Chapter 2

The criticisms rained down on me, but I didn't care, acting as if it had nothing to do with me.

Tiffany cried even harder.

"Cassandra, it was clearly Buddy who did this! Why won't you admit it?"

"I'm only eighteen! How can I face anyone after this? How am I supposed to live, boohoo…"

She cried and pounded her head, her despair moving many in the room to tears.

Brenda was heartbroken, pointing her finger at me. "You, Cassandra! You have a child too! How can you be so heartless? If your daughter was the victim today, would you still be this cold?"

I scoffed. "My son is being slandered. What's wrong with me defending him?"

I knew perfectly well that my son, Buddy, was absolutely incapable of doing such a preposterous thing.

But in their eyes, I was just making excuses.

The whispers from the jury and the public grew louder.

"This woman is incorrigible!"

"To protect her son, she's lost all basic conscience!"

"If the mother is this shameless, what kind of person do you think her son is!"

The courtroom instantly became a chaotic mess. The judge frowned and slammed his gavel down. "Order! Since both parties have conflicting statements, please present your respective evidence."

At his words, Tiffany's lawyer immediately stood up, stating righteously, "Your Honor, my client has sufficient evidence to prove that the defendant, Buddy, assaulted my client, Tiffany."

She motioned for Tiffany to recount the events of that night.

Tiffany took a deep breath, her voice trembling as she began to describe the alleged incident.

"That night at ten o'clock, I was walking home from tutoring, and the elevator in that building was broken, so I had to take the stairs. Just as I reached the 26th floor, someone suddenly covered my mouth from behind. I struggled desperately, but Buddy was very strong. He dragged me directly to the rooftop, threatening me to ‘play' with him."

I raised an eyebrow and pressed her. "How are you so sure that person was my son, Buddy?"

Tiffany met my gaze, choking back a sob.

"I… I definitely know. I saw his face!"

"Buddy forced me to take off my clothes, and I desperately shook my head, refusing. But he just raised his hand and grabbed my neck. He said, he said he'd choke me to death if I didn't obey him… I was too scared, so I had no choice but to give in… boohoo…"

By this point, she was crying so hard she could barely breathe, clutching tightly at the hem of her clothes.

Everyone sympathized with her plight, but only I knew she was lying.

I pointed it out publicly. "Tiffany, you're lying!"

Tiffany flinched, trembling all over, then uncontrollably shrieked back at me.

"Lying? Cassandra, why would I lie about something so sacred as my purity? Why are you so cruel and keep pushing me?"

"Just look at my injuries! Look at how your son tortured me!"

She frantically tore at her clothes, revealing more bruises of varying depths.

Tiffany's lawyer hugged the distraught Tiffany, sternly scolding me. "Defendant, how dare you say my client is lying? Tiffany's injuries are irrefutable proof! Your baseless accusation is a second victimization of the victim!"

I coldly looked at the indignant lawyer, saying each word distinctly. "If she had truly seen my son, she wouldn't be saying such ridiculous things!"

The day my son and I moved, the only child Brenda and Tiffany saw was me.

My son, Buddy, had never shown his face to them, not once.

If they had ever seen my son, they would absolutely never pin a crime like "assault" on him.