I noticed that Joanna sobered up when she saw Michael. Then, she saw me behind Michael. The madness in her eyes returned, and it was getting stronger.
“Why? Why?”
Joanna repeated the same words over and over again, her voice sharp and piercing.
“Why her? Why can’t I be the one?” Joanna’s face was contorted, and she pointed at me. “We were doing well, Michael. You remember everything. It’s all because of her, all because of that b*tch!”
“What are you saying? Shut up, Joanna!” General Lovecraft scolded with a red face, trying to stop his daughter’s crazy rambling.
Saying such things in front of the judge and jury who had yet to leave was undoubtedly not conducive to Joanna’s subsequent trial.
However, Joanna no longer cared. She had a ferocious expression on her face as her four limbs suddenly burst with great power. She broke free from the guards who had been holding her down and struggled to pounce on me.
Everything happened so suddenly that even the royal guards could not subdue her in time. She suddenly rushed up two steps and threw a punch at me.
But I was no longer the girl whose first reaction was to run away. I was not afraid of her now. Her seemingly fierce actions were now slow and hurried in my eyes. Michael was standing in front of me and wanted to protect me.
I snorted and pushed Michael away.
It seemed that she hadn’t thought it through after our last battle. I was going to teach her another lesson.
Then, I saw that Joanna had stopped in a very strange position. Her face was shocked, angry, and mad as she fell in front of me. I hadn’t even touched her.
Thud! Joanna fell to the ground with a loud sound. I frowned and was about to take two steps forward to check on her condition, but Michael had already regained his senses. He pulled me behind him with a straight face.
“What were you doing just now?” Michael lectured him fiercely.
I tried to look over Michael’s body to see Joanna’s condition, but Michael blocked my view very well.
He even reached out and hold my face to ensure I was safe. I looked up at him helplessly and noticed the worry in his eyes. My whole body suddenly became soft.
“I’m fine,” I said. “Let me see her,” I said.
“No.” Michael pulled me into his arms. I struggled, but Michael lowered his head and kissed me.
This was against the rules because he knew I would be distracted by his kiss.
When I raised my head again, I realized Michael had pulled me out of Joanna’s vicinity. Many people surrounded Joanna, and I couldn’t see what was happening inside.
Through the crowd, I could see the anxious expression of General Lovecraft. Some medical staff jogged in from the outside and joined the encirclement.
“Hurry up and save her, save my daughter!” General Lovecraft shouted with all his might.
When I was investigating the she-wolves kidnapping case with Michael, I heard too many similar screams. Most of them came from the family members of those who found their daughters or relatives missing. Their appearance represented extreme despair and helplessness, which meant Joanna wasn’t doing well.
“Let me go over there and take a look,” I asked Michael again.
“There’s nothing to see.” Michael held on to me tightly and said unhappily, “Let’s leave this place first.”
I looked back at every step I took as Michael forcefully brought me out of the court.
Throughout the process, I kept hearing General Lovecraft’s voice of grief.
I could feel his endless pain from it, and this feeling made me feel a little guilty. I didn’t feel guilty about anything that happened to Joanna, but her family suffered because of her. I didn’t want to see this kind of pain.
Even though all of this was her own doing, everyone had to pay the price for their sinful actions. The sad thing was that a person’s life might be the only endpoint of paying the price, but her family always had to bear the consequences.
I raised my head to look at Michael. What happened in court just now didn’t affect him.
“Is she dead?” I asked softly.
“Who knows? She won’t be able to escape the punishment she deserves,” Michael said.
“But…”
I hesitated for a moment. After all, Joanna had worked with Michael before.
Before Michael met me, they were friends who had known each other for many years. I was a little shocked at how cold-blooded Michael was. He didn’t seem to care about Joanna’s life at all. Although he acted as if he cared about me, was this kind of care reasonable?
One day in the future, would he abandon me like he did Joanna?