"The old bachelor who bought me had twisted tastes."
My voice was ice-cold.
"He enjoyed recording every moment of his torture sessions."
"He died too suddenly. I found his camera."
"But I couldn't bring myself to watch. I only took out the memory card."
"All these years, it's been hidden inside the old coat I brought from the village."
The air turned to stone.
No one expected the crucial evidence to have survived like this for five years.
The police moved swiftly, dispatching officers to retrieve the coat.
The fabric had yellowed with age, its edges frayed.
A female officer pulled on white gloves and carefully slit open the lining.
A stained memory card fell onto the evidence tray.
Technicians immediately connected it to their equipment.
The screen flickered to life, resurrecting the nightmare from five years ago.
The footage was shaky, the lighting dim.
A thin girl pushed a sobbing, trembling younger girl toward a man.
The man grinned, his eyes crawling with sickness.
The thin girl's face was blank, her fingers clutching dirty bills.
Her voice cut like frozen steel.
"Stop crying. You'll have plenty to cry about later."
"You're lucky Mr. Li took a liking to you."
The mole by her eye stood out sharply in the gloom.
It was identical to the one on Luna Roscente's face.
The girl being shoved forward was me—five years ago.
And the one who sold me out was none other than Luna, the family's golden child.
The video ended. The chemical plant fell deathly silent.
The evidence was irrefutable. There was no defense.