Convicted [2]

"BYRON!!!"

The deafening screams of Freda reverberated in the entire mansion. Hurried footsteps were heard next, approaching the room.

"What happened?!"

A man in a gray business suit appeared by the door, sporting an anxious look. Sigmund Cordova – Brianna and Byron's father. He panted as he stepped inside and his eyes shook with terror after witnessing the bloody scene.

Freda shouted, "WHAT ARE YOU DOING?! CALL AN AMBULANCE! HURRY!"

Sigmund quickly turned to the butler of that house, and yelled, "CALL AN AMBULANCE!"

"Y-YES, SIR!" the old butler quickly dialed the emergency line.

Sigmund walked in, scanning the room. He sighted her daughter not far away from the bed with bleeding hands from the shattered pieces of the porcelain bowl that broke. He quickly ran to her in an attempt to help her stand, but Freda screamed again.

"MURDERER! THAT WOMAN IS A MURDERER! HE TRIED TO MURDER MY SON!! HONEY, CALL THE POLICE!!"

Sigmund halted. His face showed astonishment. Brianna shook her head repeatedly, and parted her lips, a broken voice came out, "N-No…didn't…d-do it…! I di—

"DON'T LIE! HE ONLY HAS A FEVER! WHY IS HE BLEEDING FROM HIS MOUTH! YOU FED HIM SOMETHING, DIDN'T YOU?! YOU TRIED TO KILL MY SON BECAUSE YOUR FATHER IS GOING TO ANNOUNCE HIM AS THE HEIR! YOU MURDERER!"

Brianna, with tears streaming down her shocked and paled face, continued shaking her head. "N-Not…true!" She looked up at her father and extended her bloodied hands. There were even some broken pieces stuck in her palms, but her body turned so numb that she couldn't feel the pain anymore. "D-Daddy...d-daddy…it's not true!"

Freda interjected again, "Then, why are you suddenly feeding him?! You always ignored my child and always made sure to isolate him! You were planning this all along! You can't accept that your father was—

"ENOUGH!" Sigmund screamed. Freda incredulously stared at him while Brianna flinched at the furious voice. "Let's talk about this—

"MASTER SIGMUND! THE AMBULANCE HAD ARRIVED!" a maid's voice shouted from behind.

Soon, Byron was sent to the hospital with Freda, while Brianna was locked in her room. Sigmund tried to interrogate everyone who was involved in making the food and taking care of the sick boy.

"Why is my daughter the one feeding Byron?"

The atmosphere inside the hall where everyone called was gathered, was as cold as ice. They all turned their head to one maid standing at the front line. The maid sweated profusely and she swallowed the lump in her throat before answering shakily, "T-The young l-lady…asked if she can serve the food to the young master personally, Master. I…couldn't refuse so I let her…"

The other maids who she was talking with earlier all bowed their heads. They all witnessed what truly happened, but they couldn't reveal the truth as they feared being punished along with the first maid. After all, they were also on in it.

Sigmund sighed. His face hardened and his eyes narrowed at the maid. "Is that true? If you're not telling the truth I will personally make sure that you won't get to find work ever again after I fire you."

The maid flinched and frighteningly nodded her head repeatedly, "I-I'm t-telling the truth, master! Please, believe me! You can ask the other maids. They saw the young lady took the tray from me and insisted on delivering the food!"

Sigmund's sharp and darkened eyes moved over the other maids. The maids lowered their heads more as they faintly answered.

"T-That's true, master…"

"S-She's telling the truth, master…"

With that, Sigmund reached a conclusion. He whirled away and climbed to his office. Soon after, Byron's diagnosis came from the hospital brought by two men in police uniforms.

"It was poison, Mr. Cordova. Ms. Freda reported the attempted murder of Byron Cordova by his older sister, Brianna Cordova. We were issued a search warrant to find the murder weapon. Please, cooperate."

Sigmund Cordova willingly let in the police officers who went to Byron's room immediately. They stayed for a few minutes and investigated the scene of the attempted crime, afterward, they asked to be let in inside Brianna's room.

Brianna abruptly stood from the corner of her room where she was huddled once her room was invaded. She shakily exclaimed, "W-What are you doing?!"

The police looked at her scornfully and just continued to ransack her closet and drawers. Brianna felt violated. She ran to one of them and pulled his hands away from her things, but the police shoved him forcefully.

"Ack!" Brianna fell on the floor with a loud thud. Her hips hurt from the fall but she still crawled and grabbed the police's leg while shouting, "DON'T TOUCH MY BELONGINGS!!"

However, the police just clicked his tongue at her and glowered, clearly losing his patience toward Brianna, "You're a suspect for attempted murder! Are you trying to prevent us from finding evidence? We have a search warrant!"

He threw the piece of paper in Brianna's face. The twenty-four-year-old woman was stunned. The paper hit her face and somehow, the edge of the paper cut her chin as it slid on her face, leaving a tiny, vertical slit wound on her smooth, pale face.

She quickly grabbed the paper and scanned it. Her eyes trembled greatly. She shook her head hysterically, proving a point that she wasn't a murderer. A pair of expensive black leather shoes stopped before her. She slowly looked up, tracing the perfectly ironed gray trousers until her gaze landed on her father's face.

His expression looked unreadable. Even at that moment, Brianna felt his coldness and indifference. She sobbed as she shook her head again, mouthing helplessly, "I didn't do it, daddy…"

Sigmund Cordova just stared down at his kneeling daughter. He was about to say something when the police inside the bathroom shouted, "Found it! I found the poison used!"

Everyone turned their heads at the police who ran out of the bathroom, showing a tiny bottle of colorless liquid inside. The police shouted again, "I think this is cyanide, Mr. Sigmund!"

Brianna shot up from the floor and yelled, "NO! THAT'S NOT TRUE! THAT'S NOT MINE! I DIDN'T KNOW HOW THAT—!"

PAK!

The crispy sound of a palm hitting someone's face resonated in the entire room. Brianna's face was slapped hard her head twisted to the other side and her body staggered. She slowly turned her head back to her father, and her eyes shook tremendously, blood drained on her face, and red liquid dropped on her cut lower lip, after witnessing her father's expression.

Sigmund looked at Brianna like he was disgusted yet terrified. With a voice dripping with accusation, disappointment, denouncement, and anger, he spoke, "I DID NOT RAISE A MURDERER!"

A tear fell on Brianna's face. All her words were caught in her throat. She just sobbed and showed a pained and tired expression. Sigmund turned his back on Brianna and told the police, "You may take her out."

Brianna slumped on the floor helplessly, her right hand reaching for her father's shadows slowly disappearing from her sight. In her fading consciousness, she wished to have been born into a family different from her current one.