Chapter 5%
With cameras flashing all around me and reporters shouting questions, I clung to the only thing I had left–my voice.
“This is a mistake!” I cried. “They arrested me with no evidence! They’re saying I’m the one behind all the top scorers‘ deaths! But I swear. I’ve been framed!“}]
Gasps rippled through the crowd.}]
“That can’t be right. Those suicides started seven or eight years ago. She’s still young by then? How could she have killed that many people?”
“Exactly! And didn’t she risk everything by going live to expose the truth? If it weren’t for her, no one would know that it was actually a murder.“}
“She became the top scorer just to bait the murderer out. Who’d do that if they were guilty themselves?”
“It doesn’t make any sense! Officer, you can’t just arrest someone like that without proof!“}]
The crowd was rallying behind me. Voices shouted over one another, demanding justice. Some were yelling at the officers, others were speaking into livestreams. Even the online audience began flooding the feed with support, calling on the police to clear my name.”
Tension surged at this moment as the crowd grew restless. It was becoming harder and harder to control.
Captain Shelton narrowed his eyes and turned to face me.}]
“No wonder you got a perfect score,” he said coldly. “You’re clever. You thought you could kill all those top scorers and then manipulate public opinion to escape the law?”
I stared at him, stunned. “You’ve got it all wrong. I didn’t kill anyone! This is slander–completely baseless!”
Captain Shelton’s tone hardened. “You know exactly what you’ve done. We’ve been investigating this case for years. And after going over every detail, we found out that you were present at every single crime scene.“M
My heart sank.
“That’s because I was curious!” I protested. “I went to check them out myself. I wanted to understand what happened! But that doesn’t make me the killer! Why would I risk everything to livestream and expose the truth if I was the one behind it?!“}
Captain Shelton just let out a humorless laugh and pulled out a photo.]
“This was last year’s top scorer,” he said. “She died from wrist wounds. We ran DNA analysis on the blood at the scene. One of the samples, mixed in with hers, matched you. You can’t leave your DNA at a first–hand crime scene just by watching from the sidelines.”
Then he added, accusing, “You didn’t just become the top scorer for the sake of justice. You did it to gain trust. You staged a revenge story about your sister to gain sympathy. You went live to point fingers at someone else. Classic misdirection.”
His voice was calm, logical, and full of certainty. The photo in his hand felt like a hammer cracking through the wall of support around me.”
And just like that, the crowd turned.}
“Wait… are they saying it really was her?”
“They have her DNA? Then it’s legit. You can’t fake that.”
“Holy crap! I almost believed her story.“}]
“She’s just a teenager, but already a serial killer?!“}
“She targeted top scorers, and even her own sister. What kind of monster does that?!“}}
“Lock her up! No–death penalty! Someone has to answer for those deaths!“}
In an instant, I went from innocent victim to public enemy.
Their eyes were full of rage now–no sympathy, no doubt–just raw hatred.M
I opened my mouth to speak again, but Captain Shelton cut me off coldly.”
“Save it. You can explain yourself at the station.“}]
Then he turned and ordered the officers to take me to the police car.
