Chapter 14

Chapter I4: She's a thief, a gross one at that.

Elbowing through the crowded corridors of the shopping mall, Emilia stood out like a sore thumb. Her tattered clothes and disheveled hair made her a spectacle, drawing disgusted glances from passersby. Murmurs and snickers followed her as she was led by the security guards, her hands cuffed behind her back.

No one believed her pleas of innocence; no one even tried. The weight of their judgment was crushing, making her wish the ground would swallow her whole. The humiliation was suffocating.

One of the security guards, his grip on her arm tightening, leaned in close. "Confess now, or the police will take you away," he growled, his angry eyes boring into hers.

A woman in the crowd shouted, "She's a thief! She needs to be taught a lesson!" The surrounding murmurs grew louder, a chorus of condemnation.

Emilia's eyes scanned the crowd, desperate for a sympathetic face, but found none. She felt like a wild animal, cornered and helpless.

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