After my best friend was raped and took her own life, I protected the monster responsible. Lily’s mother pleaded on her knees, bowing her head, but I coldly slammed the door shut. When the villagers came to smash my door down and riot, I didn’t hesitate to unleash my dog on them. Ten years later, on my deathbed, suffering from multi-organ failure, my best friend Seraphina, now a furious billionaire, came back for revenge. The first thing she did upon arriving in town was to force me onto the Memory Judgment Platform, a device usually reserved for death row inmates. “Elara, you despicable animal for protecting a rapist! Lily and I must have been blind to ever call you a friend!” “Lily has been dead for ten years, and you let her attacker escape justice for ten years!” “Today, I’m going to use the memory extractor I developed to see who exactly you’ve been protecting!” But when the perpetrator’s face appeared on the big screen, Seraphina’s face drained of all color, turning ashen white. … Seraphina made a huge spectacle of my trial. The entire town gathered in the square, packed to the brim with people. Reporters set up their cameras, live streaming the scene across all major platforms. I, suffering from multi-organ failure, kept alive only by a drip of medication and nutrients, was dragged to the front of the square like a criminal. A man lunged at me, clamping his hands around my neck, roaring: “Elara, why did you protect the monster!” “You animal! You destroyed my family and took away my loved ones! Why don’t you just die!” He choked me until I could barely breathe, my vision blurring to black. The crowd erupted in a furious roar, their emotions boiling over: “It’s this heartless bitch! Her friend was raped, she knew the attacker, but she kept silent!” “Her friend drowned herself, and she wouldn’t even open the door for the victim’s mother, even after her forehead bled from pleading!” “Even worse, she unleashed her dog on people! It’s absolutely disgusting!” A torrent of insults drowned me. Seraphina stood to the side, her brow deeply furrowed in a tangled knot of confusion and anger. In this world, apart from Lily’s family, No one hated me more than her. Ten years ago, Lily, Seraphina, and I were the closest of friends. After Lily was assaulted in the woods near my house and took her own life, my friendship with Seraphina also crumbled. All because Lily’s suicide note mentioned that I had seen the attacker. I became the rapist’s accomplice. And I, I truly had protected the monster. Seraphina approached me, her face cold, her voice devoid of any warmth: “Elara, I’m giving you one last chance.” “Tell us who the attacker is now, turn yourself in to the police, it’s not too late…” “Otherwise, once the memory extractor starts, the high-frequency pulses will make every bone in your body feel like it’s been pulverized a thousand times over, and you won’t get another chance to excuse yourself!” Hearing this, my face went deathly pale. I struggled desperately, screaming out: “Sera, no!” “You can’t extract my memories!” Seraphina gripped my hand tightly, gritting her teeth: “Scared?” “It’s not up to you!” “I have to get justice for Lily!” I begged through choked sobs, tears streaming down my face: “Sera, please listen to me. My memories can’t be revealed, you’ll regret it!” Seraphina scoffed, her eyes burning crimson as she leaned closer to me: “Regret?” “My biggest regret was ever being friends with you!” Two bodyguards immediately clamped me into an iron chair, cold metal locking my hands and feet. Ignoring my fierce resistance, I was forcibly held down, and a chilling helmet was placed on my head. In an instant, a thousand needles pierced my scalp, drilling deep into my brain. I convulsed and shrieked in agony, feeling as though my soul was being torn apart. Even so, the onlookers below were still whipped into a frenzy. They pelted the stage with rotten produce and garbage, their mouths filled with curses directed at me. “Toxic friend! Disgusting! Rot in hell, you piece of trash!” On the big screen, my memories began to rewind. 2. The first scene was from three days after Lily’s death. I was dragged to Lily’s tombstone, and everyone demanded to know who the attacker was. They spat on me, they threw rocks at me. My arm was gripped tightly, my hair pulled wildly. Countless fists rained down on me; I was left bruised and battered, covered in wounds. I fled the scene in a panic, angry villagers chasing behind me. In front of me, flames roared towards the sky; my house had been burned down by the enraged villagers. I was utterly helpless. Homeless, I took Buddy and ran deep into the mountains. But the villagers found me again. Right in front of me, they skinned Buddy alive, the dog I’d grown up with. They cooked him into a stew. I clutched Buddy’s leg bone, crying heartbrokenly. That year, I was an orphan, just 16 years old. Seraphina stared at my tear-streaked face on the big screen and sneered. “Elara, isn’t this exactly what you deserve?” “If you hadn’t protected the monster, would people have treated you like this? Do you actually feel sorry for yourself?” “You’re the last person in the world who deserves pity! You’re an accomplice, and this is all on you!” Others chimed in: “Seriously, no shame! Does she really think she can defend herself?” “Trying to play the victim with these sad memories? How pathetic! Protecting a criminal makes you an accomplice! You deserve to burn in hell!” “Who do you think you are, trying to gain sympathy? Lily’s family was destroyed, their child dead, her mother driven mad – who isn’t more pathetic than you!” Just then, the clear laughter of a girl echoed from the big screen. “Lily! Slow down!” Lily’s youthful, innocent face appeared on the screen. In a vast snowy landscape, Lily, her face beaming with a smile, ran towards me. “Take this!” She threw a snowball at me. “My daughter!” Lily’s father cried out, collapsing in front of the big screen. Gazing at Lily’s smiling face on the screen, he could no longer hold back his sobs. Ten years ago, after Lily’s suicide, this once cheerful and talkative man had his hair turn white overnight. Every day since then, he would go to the police station, asking the officers: “Have you caught the attacker?” But each time, he was met with a helpless shake of their heads. At that time, there were no surveillance cameras in the village, and my house stood alone. No one knew who had followed Lily that night. And the only one who knew the truth was me. After a bout of playful chasing, I stood solemnly before the altar, making a heartfelt wish: “Please, Lord, bless my friends with health and happiness, and may our friendship last forever…” Seeing my devotion, Seraphina could no longer control her rage. “Elara, you pathological liar! You heartless bitch!” She rushed forward, pointing an angry finger at me and cursing: “You have the nerve to reminisce about our childhood! Who are you trying to sicken?” “Ten years! You never once told the truth! Do you even deserve to be our friend?” Sure enough, the next scene showed me secretly discarding a mango Lily had given me. The onlookers erupted: “What the hell, she pretends to like it to her face but throws it away behind her back!” “Seraphina and Lily were so good to her, is this how she treats her friends? She’s nothing but a selfish, cold-hearted monster!” Seraphina knew I was severely allergic to mangoes. But she didn’t explain to the crowd; instead, she listened as they continued to mock me: “She probably never imagined that Seraphina would become a billionaire and come back to settle scores!” “CEO Hayes, keep going! We can’t wait to see the monster’s face!” Amidst the insults and urging from the crowd, the memory on the big screen shifted scenes again. 3. Seraphina’s desperate, agonizing cries came from the big screen: “Lily! Don’t die!” That was the day Lily’s body was pulled from the river. It was a gloomy, rainy day, and Seraphina and I collapsed, weeping hysterically, over Lily’s body. She was bloated, her entire body cold and stiff. Completely unlike the beautiful, smiling girl I remembered. I returned home in despair, curling up in a corner, crying uncontrollably. “Ah!” I repeatedly pounded my chest, the pain of losing my dearest friend nearly tearing me apart. On the judgment platform, my eyes were tightly shut, tears silently streaming down my face. My broken sobs echoed: “Lily! Why did you have to die?!” My tears flowed relentlessly, my entire being immersed in endless agony. My heartbroken appearance stunned the entire crowd: “What’s going on?” “Why does she look so sad? How could she…” Lily’s father, seething with anger, shouted: “Crocodile tears!” He gritted his teeth: “That year, my wife knelt at her doorstep, her forehead bleeding, and Elara wouldn’t even open the door!” “She even set her dog on people! How could someone like that be a good person?” “Our Lily was her childhood playmate, yet this is how she treated her deceased friend’s mother!” Just then, Lily’s mother appeared on the scene, clutching a doll. Her hair wild and disheveled, she kept mumbling: “Lily, my sweet girl, don’t be scared!” The entire crowd erupted in anger once more. Seraphina’s face was a canvas of shock and fury, shifting from white to ashen. She rushed forward, violently shaking me with both hands, her bloodshot eyes wide as she screamed furiously: “Elara, look! This is the tragedy you caused by protecting that monster!” “You had no parents, and Lily and I, we took you in when you became an orphan at seven, we were always there for you, yet this is how you repay us!” With that, she raised her hand in a fit of uncontrollable rage and slapped me across the face. “You still think you can gain sympathy!” “You killed Lily, do you think these memories will make me soften my heart?” Her chest heaved violently, tears falling without warning, her eyes filled with boundless brokenness and struggle. “Lily is dead!” “But the one who killed her is you! It’s you, Elara!” She shook me furiously, the hatred in her eyes practically tearing me apart. Lily’s death had been a devastating tsunami that ripped through her life, leaving behind an endless, crushing dampness of grief. Suddenly, Seraphina straightened up, wiping away her tears. In an instant, her sorrow and despair were replaced by an icy resolve. “Elara, I’m telling you, I won’t stop until I find the attacker!” “Once I find that monster, I’ll make sure you both burn in hell together!” Her face grim, she motioned for the technical staff to expand the extraction range. She had lost all patience for my act. The technician quickly stepped up, adjusting the control panel. The red needle on the instrument shot up, and the fine needles in the helmet instantly plunged deeper into my brain. “Ah!” My agonizing scream tore through the square. Violent currents surged through my brain, and flashes of white light exploded before my eyes. My body convulsed, my hands and feet struggling wildly, but the chains held me fast. Blood trickled from my nostrils, ears, and the corners of my eyes, dripping onto the cold iron chair. My chest felt scorched by fire. The images on the big screen flickered erratically. One moment it was a classroom, the next a stream, then a mountain path. All happy memories of Seraphina, Lily, and me, the three of us together. But there was no scene of the night Lily was assaulted. The crowd grew restless, and the live stream’s comments section exploded: “What’s going on? Why are there no memories of her friend being raped that night?” “Didn’t she say she saw the monster?” Seraphina frowned, turning to the technician with a low voice: “What’s happening?” “Why can’t you find the memory of the attacker appearing?!” The technician wiped the cold sweat from his forehead, stammering: “CEO Hayes, she… she seems to be fighting the system…” “Refusing to let that memory be extracted!” 4. “What? Refusing to be extracted?” Seraphina’s face registered shock, and her sinister gaze swept over me. She slammed her hand on the table, shouting sharply: “Elara! At this point, you’re still resisting?” “Who is so important that you’d risk everything, even your life, to protect them? They’re just a rapist!” Ten years ago, Seraphina had questioned me just as sharply. When Lily’s suicide note was made public, I became the biggest criminal. Everyone was demanding to know who the attacker was. Seraphina’s initial disbelief that I would protect the monster turned to doubt, then to outright suspicion, all in less than a day. Only she knew that I had hidden in a mountain cave with Buddy. When Buddy was skinned alive, I pleaded desperately, but she picked up a stick and brought it down hard on my head. Blood instantly blurred my vision. Her eyes bulging with rage, she glared at me: “Elara, we grew up together, we treated you like a friend, what did you think of us?” “For the sake of a rapist, you abandoned your most important friends!” That night, I was nearly beaten to death by the villagers. Seraphina’s mother pulled the enraged Seraphina away, and two days later, they moved their entire family to another state, never to return. Now, Seraphina’s eyes were as cold as ice, fixed on me. She waved her hand, her voice sharp and resolute: “Continue to expand the extraction range! I won’t stop until I achieve my goal!” The technician hesitated: “But, CEO Hayes, her body is very weak right now, and she’s extremely resistant. If we continue to expand the memory extraction range…” “She might not be able to take it!” Seraphina scoffed, her words laced with icy sarcasm. “Can’t take it?” “I’ve spent years researching this, all to find out the truth from back then!” “Her life or death, I don’t care!” “It’s best if scum like her dies!” As her words fell, the technician nervously adjusted the parameters higher. The machine’s hum surged, climbing to a piercing shriek, and the needles in the helmet plunged violently deeper into my brain. “Ah!” My screams tore through the square. Blood gushed from my nostrils, ears, and the corners of my eyes simultaneously. My chest felt as if it were burning, and my entire body convulsed wildly in the chair. Cold sweat streamed down the technician’s forehead, his voice trembling: “CEO Hayes… should I continue?” “She… she’s almost at her limit!” Seraphina stared at the big screen, her expression dark. “Continue.” She parted her thin lips, her voice utterly devoid of warmth. The machine roared, and the display screen shook violently. That was my consciousness struggling. My screams and tormented cries echoed overhead, a horrifying sight. Seraphina’s eyes were bloodshot, and she shrieked almost hysterically: “Elara, who is it?!” “Who is worth this level of protection from you?” She suddenly broke down, sobbing uncontrollably, burying her face in my shoulder, tears streaming down. “We were your friends, weren’t we?” Her body shook violently, crying beyond control. Warm tears fell on my hand. Hearing her cries, I trembled all over. A sudden pang twisted in my heart. My friend, Sera, was crying. I instinctively raised my hand, wanting to wipe away her tears. But in that moment of weakness, the memory I had desperately hidden appeared on the big screen. Gasps rippled through the crowd. Seraphina whirled around in shock, and when she saw that familiar face on the big screen, her entire face went white.
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