The women started to strip Verena off her clothing to give her a good beating.
But before she could open all the buttons, a stern voice came from the door. "What are you doing?"
The leader flinched, her hand springing open as she let go of her shirt.
"Verena was sick and I was just concerned for her." The female gang leader instantly smiled apologetically.
"145! Come out now!"
Verena opened her eyes and looked at the ceiling confusedly. She thought she heard wrong number.
It wasn't until she was out of prison that she realized it was real.
She almost cried tears of joy.
"Are you Ms. Bradbury?" A man's voice asked coldly.
The man in a suit stood before Verena, and a black car was parked right behind him.
Another man with shades could be seen vaguely inside the car, watching her.
She nodded. "Yes, that's me. You…"
The man did not answer but turned around and spoke politely to the man in shades seated in the car. "Second Young Master, it's her."
"Bring her over!" The man in shades barked the words.
"Yes, sir! At once!" The man quickly replied.
Verena, who was still confused, was pushed into the car and sat next to the man in shades.
"What are you doing?" Verena shouted for the man who previously pushed her like she couldn't walk; she glared at him as he closed the door.
She wanted to open the door, but the 'irk' sounded, and the doors were locked.
She immediately felt a cold, murderous aura coming from the man beside her.
She turned slowly towards him, and when she saw his face, she could only look at him.
Although he was wearing shades, half of his face was covered with them. She glanced at his hearted lips and the sharp jawline as if he just walked out of the magazine.
"I am Louis Heisenberg." The man introduced himself coldly. He looked like he was forcing himself to say so.
Verena suddenly thought his voice was familiar, but she hadn't met anyone in four years and three months. How in the world did she feel he was familiar?
Verena could not help but shiver and ask gently, "I'm going to receive my death sentence, right?" She paused, wanting to tell him.
"I know you haven't ask me but It's not me! I didn't kill him." She started, but—
"I'm taking you to get a marriage certificate, Verena!"
Why had my name rolled off his tongue like he was more than familiar with it? She thought.
Wait a minute.
WHAT THE HELL!
Her heartbeats collided with a crash.
Verena was speechless!
What just did he say? She was looking at him with wide eyes, as if she couldn't grasp what he said.
"What did you say?" She thought she had heard it wrong.
He had a face that could bring disaster upon a country. He was cold and arrogant and completely matched to the women's fantasies of a domineering Vice President.
Therefore, even though she hadn't seen him all these years, Verena still recognized him now.
But why was he here?
Louis turned around and saw Verena staring at him. He frowned slightly.
...
Four years ago, the courtroom was filled with people sitting and waiting anxiously for the criminal to arrive.
Murmurs and whispers filled the air, fueled by the expectation of witnessing a horrific individual.
Suddenly, the doors swing open, and in walked Verena Bradbury, a young girl barely twenty years old.
Whispers turned into hushed gasps as the crowd laid their eyes on Verena.
People expected a hardened criminal, but instead they saw a young girl who looked almost innocent.
Shock quickly turned into anger, and the quiet whispers grew into furious shouts.
"Is that her? That can't be the monster we were expecting!" One of the man spoke in shock.
"How can someone so young be capable of such evil?"
Verena's eyes swept across the room and stopped on the Vandeleur family her uncle and aunt, sitting proudly in front.
Her eldest cousn, Nicholas wasn't there, and that broke her heart.
Behind them, she saw her boyfriend, Vincent and he was sitting beside her evil cousin Arriana.
Their eyes met. For a moment his gaze softened, but then he clenched his fist and looked away.
Verena swallowed hard and turned to face the lawyer.
The courtroom was loud with whispers until the judge struck his gavel for silence. Slowly, the noise died down, and the trial began.
The opposing lawyer, Mr. Lee, stepped forward with a smirk.
"Ms. Bradbury, I hope you understand how serious these accusations are. Let's start. Where were you on the night of the incident?"
Verena took a shaky breath. Her eyes flickered to her uncle, who glared at her, silently warning her to speak.
"I—I was at an after-semester party."
"And why did you go to that party?"
"I was invited by Declan," Verena said nervously. "He insisted I come. There weren't many people my age, so I thought it would be nice to socialize."
Mr. Lee raised a brow. "So, you entered the club willingly?"
"Yes," Verena replied quickly, her voice rising. "But I had no bad intentions. I only wanted to spend the evening with them."
Mr. Lee smirked. "And yet, you were found at the crime scene… holding the murder weapon. How do you explain that, Miss Bradbury?"
Verena's eyes filled with tears, but she forced herself to stay strong. No one here deserved to see her cry.
"He… he was harassing me," she said quietly. "He wouldn't leave me alone. That night, when things got worse, I grabbed the weapon to protect myself. I never wanted this to happen!"
Lies!
All was lies that she was telling.
She wanted to tell them the truth about the night but one look from her uncle gave her headache.
She needed her mother to recover soon, she is sick and needed money to heal.
"Your Honor, my client was a victim of harassment and acted only in self-defense. She had no malicious intent." Verena's lawyer spoke up.
But Verena knew the truth that no lawyer had wanted to represent her.
The Vandeleurs had made sure of that.
"Your Honor, the accused has admitted to killing the victim. The only verdict possible is guilty." Mr. Lee quickly cut in, turning to the judge.
Verena's voice broke as she tried again. "I didn't want this… I had no choice. It was desperation."
She was bullied that night badly but all she got was scheming from Vandeleur's.
The room erupted in shouts and accusations, the crowd clearly swayed by the Vandeleurs. The judge slammed his gavel until silence returned.
Finally, the judge spoke, his voice heavy.
"Miss Bradbury, after reviewing the evidence and your testimony, this court finds you guilty. You are hereby sentenced to four years in prison."
No! This is not happening!
She turned to look at Vincent. The only man she loved and cared.
She saw him coaxing crying Arriana. He was so worried for her that he didn't even look at her.
She kept looking, begging for help until she was taken by guards out of the room.