Year 2050, at the Memory Tribunal.
The young woman in the defendant's chair sat completely out of it, her face blank as her eyes stared into nothing. Her features were delicate, but her body was frail—signs of being malnourished for way too long. Her wrists, thin as dead twigs, were covered in scars.
The gallery was packed, and the huge screen flooded with live comments. Almost the whole country was watching the livestream, because the woman on trial was Riley Walker—the infamous girl accused of setting fire to a children's center in Boston three years ago. A fire that led to a car crash costing her biological sister her legs, and a whole mess of plotting against her own blood family.
"Finally, we get to see Riley the liar's memories. She's been playing the appeal card forever, swearing she didn't do it. Let's see how she spins this now!"
"A hundred kids, burned alive, and only two survivors! And there's Cleo—once a dancer with a real future, now stuck in a wheelchair because of her!"
"The Walkers deserved none of this. They raised Riley like their own, even with her being deaf in one ear. And how does she pay them back? By nearly destroying the whole family!"
"I heard her real mom was just a cleaner. Low-class trash from the start! Probably switched the babies on purpose!"
From the jury bench, the Walker family glared at Riley with pure hatred burning in their eyes. Mrs. Walker's eyes were bloodshot, like she wanted to devour Riley alive. "What's there to judge? Just let her face justice! She destroyed us... If I'd known what she'd turn into, I'd have ended this nightmare early!"
Sean Walker and Riley's brother, Liam, spoke coldly. "The evidence against her is crushing. These memory trials just reopen wounds. Why drag this out?"
Memory trials were tech developed twenty years back—they let you tap straight into a criminal's mind using electromagnetic waves, pull out memories, and project them for everyone to see. Since that tech hit the scene, any claims of innocence had become a joke.
The presiding judge slammed the gavel. "This trial was requested by the defendant herself. The gallery will remain silent. We'll now begin, reviewing memories for each charge brought by the plaintiff."
"The trial is now in session."
The Walker family was stunned.
Memory extraction was a long process that could seriously fry the brain—risking memory loss, or even turning someone into a vegetable. Riley was clearly desperate, ready to throw everything away rather than plead guilty!
Liam let out a bitter laugh. "Does she think playing the victim is gonna soften us up? That's laughable."
But then, the big screen flickered to life.
The judge said, "The first accusation involves the alleged switch of Riley's biological mother and another infant, resulting in Cleo enduring years of hardship."
"This accusation is somewhat vague since everyone involved was just a baby, but the overall sequence of events is still clear."
The Walkers' faces turned to stone.
Cleo's switch was their deepest regret—a wound they could barely stand to reopen now.
Sean Walker held his wife close, his voice sharp as a blade. "What good does digging up this old crap do? We spared that cleaner mother from justice for switching the kids, letting Cleo suffer like this. But Riley had zero excuse to turn on us just because she was jealous of Cleo!"
The judge stayed quiet, simply starting the playback.
The images began to move.
Several infants were sleeping peacefully in the hospital nursery. One baby, with angelic little features, stood out as especially beautiful.
A woman in humble clothes stepped in, gently lifted a baby, and looked down at her with so much tenderness it hurt.
The comments started buzzing.
"Is that the cleaner? Did she take Cleo? She's about to swap the babies now, right?"
"Even as a baby, Cleo was gorgeous—miles above the rest!"
But Mrs. Walker couldn't tear her eyes from the child next to her own. Her voice trembled, her eyes growing misty. "That's my Cleo... Why didn't I notice the switch right then? It cost my girl everything!"
"That monster! If she wasn't already dead, I'd make her pay just like Riley's going to!"
The crowd slowly caught on: the woman holding the baby was Riley's mom.
"My sweet darling, my little one. Daddy and the grandparents will come take us home soon."
The woman kissed Riley's forehead. Just then, a nurse called from outside, "Room 39, time for your check-up. If all looks good, you can be discharged today."
The woman nodded, set the baby down gently, and left the room.
Not long after, a woman with narrow, shifty eyes slunk in, back bent.
"Think you're something special 'cause you got money? What's so great about a stuck-up little girl? Let me toss this brat out, and we'll see how proud you are then!"
The old lady muttered under her breath, scanning the babies' wristbands.
When her eyes landed on Cleo next to Riley, they turned dangerous. In a flash, she swiped the tag, scooped Cleo up, and slipped out of the room.
Sean's face drained of color. "Cleo!"
"Why did that person take my child?! We don't even know her!"
Mrs. Walker shook, her voice cracking. "I remember now..."
"When I had Cleo, this old woman's grandson nearly ran into me. I reprimanded him a little. For something this petty, she took my baby?"
"Then how did Riley end up as my child..."
The judge resumed the playback.
Soon, the Walkers' nanny rushed in. She spotted only an empty baby wristband on the bed, and her face went ghost white.
"Miss Cleo's gone... I'm dead. If the Walkers find out their baby's missing, they'll kill me!"
She spun around to search for the kid, but then heard Mrs. Walker's voice from the hallway. "Auntie Smith, bring the baby out. We're leaving."
The nanny's lips quivered with terror. "...Yes, ma'am, right away!"
She glanced around fast, saw no one, then snatched up Riley, slapped Cleo's wristband on her, and marched out of the ward.
All three Walkers were speechless. The screen blew up with shocked reactions.
"Wait—so the switch wasn't Riley's mom's doing? That crazy old lady did it out of spite, and the nanny swapped Riley for Cleo just to save her own skin?"
"By that logic, Riley and her mom were totally innocent. They got shoved into a fake life they never asked for."
"Are you all insane? Riley grew up in luxury as a Walker! If it were me, I'd be kissing the ground! Riley and her mom should have been grateful!"
"Is nobody wondering how the hell Cleo ended up with Riley's mom?"
The Walkers shifted their focus to the judge. "Why did Cleo get raised by Riley's mom? Maybe this whole thing was a setup from the get-go!"
The judge slammed the gavel again. "For this accusation, we've gathered memories from other involved parties. This will help us piece the full truth together. Please continue to observe."
