The Live Verdict

I stepped up to the platform to stand on trial. On the large screen before me, comments flooded in in real-time."She's the first person brave enough to stand on trial!""Criminals will only surrender in the face of irrefutable evidence.""The show's about to begin!"Before we started, the judge gave me one final warning. "Defendant, are you aware of the trial process and understand its consequences? Are you sure you want to go through it?"If I were found guilty on trial, I would be euthanized on the spot, and the ownership of my organs would go to my parents.Then, they would be able to use my heart to save Suzy Jones.Over at the plaintiff's seat, my biological parents glared at me in disdain.They were so certain that they would win this trial.I couldn't understand why. I was their biological daughter, yet they had spent years tormenting me, loathing me, and hurting me.Now, they even wanted to rip my heart from me.There were plenty of times when I suspected that Suzy

Everything came to a halt. Only the scrolling comments on the screen remained moving."They're so inhumane! The parents should be the ones on trial!""Is she really their biological daughter? They treated her worse than an enemy!""Members of the jury," the judge said, "please deliver your verdict. You may choose to declare the defendant entirely not guilty, or you may judge this specific charge alone. If other charges remain valid, the defendant will still be deemed guilty,"All 33 votes declared me innocent.…"Even if her family's a wretched bunch, I have a feeling she might retaliate in a horrible manner later.""Yeah. She can't be that weak and innocent all the time. I'm sure she's done something."The next charge brought by my parents against me was announced. "Absconding with 200,000 dollars meant for a wedding gift and disappearing without a word, leaving a massive debt on her parents."The comments flooded in again."Just as I thought, she'd done something outrageous

I even wondered if these were really my parents.The second time I met Suzy, I was ten.It was Thanksgiving. Suzy and her family came to my house for dinner, and our parents agreed to go on a trip to Aloria.On that day, my parents had an emergency to handle, so Suzy's parents took me along in their car.On the journey, they started arguing again. The argument became a two-sided silent treatment, and neither spoke to the other.Suzy and I sat in the backseat, frightened by the tense atmosphere in the car. We did not dare to say anything either.Suddenly, Suzy reached out to her mother, who was in the front passenger seat. "Mom, don't be angry."Her mother was still furious. She whipped out a hand to push her away just as Suzy retracted hers—the motion was too forceful and ended up slapping Suzy's father in the face.Suzy's father was furious. He lunged at her and struck her across the face.Just as he let go of the steering wheel, a large rock slid down the slope.By the time

My father shouted, "Take this liar away! She's the one who should be punished!"I stood up. "Your Honor, I request to extract Suzy Jones's memories."The courtroom was in chaos right now. The jury was whispering fervently amongst themselves, and the comments were rolling so thickly across the screen that it was impossible to make out the individual words.The judge was silent in thought for a moment before nodding in agreement.Suzy kept struggling, unwilling to subject herself to the trial, but her resistance was futile. She was forced to wear the memory extraction device.Images began appearing on the screen.A lawyer placed a contract before her. "Both of your parents purchased a life insurance policy and named you as the benefactor. The payout amounts to several million dollars. However, you're still a minor, so the money will be managed by your new guardians."That said, they will only have custodial rights and no authority to spend the money. You're the only one who can u