That slap sent me crashing to the ground. However, the real pain landed straight in my heart.
Just like in my past life, Arnold went from defending me to despising me in an instant.
He never once asked for my side of the story or asked what really happened. He just joined the crowd in condemning me as a murderer.
The onlookers, who didn’t even know the full story, started screaming and pointing at me.
"Why don't people like you go to hell? You kill people and feel no remorse. You even said something like that!"
"This woman is so evil and malicious. She's already got a husband, but you’re out here whoring around like it’s nothing. I bet she was messing around in the car, lost control and killed them!”
“She’s lower than scum. How can this kind of person deserve to live in the world? If I were her husband, I’d beat her to death myself!”
Their outrage only grew louder. A few of them clenched their fists and started moving toward me.
The police, sensing things might spiral out of control, quickly put up a barricade and stepped in.
One officer looked at me sharply and said, “We’ve just reviewed the surveillance footage from the city’s street cams. What we saw matches the accounts given by eyewitnesses.”
“All the evidence points directly to you. We need your full cooperation. Be honest and give us the name and contact information of the man who was in the car with you. We’ll need to investigate him too," he added.
Even if I asked them to check for fingerprints inside the car, it would be useless. Whoever set this up came fully prepared.
I knew then that at this moment I was reliving the nightmare of my past life. The same crushing sense of despair and helplessness of not being able to defend myself surrounded me.
However, I forced myself to stand tall and with steel determination, I said, “I’ve been at home all day and never left. I don’t even know the man in that video.”
“Officer, please … look this case deeper. I don’t care if you arrest me, but if you stop here, the real criminal will walk free. That family of three … they’ll have died for nothing.”
The way he looked at me changed instantly … his eyes filled with judgment, like he was staring at a remorseless killer.
“There are multiple eyewitnesses, physical evidence and the footage from your car’s dashcam." He added, "Everything clearly shows you were there. In such a short time, who do you think could fake all of that? If it wasn’t you behind the wheel, who was it? You have a long-lost twin or something?”
I also wondered who it was. If I had a twin sister, this whole thing would be easily resolved.
However, I knew for sure that I was the only child. My mother almost died giving birth to me and after that, my father had a vasectomy. There was no chance of some secret sibling showing up … much less one who looked and sounded exactly like me.
So, who was this woman pretending to be me? How could her voice be identical to me? To this day, I still do not have the answer.
I shook my head slowly in resignation. This made the crowd start throwing insults again.
"Even after the evidence is so clear, you're still trying to lie your way out of it. I think she is worse than those old-time femme fatales!”
“God knows what kind of parents raised someone like her! If I were her father, I’d have sat on her at birth and saved the world the trouble!”
I knew this was already blowing up online.
It wouldn’t take long before people started digging through my family’s personal info in the name of justice.
In my previous life, the moment I was taken away, my parents were surrounded at home by angry vigilantes claiming they were “bringing justice.”
My parents were beaten and cursed in every possible way. One day, while out, they were hit and killed by a car driven by one of the victim’s family members.
As for me, things weren’t any better while I was in custody. Once the other inmates heard about my case, although they were also criminals, they acted like righteous messengers of justice so they beat me to death.
I did not want to relive my life only to end up with the same fate. This time, I have to protect my parents and clear my name.
My mind raced as bits and pieces of my experiences in both lives constantly flashed through my mind.
Just a split second before the police officer was about to handcuff me, I shouted urgently, “I know who the real perpetrator is!”
