heartless person like her, she won’t help us. “If things turn out to be bad today, we can still appeal for a retrial. Then we can hire a better lawyer, and surely there will be people on the Internet who will come to our aid.” Seeing the devastated look on the face of the only person in my family I was close to, I couldn’t help but feel a momentary pain in my heart. My parents had been too busy to take care of me since I was a child, so I was practically raised by my cousin. When I failed the bar exam the year I graduated from college, it was she who firmly pressured me to quit my job that paid a meager 3,000 dollars a month. She supported me financially each month so that I could focus on preparing for the bar exam. At that time, I vowed to be good to my cousin and her family for the rest of my life. But now, the disappointed looks from my cousin and her father were almost unbearable. I turned my head away silently, not daring to look any longer. Suddenly, the door of the recess room opened. “The court session is about to resume. Please get ready.” It was the court’s messenger. My cousin squeezed my mother’s hand firmly and said, “Connie, don’t worry. Even if the worst-case scenario occurs, we still have hope.” I donned an indifferent facade and sneered. “We’ll see about that.” My mother glared at me with hatred and walked out first. When I was the only one left in the room, I took several deep breaths, trying to hold back the tears that threatened to spill. Once I had composed myself, I took my place in the dock and argued that my father had committed intentional homicide. There was an immediate outcry from the jury, but an even louder commotion came from outside the door. The police on the scene were unable to hold anyone back. A large group of people suddenly burst into the room, each holding a cell phone. “Sienna Walker! How could there be a lawyer and a daughter as morally blind and deranged as you?” “We’ll expose your true colors to the world, even if it means breaking the law and going to jail, to seek justice for Mr. Walker.” I turned to look at the jury, knowing very well that they must have contacted these live-streamers during the recess, attempting to use public opinion to reverse the situation. Sure enough, a glimmer of hope shone brightly on my mother’s face. I stared at the live-streamers being restrained by the police and spoke without the slightest hint of shame, “Do you know that trespassing is illegal? “And Mr. Walker, the ‘hero’ you all claim him to be, actually did kill a young man. How could you want a murderer to be free?” In response, a torrent of curses rained down on me. “That’s bullshit! That guy was molesting a teenage girl. Such scum deserved to die!” “The surveillance footage clearly shows that Mr. Walker was acting in self-defense. At most, it was excessive self-defense. You’re his lawyer and his daughter. How can you not stand up for your own father?” “Someone saw you in contact with the other party’s family before the trial. Did you take bribes? You’re such a heartless monster who cares about nothing but money!” “Aren’t you afraid that there won’t be any more heroes in this country because of you?” “Aren’t you afraid that you’ll encounter the same situation one day, but no one will help you because of your disheartening actions?” I lifted my head, stared straight into their cameras, and smiled. “You’ve wrongly labeled a reckless person as a hero. What we advocate nowadays is to act with wisdom, not just recklessly. “Although his intention was good, he broke the law and must pay the price. If you have the power, you should work on amending the law instead of yelling here.” My taunts sparked a huge uproar, and the viewership of their live-stream rooms skyrocketed. The comments scrolled so fast that they almost looked like a blur, filled with insults aimed at me. But my eyes were fixed on a corner of the jury that no one else was paying attention to. The girl, wearing a mask and a hat, had tears in her eyes, yet she gave me a firm gesture and nodded. My handcuffed father suddenly dropped to his knees, just like my mother had, and looked at the live-streamers. “Please turn off the live stream. Since my daughter says I’m guilty, then I’m guilty. I admit it! “Please don’t cyberbully my daughter. I won’t be able to rest easy in prison if you do!” Then, my father looked up at the judge. “Sir, I plead guilty! Please sentence me to life imprisonment!” He then turned and looked at me. “Sienna, are you satisfied now?” I glanced at the number of viewers in the live-stream room and smiled with satisfaction. “Not yet. I want you sentenced to death!”
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