My whole body shook, the pain running through every nerve, unbearable and endless. Owen, unable to see the attacker’s face, grabbed my collar in rage, his eyes wide.
“Juliette! How could you not see who did it? Who was it?!”
Looking at the man I had loved for more than thirty years, I tried to give a weak smile.
“Owen, I really didn’t see.”
“I have night blindness… I couldn’t see anything in the dark.”
Owen froze, his face pale with shock. “Impossible!”
“Zara said before she jumped that you knew who it was!”
My mother slapped me with shaking hands, tears streaming down her face.
“Even if you didn’t see, why didn’t you save her?”
“You could have shouted for help, if you had, she wouldn’t have suffered and died!”
“You killed Zara!”
She struck me again and again, her voice breaking. “Who killed my daughter? Tell me!”
I bit down hard, my lips pressed together, saying nothing.
Owen finally lost control. He grabbed the whip lying beside the gallows and struck me hard across the body.
Pain tore through me as my skin split open, and I screamed in agony like someone losing their mind. But Owen didn’t stop.
“Juliette! Are you going to tell the truth or not?!”
The barbed whip ripped chunks of flesh, blood splattering with each blow. I bit back the pain, my eyes fixed on Owen. Seeing his rage, my heart filled with quiet pity.
“Owen, I did it for your own good.”
“My sister deserved to die.”
The moment those words left my mouth, the crowd burst into furious shouts. “Zara was humiliated and killed herself, and this woman dares to say she deserved it!”
“She called herself a sister for over ten years. How much pain did Zara suffer because of her?”
“If Juliette had spoken up for Zara, she wouldn’t have jumped from that building.”
“There was no murderer, the one who killed Zara was Juliette herself!”
Owen’s eyes turned red as he pressed a knife against his own neck. “You say you love me? If you don’t tell the truth, I’ll die right here in front of you!”
“No!”
My desperate cry broke the memories I had buried deep inside, and they spilled out for everyone to see.
In the dim light before sunset, a man’s face appeared, clear and unmistakable.
Owen’s eyes widened in shock, while my mother fell to the ground, unable to bear it.
“Impossible… this can’t be…”
