Sophia stood rigidly, her hands clasped together. Her nerves were getting the best of her. The room was quiet, and the older man was over by the door. The two of them were the witnesses, and they were about to be summoned before the court in a matter of minutes. The defendant was surely giving testimony, and they were going to have to give their accounts as well. Sophia still hadn't seen who Ernest Villin was, but she would very soon.

The door suddenly swung open and the bailiff peeked in. "Witnesses, to the stand!"

Sophia and the elderly man followed him into the courtroom. The quiet murmurs from the gallery made her anxious, and the judgmental stares of the jurors didn't help. She briefly caught her husband's gaze, and that alone helped her relax a little.

The prosecutor cleared his throat. "Witnesses, state your names and occupations."

Sophia had to keep herself from swooning. Why must he be so dashing when he's prosecuting?

The old man beside her was the first to speak. "Earl Grey. I run the tea shop, Herbal Magic."

Sophia straightened up. "Sophia Grace van Zieks. I'm a renowned singer, dancer, and pianist of London."

The judge smiled brightly. "Ah, Mrs. van Zieks. I deeply regret hearing that your performance was postponed due to this terrible incident. I was looking forward to it."

The noblewoman smiled and gave an elegant curtsy. "It will be rescheduled shortly, My Lord. Once these matters are resolved."

"Witnesses," Barok interrupted, "if you would do us the honor of recounting the events that took place at Herbal Magic on the day of the incident?"

"Well, it was a slow day at the shop with few customers," Mr. Grey explained. "It was right after I returned from my lunch break when the defendant entered my shop. He was polite and took his time browsing my tea blends. It was around 1 P.M. when the lady next to me came in with her maid on her heels."

Sophia nodded to confirm his statement. "Yes, Emily and I arrived around 1. After a few minutes, I left to browse a boutique a few shops away, leaving Emily to purchase our preferred tea."

"After Mrs. van Zieks left, I was approached by the defendant over there." Mr. Grey pointed to the well-dressed man over in his seat. "He requested a rare type of tea, so I left the counter to check my supplies in the backroom. I was back there for maybe 15 to 20 minutes just going through every type of tea I had in stock."

"And I returned after about 20 minutes to find Emily behind a few shelves…dead."

"I hurried out from the storeroom when I heard a scream. Scared me half to death when I saw Mrs. van Zieks here leaning over the maid, sobbing and shaking like a leaf. I went out to fetch a bobby as soon as possible."

With that, the witness testimony was over. Voices of anger directed toward the defendant erupted from the gallery. The onlookers were clearly on Sophia's side.

Barok looked at the judge and the jury. "As you can see, there was no other person present who could've killed Ms. Cook. No one but the defendant, Ernest Villin."

The defense attorney slammed his hands on his desk, silencing the gallery. "Objection! According to the defendant's testimony earlier, he left before the incident occurred!"

"Objection!" van Zieks shouted. "There was no one else present! Unless you can prove that someone else was there at the time of the murder, your argument is flawed, my learned friend!"

"Excuse me."

Everyone's eyes shifted to the witness stand. Before Sophia could even move, someone barged between her and the elderly man. It was the defendant, dressed formally with a top hat and a monocle over his left eye. The woman completely froze, a quiet gasp escaping her lips. She could hardly believe her eyes. Upon seeing his face for the first time, she recognized him immediately. The scarred man from a year ago. It was him.

"I'd like to add a bit more to my testimony, if you'd be so kind," Mr. Villin spoke up, speaking like a civilized gentleman.

The judge nodded, his gaze stern. "Very well, defendant. But I don't appreciate uncalled for witnesses on the stand."

Ernest bowed. "It won't happen again, My Lord." He smiled. "I'd like to remind you all that I did indeed leave the shop as I said earlier. I had asked the owner for a particular blend, but after a few minutes, I decided to simply check at another shop. It was rude of me, I know. But I wasn't in the mood to stand there all day for my tea." He almost smirked at the prosecutor. "You say no one else could've killed her, but there is someone. Your wife is as much a suspect as I am."

"What?!" Barok yelled, his fist hitting the desk. "How dare you infer that she would kill her own servant! There's no proof!"

"You say that to defend her," Ernest shot back, remaining calm and collected, "but there are a few factors you're forgetting. I have no motive. I didn't even know the maid, unlike Mrs. van Zieks. Secondly, the gold necklace used to strangle the victim was certainly not mine, and even the tea shop's owner can confirm that the victim wasn't wearing it beforehand. That leaves only one other person it could belong to." His cold, lone eye landed on the woman beside him.

Sophia suddenly found herself the center of attention. The volume of everyone's voices was rising. It was up to the judge's gavel to silence the masses. The woman was stunned into silence. She couldn't stop staring at the man, certain now more than ever that he was the killer. He'd taken away her family already, and he was back to finish what he'd started.

"There is a motive!" Sophia suddenly cried.

The judge blinked at her, taken aback by her outburst. "Whatever do you mean, Mrs. van Zieks?"

She pointed to the male beside her. "This man… He has a motive because…because…" She swallowed her fear and spit it out. "This is one of the men that kidnapped me a year ago. He was responsible for the death of the Bellerose family…my family."

Ernest sneered. "You must be mistaken, madam. I have no idea what you're talking about."

"The three men behind that slaughter were hanged," the defense stated. "This man has no connection to that incident."

"He does!" Sophia argued, her hands gripping the rail of the stand. "There was a fourth man pulling the strings behind my kidnapping! This is him, I'm certain of it!"

"And where's your proof?" Ernest urged. "If you're so sure, then show me, little flower."

Sophia turned to her husband, but he seemed to be lost in thought, searching for a way he could connect that man to her kidnapping. As much as he wanted to defend her, he had to rely on evidence to prove the accusations or he could be seen as foolish to believe in baseless conjecture. He knew that rule well. Sophia knew that too, and she couldn't blame him for abiding by it. A confident laugh erupted from Ernest, and that's what pushed Sophia to do something crazy. Something unthinkable. Something risky.

Without hesitation, the woman snatched the hat from the man's head, yanking it off along with the wig he was wearing. Simultaneously, she swiped the monocle off his face as well. Ernest was stunned, his scarred eye and short blond hair there for all to see. There were many gasps and murmurs of surprise from the onlookers.

"It is you!" Sophia shouted. She looked to the judge. "My Lord, Mr. Villin was in disguise this whole time! He concealed his most identifying features! What purpose would he have to do that if he wasn't behind this?! Barok, please! You know it's suspicious!"

The prosecutor nodded, trying to keep his composure and refrain from letting his desire to defend her overrule his judgement. "I concur with the lady. I think it's clear that the defendant has been keeping secrets. And if we were to investigate his background, we might just find proof of these claims."

"You won't get the chance!" Before Sophia could turn toward him, Ernest had already grabbed her roughly by the arm. He pulled her back against his chest, and yanked a knife from inside his coat. "Everybody, back off!" The blade against Sophia's throat started an alarmed uproar from the gallery, and the tea shop owner was quick to fearfully back away.

"Unhand her this instant!" Barok demanded, his hand on the handle of his sword. If only looks could kill, Ernest would be dead from the deathly glare of the Reaper.

"Stay where you are, van Zieks!" Mr. Villin ordered. "Or else I'll make her bleed. And I'm sure you don't want that." He chuckled wickedly, keeping a firm hold on Sophia. "I've had to lay low for so long. I won't let you aristocrats get me."

The bailiffs were standing by, unable to make a move with a hostage involved. Same for Barok, he was furious yet filled with terror at the same time. He couldn't let anything happen to Sophia, but he also couldn't let a criminal escape either.

"Wh-why are you doing this?" the woman asked, her voice shaking. She was trying to keep from panicking, but her breathing was heavy. "What have I ever done to y-you?"

"You were one of the rich nobles, walking around flaunting your money around us poor folk. A year ago, all my buddies and I wanted was to be rich too. That's why we kidnapped you and held you for ransom." The entire courtroom was silently listening, hoping to eventually calm and reason with the man. "But your family were a bunch of fools! They wouldn't comply with our terms and made us get our hands dirty. I had to hide away like some filthy vermin, fearing that my identity would be brought to light!" Sophia whimpered, feeling the cold metal touch her skin ever so slightly. "When I bumped into you the other day, I knew it was my chance to keep your pretty little mouth shut forever. But you left the shop, and the maid approached me instead. We were alone, and I was afraid she'd know who I was, so I acted. I used the necklace I stole to frame you. But it seems no one bought my weak attempt."

"So, revenge is what you seek," Barok concluded. "Your thought process is as ludicrous as your actions. What fool allows jealousy to motivate such extreme acts? Only a petty, simple-minded idiot."

Ernest growled. "Shut up! You nobles and aristocrats could never understand! And if I'm going down, then I'm taking her with me!" Sophia hissed, feeling the blade pierce her skin. Blood trickled down her neck. Barok started to move again, but stopped upon meeting the threatening gaze of the killer. "Stop! No closer or I'll slit her throat! All of you, let us through! Any sudden moves and she's dead!"

The bailiffs and police slowly backed off, allowing the killer to head for the doors. Sophia was pulled along, unable to put up a struggle for fear of the knife cutting deeper into her throat. Just as Ernest went to open the door out of the room, someone barged in and a sword stabbed into the man's shoulder. Kazuma was at the end of that blade. Ernest shrieked in pain, and it was then that Barok made his move, rushing him in the blink of an eye. His own beautiful sabre cut into the killer's arm, both disarming him and nearly slicing his limb clean off. There was a scream of agony, and the knife clattered to the floor. In one swift motion, Barok took Sophia in his free arm, pulling her safely to him and out of danger.

Sophia panted, the stinging sensation in her throat instilling her with fear. Her heart was pounding and she almost felt faint. All she could do was squeeze her eyes shut and hold on to her husband. She entrusted him with her safety. Like a year ago, it had been a traumatic experience. The only difference was that the scarred man from her past had finally been caught. There was no more running. No more hiding. Sophia wouldn't have to fear him any longer.