At first Emanuele doesn't know if she is dreaming or if she has really died.The sounds around her are confused, disconnected voices and noises that make no sense. The first coherent thing she hears is a gentle but firm warning, "Ten minutes. No more seconds beyond that."A murmur of approval sounds soon after, and then, silence.Emanuele wants to open her eyes, but her eyelids are seriously heavy. Also, her lungs are in tatters; but working, which could indicate that she was alive and being cared for in a hospital... Or dead, awaiting judgment in purgatory. Maybe even in hell itself.The girl's senses become more and more present. Her hearing finally returns to normal, or as close to normal as she can get, and she clearly perceives that someone is approaching her.Emanuele's sense of balance is next to come back on line, and the girl has enough understanding to absorb that her body is lying on a stable surface, such as a stretcher or orthopedic bed. Once again, the young girl tries t
The nurse argues with Joshua once again:"Please, sir, you can't get out of bed yet. We need to run more tests and you are not stable!""I am perfectly fine, miss. And I told you that the one who really needs all this help is the-""Yes, the girl you saved. Understand, sir, that we all found your participation in that rescue commendable, but it was too risky!"The man gets to his feet and buttons up his shirt scorched by flames-or what's left of it."I don't care if it was risky. Where is she? What room did you guys leave her in?"All that stewardship on the part of the nurse was not helping at all. Alexandra's brother's anxiety would only come to an end when he was in the same environment as her. No; his anxiety would only end when he could touch Emanuele's face, feel on his own that she was whole.Was the girl whole? Apart from the dirt and unconsciousness, when Joshua finally made it through the curtain of smoke and fire, she looked whole, with all her limbs in place."She's in the
When Emanuele finally manages to open her eyes, Johnny is no longer there.But Joshua is.The first thing she notices is the man's condition. He looks clean and not too pale. But his social shirt is almost completely destroyed. His skin looks smooth and without any scars, which in itself was already a miracle. Him being ALIVE was a miracle.The girl tries to open her mouth to say something, anything, but Joshua approaches her bedside and says:"Ssssh. Don't strain yourself. You are very weakened."And she was, indeed. Not just physically, but in her soul.The ebony-skinned man sat down next to her and caressed her with the back of his hand. The girl couldn't resist the touch, she just stared at him."I heard that you tried to save me."She makes a positive sign with her head.Joshua places a gentle kiss on her forehead."You could have died, Emanuele."The girl's former roommate struggles as hard as he can, but he can't hold back the tears of emotion. His voice is choked as he continu
The coroner and forensic expert never really enjoyed being face to face with the criminals she could find. Christina, in fact, had chosen to pursue a career out of the spotlight precisely for this reason, so that she could stay behind the scenes and not have to deal with the eyes full of insanity, hatred, and evil of the many bloodthirsty people out there.That afternoon, however, she made an exception. Not because she wanted to, but because the deputy, with his unquestionable authority and slightly dubious friendship, insisted that the woman witness the little interrogation that was about to take place.Of course, she would not be present inside the glass room, as the sterile little room where the accused were interrogated was called. Since it was the girl's fingerprints that were found on both the body and the murder weapon, it was obvious that her statement should be documented and recorded.The accused's sister, Emanuele, could not be present yet. Christina hadn't understood the d
Emanuele stares into Joshua's eyes. Neither of them tries to contain their crying, or even to disguise it. There was no reason to. After all, both had already proven how they really felt for each other; how deep was the love that surrounded them.The young man had made such a simple request. He just wanted a verbal confirmation that yes, this woman would accept him by her side. And not just as a fling or a hobby, but for something lasting, respectful and captivating.Emanuele trusted Joshua. But she also couldn't let go of all her worries, stress, traumas. And she didn't want to see him giving up on her, regretting that decision if things went too wrong.It was hard to admit it to herself, but the girl knew that, although sad, she could handle her recent breakup relatively well. Johnny was an understanding guy, and after some time, they would both manage to be good friends. At least that was her wish.But Emanuele couldn't tell if she could just be friends with Joshua. She could barel
Emanuele knew that the process of getting out of the hospital safely and seeing what the delegate wanted would be painstaking, not to say boring. Firstly, because the girl was not recovered enough, for obvious reasons, and the doctor in charge of her was very reluctant at first. Joshua wasn't happy about it either, and even said that if Crimson wanted, he could go to them himself to give them the all-important message.One of the agents explained, sounding much less aggressive than the last time Emanuele had seen them, that the delegate had learned about the terrible fire only that morning, but had not had time to personally check if she was all right. The hospital board informed Crimson as soon as she and Joshua arrived at the facility, since until then, she was under investigation."Believe me when I say that it is extremely important that you come with us, as well as your lawyer."Everything was orchestrated more confusingly than the cops wanted, but in the end, Joshua and Emanuel
The trial took place a little way from there, at the local courthouse. Apparently, due to all the repercussions of the case, a large part of the city was outside the huge palace building. A large police barrier was needed to reinforce security and prevent a possible invasion.Of course the group of old ladies was there. They created posters with Emanuele's face tinted by a huge red "X", and shouted at the top of their voices. Others were there merely to satisfy their curiosity, to find out what would happen.The broadcast of the whole affair would be by audio, released on a specific platform. So, besides being present, the crowd also tuned in to the indicated channel.Inside the room, waiting for the judge to appear, were Emanuele, Matthew, Joshua, all her friends, including Johnny (who still hadn't spoken to each other after the terrible incident), Alexandra, and a few other people. Crimson emerged through one of the many doors leading to the jury proper. He was a bit more presentab
The trial was one of the most tense things Emanuele had ever witnessed in her life. She had always seen in books how the young girl stood out by shining with authenticity, respect and obvious charisma, but this was real life. In real life, bad things happened to good people, and there was not even a standard to examine. Chaos reigned.The judge must have been sixty years old, but he was extremely well-preserved. His eyes were serious, but not threatening, and his white hair was straight and slicked back. As soon as he stepped up to the rostrum, it all began.It was all very complex for Emanuele, who didn't really understand the technical terms or how the steps proceeded. It was Matthew who, most of the time, explained to her what was happening.When it came time for the witnesses against the girl to speak, the first to stand up was the short-haired middle-aged woman; the same one who had spoken to Emanuele on the day of the protest and seemed to be the one most intent on ending her li