The Night I Was Framed

Chapter 1 I wasn’t supposed to stop that night If I had just kept walking, ignored the sound, minded my business like every normal person would, maybe my life wouldn’t be like this Maybe I wouldn’t be standing here right now, trying to remember something I’m not sure I even want to remember But I stopped And everything changed It started with a sound Not a scream exactly, more like something sharp and quick, like someone tried to shout but forced it back down I froze immediately My feet refused to move, like my body reacted before my brain could catch up The street was quiet, almost empty, just one flickering light above me and the distant hum of a generator somewhere “Keep going,” I muttered under my breath This is not your business But then it came again Softer and closer My chest tightened Something wasn’t right I should have left I know that now But instead, I turned Slowly Carefully At first, nothing Just shadows stretching across the road Then something moved A figure Standing still like he had been there all along My heart skipped He wasn’t doing anything Just standing Watching And somehow that made it worse Because he wasn’t surprised to see me He was expecting it A cold feeling slid down my spine I took a small step back “I didn’t see anything,” I said quickly The words came out before I could think Bad lie We both knew that His head tilted slightly, like he found that interesting “You should have kept walking,” he said His voice was calm Too calm Like none of this was strange My throat felt dry “I’m leaving,” I said, already turning “If you leave now…” I stopped “…you won’t make it home” My heart started beating faster Slowly, I turned back Something in his eyes had changed Something darker Then I saw her On the ground A girl She was barely moving, her hand dragging weakly like she was trying to hold onto something My breath caught “What did you do?” I asked before I could stop myself He didn’t answer He just smiled And that was when I knew something was very wrong Because that smile… It wasn’t normal No warmth No emotion Just something cold I took another step back “I didn’t see anything,” I repeated “You already did,” he said My heart was pounding now “I don’t want any trouble” “You already have it” Confusion hit me instantly “What do you mean?” He stepped closer I stepped back until my back hit the wall No space No escape My breath became uneven “What do you want from me?” He looked at me Really looked at me this time Then his gaze dropped “To your hand,” he said quietly I frowned “What about my” I stopped My breath caught A knife In my hand Covered in blood My fingers started shaking immediately “I… I didn’t…” I couldn’t even finish the sentence I don’t remember picking it up I don’t remember touching anything The girl on the ground made a weak sound Alive She was still alive Panic rushed through me “I didn’t do this,” I said quickly But my voice sounded weak Unconvincing Like even I didn’t believe it The man just watched me Like this was exactly what he wanted Then A loud sound cut through the air A siren My heart dropped Police The man smiled again Wider this time And for the first time, I understood This wasn’t an accident This was planned “What did you do?” I whispered He didn’t answer He stepped back slowly Then another step And another Until the darkness swallowed him completely “No wait!” I said quickly But he was gone Like he was never there The siren got louder Closer Too close My breathing became uneven as I looked down at my hand again The blood The knife Everything felt unreal “No… no no…” The girl stopped moving Completely My chest tightened painfully This can’t be happening The knife slipped from my hand and hit the ground Then voices “Don’t move!” I turned sharply Three police officers Guns pointed directly at me Fear gripped my chest “I didn’t do anything,” I said immediately But everything about this scene said otherwise One of them stepped forward slowly “Hands up” My hands went up instantly My body was shaking “I swear, I didn’t” “Save it” His voice was firm Cold Then he looked at me properly And something changed in his expression Not surprise Recognition Like he already knew me My heart skipped “Amelia Carter,” he said slowly Hearing my name from him felt wrong Too familiar “You are under arrest for murder” My breath stopped “What?” “That’s not possible, I didn’t” “Turn around” My legs felt weak as I obeyed My mind was spinning Nothing made sense Cold metal snapped around my wrist Handcuffs Tears blurred my vision This isn’t real It can’t be Then one of the officers spoke again “Sir… you need to see this” I frowned slightly The officer bent down and picked something from the ground Something small Something shiny My heart skipped A necklace Mine I’ve been wearing it all day But that wasn’t what scared me It was the engraving He turned it slightly And read it out loud “Case Forty-Seven…” My breath caught “…Subject: Amelia Carter” Everything inside me went cold “What does that mean?” I whispered No one answered The officer just looked at me This time with certainty Like everything had just been confirmed And in that moment A terrifying thought hit me What if this didn’t start tonight What if… This has been planned for a long time