Blind Justice - S01 E04

Story 6 months ago

Blind Justice - S01 E04

Read Story: SEASON 1 EPISODE 4

Movies By AFP.

Episode 4: Blind Justice

The building where the court was held was a massive place with high white pillars. It was supposed to be a place where the truth was spoken and where the innocent were protected. But on this day, the courtroom was not a place of truth. It was a theater. It was a play where every person had a role, and Senator Sterling was the person who had written the script. He was the one who decided who would speak, who would stay quiet, and who would win.

Widow Martha stood in the small wooden box called the dock. She was surrounded by guards. Her hands were still held together by heavy metal chains. She could not see the people in the room, but she could hear them. She could hear the rustle of expensive suits. She could hear the whispers of the reporters. Most of all, she could hear the heavy breathing of the crowd.

In the very front row, Julian Sterling sat in a soft chair. He did not look like a man who was worried about a crime. He did not look like a man who had hurt a young girl. He was wearing a suit that cost thousands of dollars. He spent most of the time looking down at his phone, scrolling through pictures and sending messages to his friends. He had a smug grin on his face. He knew that in this room, he was safe. He was the Prince of Chaos, and his father was the King.

Martha stood very still. Her heart was heavy, but her head was held high. She could feel the eyes of the people on her. Some people looked at her with pity, but many looked at her with anger. The Senator had spent the last few days telling everyone that Martha was a bad woman. He told the newspapers that she was a liar who wanted to steal his money.

He told everyone that she was using her daughter’s death to get rich.

"All rise!" a voice shouted.

The sound of many people standing up filled the room. Then came the sound of a heavy wooden hammer hitting a table.

"Bang! Bang! Bang!"

The judge walked into the room. His name was Judge Miller. He was an old man with a very serious face. To a normal person, he looked like a fair man. But Martha did not need eyes to know the truth. She knew that Judge Miller was a friend of Senator Sterling. She knew that the Senator had helped the judge get his job many years ago. Now, it was time for the judge to pay back the favor.

The trial began, but it was not a real trial. The lawyer for the Senator stood up first. He was a man with a loud, sharp voice.

"Your Honor," the lawyer said. "We are here because of a very sad thing. A young girl passed away. It is a tragedy. But what is even more tragic is that this woman, Martha, is trying to blame a noble young man for it. She has no proof. She has no witnesses. She only has a story that she made up in her head because she is poor and she is greedy."

Martha felt a sharp pain in her chest. "That is not true!" she cried out. "My daughter wrote everything in her diary! She told me everything!"

"Silence!" the judge shouted. He hit his hammer again. "You will speak only when you are told to speak, old woman."

The lawyer continued. "We have checked the records, Your Honor. There is no diary. There are no medical reports. There is only the word of a woman who is clearly not thinking straight. Julian Sterling was at a party with hundreds of people. He is a good boy. He is a hero to many. To accuse him of such a thing is a crime in itself."

Martha wanted to scream. She wanted to tell them that the police had burned the diary. She wanted to tell them that the guards at the party had turned their heads away. But she knew that no one in this room wanted to hear the truth. The truth was too expensive for them. They preferred the comfortable lies of the Senator.

The judge did not even look at the empty space where the evidence should have been. He did not ask any questions. He did not call any witnesses who might have seen Julian on the balcony. He acted as if the trial was already over before it even started.

"This is a very serious matter," Judge Miller said. He looked down at Martha from his high seat. "The Sterling family is a noble family. They have done so much for this city. To attack them with such vicious lies is a slap in the face of justice. We cannot allow people to go around telling stories just to extort money from the rich."

"I do not want money!" Martha shouted. Her voice was shaking with emotion. "I want my daughter back! I want the man who hurt her to pay for what he did! Is there no justice in this world for a blind widow?"

The judge’s face turned red with anger. "You are lucky I do not charge you with more crimes for your shouting. I have made my decision. The evidence shows that you have fabricated this entire story. You have tried to destroy the reputation of a young man who has a bright future. This is a crime called defamation. It is a very bad thing to do."

The courtroom was so quiet you could hear a pin drop. Julian finally looked up from his phone. He wanted to hear the punishment. He wanted to see the woman who dared to stand against him get crushed.

"Martha," the judge said. "For your vicious lies and your attempt to blackmail the Sterling family, I sentence you to five years in prison. You will be taken from this place to the state penitentiary immediately."

A loud gasp went through the room. Five years! For an old woman who was blind and grieving, five years in a hard prison was like a death sentence. It was a punishment meant to break her spirit. It was a punishment meant to show everyone else what happens when you speak against the Senator.

The guards stepped forward and grabbed Martha’s arms. They began to pull her out of the dock. Martha’s feet dragged on the floor. She felt like the world was falling apart. She had lost her daughter, she had lost her home, and now she was losing her freedom.

As she was being led down the middle of the courtroom, she had to pass right by Julian Sterling.

Julian stood up. He was very close to her. Even though Martha could not see his face, she could feel his presence. She could smell that same sandalwood perfume that his father wore. It was the smell of power that had no heart.

Julian leaned in close. He did not say a word, but he did something very cruel. He made a loud "muah" sound with his lips. He blew her a mock kiss. It was a sign of how little he cared. It was a way of telling her that he had won and she had lost. He was mocking her darkness. He was mocking her pain.

Then, Julian began to laugh. It was a low, mean sound that rang in Martha’s ears. It was the sound of a boy who thought he was a god. It was the sound of a person who believed that money could buy everything, even a person’s soul.

"Take her out!" the Sergeant shouted.

Martha was led through the heavy doors of the courtroom. She was taken down to a dark van that was waiting in the back. The metal of the van was hot from the sun. The guards pushed her inside and locked the door.

Inside the van, it was very dark and very quiet. Martha sat on the hard bench. She could hear the engine start. She could feel the van moving away from the court, away from her life, and toward the big stone walls of the prison.

She thought about Amina. She thought about the medical school books that were still sitting on the table in their little house. She thought about the orange trees in the garden. She wondered who would water them now. She wondered if the Senator would tear her house down just to be mean.

When the van finally stopped, Martha heard the sound of big iron gates opening. The sound of metal scraping against metal was the loudest thing she had ever heard. It sounded like the world was closing its mouth.

The guards led her out of the van. The air here was different. It did not smell like the city or the garden. It smelled like wet stone and old iron.

"Walk straight," a guard commanded.

Martha walked. She heard the sound of many keys jangling on a belt. She heard the sound of other women shouting and crying in the distance. This was a place where people were forgotten. This was the place where the Senator wanted her to die.

They reached a cell. Martha heard the heavy door swing open.

"This is your home for the next five years," the guard said. He pushed her inside.

Martha tripped and fell onto the cold, hard floor. Before she could get up, she heard the most terrible sound in the world.

"SLAM!"

The prison door shut with a force that shook the floor. The lock clicked. Martha was alone in a room she could not see, in a world that did not care, and under a law that had turned its back on her.

Outside, the sun was shining and the music was playing at the Sterling Mansion. Julian was probably already planning his next party. He thought the story was over. He thought the blind woman was gone forever.

But as Martha lay on the cold floor of her cell, she didn't cry. She reached out her hand and felt the stone wall. It was strong. It was solid. And so was she. The Senator had given her five years in the dark. He did not realize that she had lived in the dark for a long time. He did not realize that the dark is where you learn how to listen. And Martha was listening. She was listening for the sound of the wind, the sound of the truth, and the sound of the justice that was still waiting to be born.

The silence of the prison was deep, but Martha’s heart was still beating. "One day," she whispered to the cold stones. "One day, the Prince of Chaos will fall."

How can a judge be so unfair to a blind mother who has lost everything?

Julian blew a mock kiss and laughed at Martha. Does this make you want to see him get caught even more?

Do you think Martha will survive five years in a hard prison, or will she find a way to get out early?

If you were a lawyer in that courtroom, would you have been brave enough to help Martha for free?

The hero is behind bars and the villain is celebrating. It seems like the end, but the greatest stories always have a twist!