CHAPTER 2 — THE TRUTH THAT WAS BURIED
The judge ordered the doors closed.
No one was allowed to leave.
“Until we know the full truth, this hearing will continue.”
Mr. Anderson looked nervous.
The prosecutor whispered something to him.
But the judge noticed.
“Prosecutor, you seem very interested in protecting Mr. Anderson.”
The prosecutor immediately stepped back.
“I am only doing my job.”
The judge stared at him.
“Then explain why your name appears in the old case file.”
The prosecutor froze.
The room erupted with whispers.
Daniel looked shocked.
The judge held up the old document.
“Twenty years ago, a young lawyer helped close the fire investigation.”
He looked at the prosecutor.
“That lawyer was you.”
The prosecutor’s face changed.
“I was young. I made mistakes.”
“Mistakes?” the judge asked.
“You removed a witness statement.”
The prosecutor stayed silent.
The little boy held the lunchbox tighter.
“My grandma told me if the truth ever came out, it would start with this.”
He pointed at the toy car.
Daniel looked at it carefully.
A memory came back.
That toy car.
He remembered giving it to Emma when they were children.
“You kept it all these years?”
The boy nodded.
“She said you gave it to her when you saved her.”
Daniel closed his eyes.
For years he thought he failed.
But the little girl he rescued survived.
And she remembered him.
The judge looked at Mr. Anderson.
“Why frame Daniel’s father?”
The man finally broke.
“Because he found out.”
The courtroom went silent.
“Found out what?”
Mr. Anderson lowered his head.
“My company was losing money. I created fake records. I moved money illegally.”
Daniel stared at him.
“And my father discovered it.”
The man nodded.
“He threatened to expose me.”
The judge asked:
“So you burned the house to destroy the evidence?”
Mr. Anderson’s eyes filled with regret.
“I paid someone to scare him.”
Everyone waited.
“But I didn’t know the fire would spread.”
Daniel’s fists tightened.
“And my father died because of you.”
Mr. Anderson couldn’t answer.
The judge turned toward the prosecutor.
“And you helped cover it.”
The prosecutor looked down.
“I was afraid.”
The judge replied:
“Fear is not an excuse for destroying another person’s life.”
Then suddenly—
The courtroom doors opened.
An elderly woman entered.
Everyone turned.
The boy ran toward her.
“Grandma!”
Daniel froze.
The woman looked at him.
After twenty years…
They recognized each other.
“Daniel.”
His eyes filled with tears.
“Emma.”
She smiled sadly.
“I knew one day the truth would find you.”
Daniel looked at her.
“Why didn’t you come sooner?”
Emma looked at the floor.
“Because they threatened my family.”
She looked at Mr. Anderson.
“And I spent years waiting for someone brave enough to listen.”
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The judge stood.
“Today, the truth is finally being heard.”
