After everything that had happened, Ethan was supposed to face judgment a few days later, and his mother wished with all her heart that a miracle could happen. Her only son—the boy she had carried in her womb, raised with prayers, and watched grow into a man—was about to end up in prison.

The courtroom was crowded that day. Neighbors, friends, strangers, even those who had only heard whispers of the story, came to witness. It was a long and exhausting court session, but the essential moments—the ones that carried weight—were when Ethan was being defended by one of the most renowned lawyers in town.

The case was heavy against him. Ethan had been found in the most compromising situation—beside a lifeless body.

He himself could not explain it. He said he woke up to the loud knock of the police at the hotel door, confused and weak, only to realize that he had spent the night beside his girlfriend, who was no longer breathing. By the time he came to his senses, the handcuffs were already on his wrists, and he was dragged into a police vehicle.

The prosecutor’s voice thundered in the courtroom.
“Who invited her to the party?”

Ethan swallowed hard. “I was the one.”

“And who stayed with her at the party?”

“I was the one.”

“Witnesses said you were with her the whole night. Is that true?”

“Yes.”

The prosecutor walked to the table, picked up a file, and continued.
“We checked the hotel register. That room was booked in your name. Did you not book that hotel room for you and the victim—who happened to be your girlfriend?”

Ethan shook his head. “I didn’t. We were supposed to return home. I only realized I had slept in that hotel when the police knocked at the door.”

The defense lawyer rose quickly. His voice was calm but carried conviction.
“My Lord, no one in his right senses would harm the person he claims to love and then sleep beside her until morning. My client was not in control of his actions. He was drugged. The medical report shows there were substances in his system, as well as traces of sleeping pills. Ethan was unconscious of his environment.”

But the prosecutor was not finished. He pressed harder.
“As if this is not enough, my Lord, I want to draw your attention to another detail. Something suspicious was found beside his bed in the hotel. Witnesses testified that Ethan has a history of substance use. Ethan, have you ever taken such things before?”

Ethan hesitated but answered, “Yes.”

“Then why should anyone believe you were forced into it? It makes no sense. Let me call the next witness, my Lord. Amara.”

The moment Ethan heard that name, his heart sank. Amara. The girl he once dated. If she was called by the prosecution, it meant she was about to testify against him.

She walked forward confidently, not looking shaken at all. She carried herself as though this was not about someone she had once loved. Standing in the witness box, she answered each question with ease, almost as if she had rehearsed them.

“Do you know the accused?” the prosecutor asked.

“Yes.”

“Who is he to you?”

“He used to be my boyfriend.”

“Used to be? So why did he leave you?”

“He claimed he had found someone better.”

“And who was this ‘better’ person?”

“The victim.”

The prosecutor nodded slowly, then asked the burning question.
“Do you think Ethan is capable of harming her?”

“I don’t know,” Amara replied, “but under the influence of the substances he used to take, he could do anything.”

“Why do you say so?”

“He sometimes took them in excess. It made him lose control.”

Ethan was shocked at her words. He had never imagined she would go that far.

The prosecutor smiled faintly. “So, you are saying that it is possible he harmed her, then fell asleep because of what he took?”

“Yes.”

“That will be all, my Lord.”

The defense lawyer rose, determined to break her down.
“You claim you knew he sometimes overused these things. Does it mean you were taking them with him?”

“No.”

“Were you happy when another woman took your boyfriend?”

“No.”

“Then, could it be that you are only here to get back at him?”

“No.”

“Or perhaps you are the one responsible for her death? You invited him to the party. You were in charge of organizing it. You knew his weaknesses. You could have given him something that made him unconscious, then set him up to look guilty. Someone called the police that night—yet till today no one knows who made that call. My Lord, this is nothing but a blackmail attempt!”

Gasps filled the courtroom. The defense lawyer pressed on.
“You coordinated the event, didn’t you?”

“Yes.”

“And you invited him personally?”

“Yes.”

“So tell us, what role did you play in this blackmail?”

“Nothing.”

“Do you love him?”

Her voice cracked for the first time. “So much.”

“So much that you still love him even now?”

“Yes.”

“And yet, you are here, testifying against the very man you still love? My Lord, I really doubt her sincerity.”

The judge asked her to step down. Amara returned to her seat, looking a little unsettled for the first time.

The court grew silent. There was no one left to rescue Ethan. Evidence against him was heavy. Everything pointed to him. Though there were gaps and unanswered questions, there was nothing concrete to fully prove his innocence.

His mother broke down in tears, leaning on her husband’s chest. She cried uncontrollably while his father sat weak, unable even to comfort her. He was a man whose strength had been drained by grief.

Ethan stood there, reflecting. He remembered how his father had done everything possible to give him a decent life, but he had been stubborn. He remembered the wasted opportunities, the wrong choices, the regrets. His father too was lost in thought, recalling how the victim’s parents had stormed into his home, accusing him of raising a son who had destroyed their only daughter.

He could still hear the victim’s mother’s voice echoing in his head:
“Bring back my daughter! Tell your son to bring back my only child. She was my only hope. I suffered to send her to school, and now she is gone.”

Her pain haunted him. He regretted ever allowing Ethan to work in the city, regretted decisions he thought were harmless, but which turned into sorrow.

Now, what was left was the final verdict…