My Husband's Family Puts Me on the Marriage Tribunal1
On our tenth wedding anniversary, my husband and his family dragged me to the Marriage Tribunal.
When Jake Morris accused me of the various abuses he'd endured over the past ten years, everyone in the courtroom was shocked.
Outraged, they attacked my character, eager to see me brought down.
But when the verdict was announced, the entire room fell silent.
On the day that should have marked a decade of marriage, I didn't receive flowers or embraces.
Instead, Jake brought me to court, demanding a thorough investigation of my financial situation.
He even claimed I should repay every penny he'd ever spent on me during our marriage.
I was blindsided and dragged to the courtroom without warning.
As I stood there, facing the accusations, I turned to Jake.
He had even brought his relatives, who were more than willing to vouch for my supposed cruelty.
"You'll die a terrible death for what you've done to Jake, Elena Mann."
"You heartless woman. You even abandoned your own son. He's only eight years old, for God's sake."
Before the judge could say a word, Jake and his family had already launched their attack.
His mother sat in the audience, bawling hysterically, while she loudly recounted my alleged misdeeds.
I stared at them and sank into thought.
The spectators, too, glared at me with fury.
They acted as if I had wronged each of them.
And then, the trial began.
I was led to the defendant's stand, just behind the memory extraction device.
The judge turned to me, her voice stern. "Defendant, based on the plaintiff's accusations, we will now proceed with a memory extraction for truth verification.
"If everything aligns with the plaintiff's claims, you will be convicted."
I glanced at Jake.
Beside him were his sister, his mother, and our eight-year-old son.
They stood there, smug.
I asked, "Are you sure this trial will be one hundred percent fair? No favoritism?"
A murmur ran through the audience, shocked by my question.
Just a week ago, Jake had teamed up with his mother and sister to post a plea for help online.
They announced that they were taking me to court because I wanted a divorce.
Now, this wasn't any ordinary court. To ensure absolute fairness, both the plaintiff's and defendant's memories would be extracted and reviewed.
The judge, along with the Scales of Justice, would determine the verdict.