The Silent Witness Chapter 11

The moment the officer opened Mr. Reed's photo gallery, there was a collective gasp from those watching.

People who'd crowded closer to see let out shocked exclamations.

Finally, Mr. Reed collapsed to the ground, his head hanging low, all his earlier arrogance gone.

When the truth was finally revealed, Lily's whole body trembled. Tears streamed down her face even harder, but she made no sound, just bit her lip until it bled.

It reminded me of last summer, that night in the guesthouse. When Lily took off her shirt, I saw her back was covered in scars—old ones layered over new ones.

The sight had been unbearable.

I'd asked her how it happened. At first she wouldn't say, but when I kept pressing, she finally broke down crying and told me it was Mr. Reed who'd beaten her.

She said he'd always been against our relationship. Every time he saw us together, he'd hit her when she got home.

That night, I held her close, my heart breaking.

That was when Lily and I secretly began planning. We had to find a way to expose her adoptive father's crimes and make him pay.

We knew Mr. Reed was clever, which is why we came up with this plan—to deliberately let him grab my phone, delete the video, and trap himself in the process.

Mrs. Reed stood nearby. After seeing the videos, something inside her finally died. Her legs gave out and she collapsed to her knees.

She covered her face, sobbing uncontrollably.

"David... this should have ended a long time ago. A long time ago."

She wiped her tears, her voice choked with emotion. "I didn't mean to protect him."

"I don't have a job. Our entire household depends on him. If I exposed him, I'd have nowhere to go."

"I tried to talk him out of it, but he wouldn't listen. He even threatened to kill me if I said anything."

No one blamed Mrs. Reed after hearing that.

It was clear she was a victim too—someone trapped by Mr. Reed's control and the pressure of survival, too afraid to fight back.

"That monster! That absolute monster! He disguised himself so well, and all along he was this sick!"

"No wonder Lily ended up like this. Anyone would lose their mind after going through that!"

"Beat him! Someone like this deserves to be beaten to death!"

Soon, people started picking up rocks and trash from the ground, hurling them at Mr. Reed. He curled up on the ground, no longer daring to resist.

The police tried to intervene, but the crowd pushed them aside.

Before long, they simply stood there frowning, making no real effort to stop it anymore.

Perhaps they, too, felt that I'd brought this on myself—no, that he'd brought it on himself.

But just when I thought I'd be beaten to death, someone suddenly threw themselves over him, holding him tight.

Wait—I stopped the thought. That wasn't right.

It was Mr. Reed on the ground now, not me.

The police finally stepped in properly, pulling people back and producing handcuffs, which they locked around Mr. Reed's wrists.

"David Reed, you're coming with us to the station for questioning."

Later, following this lead, the police reopened the investigation into the deaths of Lily's biological parents. It didn't take long for them to find evidence.

Back then, Mr. Reed had forged contracts to steal business. He'd even hired people to fabricate evidence that Lily's father had embezzled company funds, driving Lily's family to desperation.

With the evidence clear and undeniable, Mr. Reed was convicted on multiple charges and sentenced to death.

On the day of his execution, the local news covered the story.

After Mr. Reed's sentencing, Lily changed her last name back to her biological father's.

She spent several months in therapy after that, slowly recovering. Eventually, she returned to school and completed her degree.

After graduation, we left the small town together and moved to a city where no one knew us.

I know those wounds will never fully heal. But at least now, she doesn't have to live in fear anymore.

At least now, there's light in her eyes again.

THE END