The Wrong Verdict

They called me a murderer, and my fiancé, the man I thought I’d spend my life with, was the one who’d put me in jail.

Today was the day of the live-streamed public trial – the day they were going to execute me.

He was there, of course. My former love, pushing for the harshest sentence. He’d even called for a Memory Extraction – a brand new tech that can literally read your thoughts, pulling your memories out and displaying them. He wanted to ensure I’d pay for what I’d done.

But what they didn't know was that in my memories, was the proof that his “perfect” ex was a liar and a criminal.

1.

Today was the day they were going to kill me.

I was shackled and cuffed, being led by guards through the courthouse towards the courtroom.

Suddenly, my ex-fiancé, Andrew Hamilton, surged forward. He grabbed my neck, his fingers digging in as he screamed, "Murderer! Why did you pull the plug on my mother!"

"You killed my mother, and then you hurt Dani! You broke her legs!"

I stared at him, my eyes vacant. "I swear, I didn't do it. Do you believe me?"

"You’re a liar! My mother loved you! Why would you do this?”

“You took my mother’s life!”

The cops hauled a furious Andrew away, dragging me to the judgment stand. I let them. What else could I do?

A year ago, Andrew himself had accused me of murder. The motive was jealousy – jealousy of Dani, the perfect ex, and anger that his mother didn’t approve of me joining the family.

But I was innocent. It wasn't me.

"Order! Order in the court!" The judge’s gavel echoed through the chamber. "The court is prepared to pass sentence. Today, the death penalty will be carried out against the defendant—"

"Wait!" Andrew interrupted, his face hard. "Your Honor, I demand a Memory Extraction! That's the only way we can be sure!"

"Just executing her is letting her off too easy!"

The judge conferred with his aides for a moment, then nodded. “At the request of the plaintiff, this court will proceed with a Memory Extraction.”

I stayed silent. I let them lead me towards the memory extraction platform.

Memory Extraction was the latest piece of tech in the justice system – a brutal, but ‘foolproof’ method to catch out criminals who’d lie or change their stories. The process involved injecting a needle directly into the brain, extracting memories like blood. It was said to be so painful that many inmates passed out before the process was completed.

As they prepped the extraction device, I turned to Andrew. "Andrew, I just have one question for you."

He looked at me, cold and full of hatred. "Ask it."

"If they find out the truth, if my memories prove I’m innocent, will you regret what you've done to me?”

Andrew just laughed, a harsh, bitter sound. "Never."

I looked away, my heart numb.

"Commencing Memory Extraction! The defendant’s death penalty procedure is now underway.”

The needle plunged into my brain, and a white-hot agony exploded in my head. I screamed, but there was a weird sense of relief mixed in.

A year o...