Chapter 2

It was a scene showing Tanya's hospital room. Tanya was emaciated, but her pregnant belly was huge and clearly visible, creating an unsettling contrast against her wasted body. After the doctor completed the comprehensive examination, he delivered the news with a grim expression. "Ms. Sutton's prognosis is dire, as her chances of recovery are almost nonexistent. Her body also can't handle an abortion, so the optimal course of action is to proceed with the delivery of the child." Jasmine slumped in despair, clutching Tanya's body and wailing loudly. I stood by the bedside, my eyes hollow and devoid of feeling, as though I had no part in the unfolding events. In the memory, Timothy exploded with fury. He grabbed my hair and brutally hauled me over to Tanya's bed, then savagely slammed my head against the cold, hard tiles. "Why are you refusing to talk? Have we, the Sutton family, ever mistreated you? Have I not treated you well enough? Have you no conscience at all, Miranda?" In an instant, the crowd at the venue was overcome by indignation. "What a catastrophic tragedy for the Sutton family! They not only have a daughter in a vegetative state, but they can't even get rid of the baby that came from her terrible ordeal!" "Miranda is nothing short of a monster! How could she not show even a shred of emotion after seeing her best friend reduced to a vegetative state?" "It's possible she was jealous of Tanya, and that's why she caused her such suffering." Jasmine surged forward in a fit of emotion, raking her nails across my face. She grabbed the memory extractor and drove the needle with all her might, forcing it deeper into my brain while yelling, "How could you live a normal life when Tanya will never wake up again?" I screamed in unbearable pain, my blood spraying onto Timothy's crisp suit pants. He averted his gaze, refusing to spare me a glance, and issued a chilling instruction to the technicians, "I need you to extend the search parameters. I want to know the truth!" That sudden, brutal shock to my system instantly triggered a jump in the memory playback. It was a memory of when Timothy hauled me to a notorious slum. He removed my clothes and suspended me inside a ruined warehouse packed with tattered vagrants eyeing me like hungry predators as they groped me with their filthy hands. With his bloodshot eyes, Timothy gripped my chin and interrogated me, asking, "Who is the criminal you're risking your life for, Miranda?" I was visibly shaking, my body convulsing in fear, but I locked down my resolve. I replied through gritted teeth, "I have no idea." Timothy was driven to a complete frenzy by my defiance. His gaze hardened as he said deliberately, "If you're so fond of that brothel, then I'll make sure that your body is used to your heart's content today, Miranda!" At that moment, someone passed him a cigarette, and through the hazy plume of smoke, Timothy spoke up, his voice piercing and sharp like a dagger, cutting me to the core. "Go and hand over Miranda to those vagrants—one dollar per transaction, and no one is to be turned away. Those earnings will be used to purchase Tanya's beloved irises. Deliver them directly to her hospital room." In the next instant, what unfolded was the horror I had buried deep down, an experience I had prayed I would never relive. I quickly covered my ears with my hands, hoping to block out the awful, disgusting sounds of the memory. Timothy, however, savagely yanked my hands away, sneering with cruel contempt. "Is this memory a cynical attempt to evoke pity, Miranda? You're the least worthy of sympathy in the entire world! You harbored a criminal, so the pain you're experiencing is justly deserved!" The crowd responded with furious applause and condemnation. "Miranda is truly shameless! She's intentionally displaying that memory just to win sympathy!" "Her best friend is not only in a vegetative state but is also forced to carry her rapist's baby! Her parents even aged terribly because of the whole ordeal! Their plight is undeniably greater than hers!" "You guys shouldn't let her loud cries deceive you! She managed to become the biggest earner at that establishment in Thesbia! She's probably loving every minute of it!" "Is it possible she's not just shielding the human trafficker, but that she is the human trafficker herself? I mean, she's still keeping silent even after being put through the wringer!" "It's highly probable! I mean, she's either the one in charge or, at the very least, a willing partner in the crime!" In the midst of the constant, furious speculation from the crowd, Jasmine immediately lost all her composure. She raised her hand and slapped me hard across the face. She looked nothing like the usually dignified Mrs. Sutton as she yelled hysterically, "I need you to expand the search range and ramp up the output! I want every piece of this wretched woman's memory pulled out!"