Chapter 3 · Millions Watched Me Fall

The air circulation in the courtroom was not very good.

On top of that, so many people chattering produced a lot of carbon dioxide. I felt like it was getting harder to breathe.

Vince Stokes, my husband who was sitting in the audience, immediately noticed my discomfort.

He quickly signaled to the staff to pause the proceedings.

I clutched my chest while gasping for air.

The Judge inquired, "Ms. Stokes, are you all right? Do we need to pause the proceedings?"

One of the viewers commented online: [Damn it, Jade. Stop acting all special and delicate!]

Another comment read: [That's right. There is no way it's the end of the world for her after extracting only one piece of memory!]

Someone else wrote: [Keep going! I do not agree with a pause.]

I frowned in irritation, then said, "It's fine. Proceed."

Hearing my signal, the staff stopped questioning me.

Instead, they immediately fitted me with the memory extractor.

The second piece of memory was shown on the screen.

I was already in college in this memory.

Ruby and my mom moved to the city where I was studying, so the three of us could see each other more often.

By then, I had come of age and could cover my tuition with part-time jobs and scholarships, so I no longer needed to ask my family for money.

One day, Ruby came to me and pleaded pitifully, "Sis, I'm so envious you get to go to college. Can you show me around?"

I shot her a cold glance and replied flatly, "No."

Ruby looked incredibly wronged and yelled at me, her voice thick with feigned hurt, "Jade, how could you be so heartless? I gave up my chance to go to college for you!"

I watched her performance in silence and felt that she was like a pathetic clown putting on a show.

A crowd quickly gathered around us.

After hearing Ruby's words, some people started giving me accusatory looks.

A few guys even stepped forward and said, "Hey there, do you want me to show you around?"

Ruby turned to me with an innocent look and asked, "Is that okay, Jade?"

I didn't bother to answer her. I just said, "Ruby, drop your petty schemes."

Then I walked away.

The number of comments in the live stream was scrolling faster and faster across the screen.

One of the comments read: [Oh my God, she can't even grant such a simple request. Poor Ruby!]

A person wrote: [What kind of psycho is this woman? Her little sister is begging her and she still says no.]

Another person commented: [Ruby really deserves better. She gave up her teenage years for such an ungrateful sister!]

The screen resumed playback.

The scene shifted to my college graduation.

I received a job offer from a publicly listed company.

Not long after I started working, Ruby showed up at my office.

She pleaded, "Jade, I'm sick. Can you lend me some money? I promise I'll pay you back. Mom's getting on in years. I don't want to burden her with this."

I led Ruby down to the building lobby and then looked down at her like she was a peasant.

Sneering, I delivered my heartless remark. "You know Mom's getting old, so how dare you get sick?"

I spat out the word "sick" with venomous emphasis.

"Sorry, Jade. I'm truly desperate. Please, I'm begging you to help me," Ruby pleaded.

"Dream on, Ruby. There's no way in hell I'd help you," I shot back.

Ruby dropped to her knees before me with a thud, desperation written all over her face.

"Jade, please. I'm begging you!" she pleaded desperately.

I didn't answer her, nor did I help her up.

I only said, "Ruby, don't you dare dirty my company's floor."

By this point, the people in the audience had gone completely wild.

"Goddammit! I'm gonna fucking kill this bitch," someone shouted.

"Is she even fucking human? That's her sister!" another voice yelled.

A third person said, "I looked up that company. She makes over 300 thousand dollars a year after taxes, and she still won't even lift a finger to help her sister?"

Someone else said, "I can't deal with this anymore. Get on with her punishment already!"

The massive screen suddenly flickered, and then the video vanished.

It was because I had passed out.

Just before collapsing, I heard Vince's frantic cry. "Jade!"

Chapter 3

The air circulation in the courtroom was not very good.

On top of that, so many people chattering produced a lot of carbon dioxide. I felt like it was getting harder to breathe.

Vince Stokes, my husband who was sitting in the audience, immediately noticed my discomfort.

He quickly signaled to the staff to pause the proceedings.

I clutched my chest while gasping for air.

The Judge inquired, "Ms. Stokes, are you all right? Do we need to pause the proceedings?"

One of the viewers commented online: [Damn it, Jade. Stop acting all special and delicate!]

Another comment read: [That's right. There is no way it's the end of the world for her after extracting only one piece of memory!]

Someone else wrote: [Keep going! I do not agree with a pause.]

I frowned in irritation, then said, "It's fine. Proceed."

Hearing my signal, the staff stopped questioning me.

Instead, they immediately fitted me with the memory extractor.

The second piece of memory was shown on the screen.

I was already in college in this memory.

Ruby and my mom moved to the city where I was studying, so the three of us could see each other more often.

By then, I had come of age and could cover my tuition with part-time jobs and scholarships, so I no longer needed to ask my family for money.

One day, Ruby came to me and pleaded pitifully, "Sis, I'm so envious you get to go to college. Can you show me around?"

I shot her a cold glance and replied flatly, "No."

Ruby looked incredibly wronged and yelled at me, her voice thick with feigned hurt, "Jade, how could you be so heartless? I gave up my chance to go to college for you!"

I watched her performance in silence and felt that she was like a pathetic clown putting on a show.

A crowd quickly gathered around us.

After hearing Ruby's words, some people started giving me accusatory looks.

A few guys even stepped forward and said, "Hey there, do you want me to show you around?"

Ruby turned to me with an innocent look and asked, "Is that okay, Jade?"

I didn't bother to answer her. I just said, "Ruby, drop your petty schemes."

Then I walked away.

The number of comments in the live stream was scrolling faster and faster across the screen.

One of the comments read: [Oh my God, she can't even grant such a simple request. Poor Ruby!]

A person wrote: [What kind of psycho is this woman? Her little sister is begging her and she still says no.]

Another person commented: [Ruby really deserves better. She gave up her teenage years for such an ungrateful sister!]

The screen resumed playback.

The scene shifted to my college graduation.

I received a job offer from a publicly listed company.

Not long after I started working, Ruby showed up at my office.

She pleaded, "Jade, I'm sick. Can you lend me some money? I promise I'll pay you back. Mom's getting on in years. I don't want to burden her with this."

I led Ruby down to the building lobby and then looked down at her like she was a peasant.

Sneering, I delivered my heartless remark. "You know Mom's getting old, so how dare you get sick?"

I spat out the word "sick" with venomous emphasis.

"Sorry, Jade. I'm truly desperate. Please, I'm begging you to help me," Ruby pleaded.

"Dream on, Ruby. There's no way in hell I'd help you," I shot back.

Ruby dropped to her knees before me with a thud, desperation written all over her face.

"Jade, please. I'm begging you!" she pleaded desperately.

I didn't answer her, nor did I help her up.

I only said, "Ruby, don't you dare dirty my company's floor."

By this point, the people in the audience had gone completely wild.

"Goddammit! I'm gonna fucking kill this bitch," someone shouted.

"Is she even fucking human? That's her sister!" another voice yelled.

A third person said, "I looked up that company. She makes over 300 thousand dollars a year after taxes, and she still won't even lift a finger to help her sister?"

Someone else said, "I can't deal with this anymore. Get on with her punishment already!"

The massive screen suddenly flickered, and then the video vanished.

It was because I had passed out.

Just before collapsing, I heard Vince's frantic cry. "Jade!"