Julian handed Serena every agonizing detail of my assault.
The raw, unfiltered horror of it all.
Serena, an unknown director, was desperate for an award-winning hit.
A breakthrough that would make her name.
And Julian, my boyfriend and my defense attorney, kept it all a secret from me.
The day of the documentary premiere, I still went.
On the giant screen, the desperate humiliation that had shattered my life was twisted, edited to look like a transaction – me selling my body for money.
And the men who had ruined me? They were portrayed as “lost youths” who just “couldn’t resist temptation.”
When the film ended, Serena was hailed as a star, flanked by admirers as she was escorted onto the stage.
She smiled, her gaze finding Julian in the audience, and introduced him to everyone:
“This is the lawyer in charge of the case, also the legal consultant for my documentary, my muse, my inspiration.”
The audience erupted in applause, and the host gushed about them being a match made in heaven.
Amid Julian’s stunned gaze, I slowly raised my hand. “I have a question for this ‘muse’ lawyer.”
The host clearly hadn’t anticipated this, but professionally handed me the microphone.
“Ma’am, what’s your question?”
I didn’t take it immediately. Instead, I stared across the sea of people, straight at Julian.
His lips moved silently, forming words.
“Skylar, don’t make a scene.”
I forced a twisted smile and took the mic.
“Mr. Hayes.” I began, my voice quiet but amplified, echoing through the entire theater.
“I’d like to ask, as the legal consultant for this documentary, do you confirm that all content in the film is based on fact, especially the parts concerning the victim, Skylar Davies?”
I used my full name.
Skylar Davies.
A name he had once again personally dragged into the abyss, and then nailed to a pillar of shame. Julian’s face went even paler.
He looked like someone had choked him, unable to utter a single word.
On stage, Serena reacted quickly. She gracefully took over, her smile flawless.
“Miss, thank you for your question. I can responsibly tell you that our team has rigorously verified every detail.”
“Mr. Hayes, as the lead attorney for this case, provided us with the most authoritative and authentic information.”
She paused, shooting Julian an almost proprietary, adoring glance. “It’s precisely because of Julian’s help that we were able to get so close to the truth, isn’t that right?”
Julian gave a stiff nod.
But his eyes were locked on me, filled with a desperate plea and a stark warning.
“Is that so?” I scoffed softly, turning the microphone to myself.
“Then why do I know a completely different version?”
Boom—
The crowd erupted.
After all, I was publicly crashing their party.
Camera flashes exploded around me like crazy.
Reporters, like sharks scenting blood, instantly stirred into a frenzy.
“Didn’t they say it was a true story?”
“Are there unknown secrets? This is juicy! Tomorrow’s headlines are set.”
The host clearly hadn’t expected me to call them out so directly.
He tried to regain control. “Everyone, please quiet down! Quiet down! Miss, please…”
“Please what? Don’t speak out? But should the truth be twisted like this?”
I looked at Julian, walking step by step towards the stage.
Security guards tried to stop me, but the frantic reporters pushed them aside.
That winter, I walked out of the precinct after giving my statement, trembling, barely able to stand.
It was Julian who pushed through the crowd, came to me, and wrapped his coat around my shoulders.
He held my icy hands and said,
“Don’t be afraid. I’m Julian Hayes, your defense attorney. I’ll get you justice.”
His warmth then was my only light.
Now, I was walking towards him.
Standing just a foot away, I could clearly see the cold sweat beading on his forehead.
“Julian,” I looked him dead in the eyes, asking each word distinctly,
“The film claims Skylar took ten thousand dollars from them, and everything was consensual. So, is that how it’s recorded in the files you provided to Director Serena?”
His throat bobbed, his lips parted, but no sound came out.
“Speak up.” I took another step closer.
Faced with my accusation, his face was ashen.
Serena’s flawless smile finally faltered.
She stepped forward, placing herself between Julian and me, adopting the posture of a protector.
“Miss, I don’t know what you’ve heard, but the real events are as depicted. Please don’t create a scene here…”
“Get out of my way.”
I cut her off coldly. “I’m talking to my boyfriend. Who do you think you are?”
Serena’s expression instantly froze.
“Boyfriend?” She sounded as if she’d heard the most ridiculous joke, turning to Julian, her eyes full of accusation.
Julian instinctively took half a step back, avoiding her gaze.
The entire hall fell silent.
All eyes were on the three of us.
“Julian,” Serena’s voice carried a hint of barely perceptible tremor, “Who is she?”
Julian finally spoke, his voice dry, like sandpaper.
“She… she’s my client.”
He had chosen to distance himself after all.
I laughed, tears welling up in my eyes.
Serena seemed to breathe a sigh of relief, her gaze towards me now laced with impatience.
“Miss, I don’t know what you’ve been through, but since you once entrusted Mr. Hayes with your case, you must know what kind of person he is.”
“I can also empathize that some people, after experiencing trauma, might fall for someone who helped them.”
“But I truly hope you won’t continue to be unreasonable.”
“Client?”
I raised the microphone, my voice suddenly sharp.
“So, you’re saying Mr. Hayes can treat his clients however he pleases?”
“He can slice open her wounds, display them raw and bloody for everyone to see, then pour salt on them and tell everyone she deserved it?”
“He can hand over a hospital diagnosis of severe depression to Serena, so she can edit it into proof of the client’s mental instability!”
“He can change photos of torn clothes into evidence implying seduction!”
“Julian, don’t your nightmares ever scream at you?”
My voice was shrill, laced with blood and tears.
The theater was deathly silent, broken only by my ragged breathing.
Julian was pushed back by my questions, his face as white as paper.
The people present didn’t understand what was happening, what could render the usually articulate Mr. Hayes utterly speechless.
Suddenly, as if all strength had been drained from him, he mumbled,
“I… I was doing it for her own good…”
“For her own good?”
I repeated those four words, finding them utterly absurd.
“So you turn the real victim into a slut who sold her body for money?”
“And beautify the perpetrators into lost youths?”
“Julian, can you look me in the eyes and tell me who this was really for?”
It was for Serena, your childhood friend who has been lying in wait for years, desperately needing a hit to prove herself!
I didn’t utter the words, but my gaze said it all.
Serena’s face completely changed.
She probably never imagined that her meticulously planned triumphant masterpiece would turn into a public trial.
Seeing this, the host immediately signaled for security guards to step forward.
“Miss, please calm down, we…”
“Don’t touch me!”
I shrieked, violently swatting away the hand reaching for me.
In that instant, dark memories flooded back.
The cramped room, the stale air, the men’s heavy breathing, and those dirty hands pressing down on me…
“Ah—!”
I hunched down, clutching my head, trembling uncontrollably.
The world spun, my ears buzzed with static, Julian’s and Serena’s faces distorted and twisted before my eyes.
Julian rushed over, trying to help me up.
His hand had barely touched my shoulder when I violently flung it away.
“Don’t touch me!”
I looked up, my bloodshot eyes fixed on him.
“Julian, you’re disgusting.”
My voice was soft, but it landed like a heavy hammer on his heart.
Just then, a reporter couldn’t help but ask,
“You’re saying all this as if it’s true, but what evidence do you have to prove any of it?”
Soon, others chimed in:
“Yeah, this is Director Serena’s and Mr. Hayes’s crowning achievement! Are you just a hater hired by a rival?”
These questions made Julian’s face turn even uglier.
He looked at me almost pleadingly.
Serena also quickly spoke,
“Miss, I don’t care who paid you, if you keep spreading lies, I’ll pursue legal action against you.”
All eyes were on me.
Some probing, some mocking, some sneering.
I opened my mouth to speak, but Julian grabbed my arm.
“Stop making a scene, I’ll take you home.”
He snatched the microphone from my hand and quickly pulled me away.
My attempts to defend myself were drowned out by Serena’s voice speaking into the mic.
Suddenly, a loud voice rang out:
“Police! Make way!”
The crowd parted, and a man in a trench coat, with a refined face, walked through.
He walked directly up to me.
“Ms. Davies, do you remember me?”
I looked up, and through my blurry vision, a familiar face came into focus.
It was Detective Miller, the officer who handled my case back then.
He rescued me from Julian, took off his jacket, and draped it over my shoulders.
Shielding me from those scrutinizing gazes.
“I’ll take you out of here,” he said, his voice low but with an undeniable authority.
I nodded.
As I passed Julian, he suddenly grabbed my wrist.
“Don’t go.” His voice was hoarse, tinged with a hint of pleading. “Let’s talk properly.”
I looked at him and suddenly felt ridiculous.
At this point, what was there to talk about?
I spoke calmly.
“The moment you handed that diagnosis to Serena, there was nothing left for us to talk about.”
That diagnosis was my deepest nightmare.
It documented every breakdown, every instance of self-harm, and my most complete despair with this world.
I had only shown it to him.
Because I thought he was my savior.
He stayed by my side, recording my pain while transforming it into a badge of honor for another woman.
My gaze shifted from his face to Serena, standing behind him.
Serena had regained her composure. She looked at me, lowering her voice.
“Skylar, don’t get too smug.”
“Do you really think causing this scene today will destroy everything? You’re just a mentally unstable slut. Who’s going to believe anything you say?”
Her words were like a poison-tipped knife, precisely piercing my most painful spot.
My body stiffened.
Julian and Serena had already paved this dead end for me.
It turned out, no matter what I said, they could always explain everything away with “she’s mentally ill.”
I looked at Julian, my heart sinking little by little.
Suddenly, Detective Miller’s deep, authoritative voice echoed through the entire viewing hall.
“Ladies and gentlemen, aren’t you curious why this woman knows all of this so clearly?”
“Because she is the victim of the 619 case, Skylar Davies.”
“I was the lead investigator on the case. The truth of the case has been maliciously distorted and used to mislead the public. The police department will pursue legal action regarding this matter.”
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