The news was already everywhere. Her face, a photo from some charity event where she'd been smiling and beautiful and happy, stared back at her from the screen.
The headline scrolling beneath was damning:
"BREAKING NEWS: Lin Heiress Arrested for Grandmother's Murder.... Who was killed for 50 Million Yuan Inheritance.... The trial is set for Today."
Today. They were going to try her today and convict her today. Destroy whatever remained of her life today.
The police station was a blur of harsh fluorescent lighting and cold institutional grey walls.
They processed her with mechanical efficiency, fingerprints taken, her hands pressed onto the inkpad and then the paper, over and over.
Photographs from every angle, front, side, holding a number placard that made everything horrifyingly, undeniably real.
She was a criminal now, in the system. Processed and catalogued like any common murderer.
A female officer led her to a holding cell. "You'll be here until they're ready for you at the courthouse. Your lawyer will meet you there."
"When?" Shuyin's voice sounded hollow, unfamiliar to her own ears. "When is the trial?"
The officer checked her watch. "Court's in session at two PM. So about five hours."
Five hours. Five hours to prepare a defense for a murder she didn't commit. Five hours before her entire life would be decided.
The cell door clanged shut with another one of those terrible, final sounds. Shuyin sank onto the narrow metal bench, the surface cold even through her nightgown.
She was still in her nightgown and barefoot. She hadn't eaten and hadn't slept.
Her grandmother was dead, murdered, they said, by her own hand. And in five hours, she would be standing in front of a judge and jury who had already been told she was guilty.
She pulled her knees to her chest and stared at the concrete wall. She was too shocked even to cry anymore.
There were no tears left. Just a hollow, aching emptiness where her life used to be.
Time passed strangely in the cell. Sometimes minutes felt like hours. Sometimes she would blink and realize an hour had vanished.
A guard brought her food at some point, a sandwich and water, but she couldn't eat. The smell made her stomach turn.
At 1:30 PM, the cell door opened again.
"Lin Shuyin? Time to go. Your lawyer is waiting at the courthouse."
They gave her clothes to change into, not her own, but a simple grey dress that looked like it had come from a donation bin. It hung loosely on her frame. Her hair was still uncombed, pulled back into a messy ponytail with an elastic band the female officer provided.
No makeup. No jewelry. She looked nothing like Lin Shuyin, socialite and beloved granddaughter.
She looked like a prisoner, because that's what she was.
The media circus at the courthouse was even worse than at the hospital. More barriers had been set up, but they did little to contain the massive crowd that had gathered.
News vans lined every available space on the street. Protesters had organized with shocking speed, holding signs that read;
"JUSTICE FOR GRANDMOTHER LIN,"
"NO MERCY FOR KILLERS,"
"DEATH PENALTY FOR MURDERERS."
Death penalty. The words made Shuyin's blood run cold.
There were counter-protesters too, though far fewer. Some held signs saying "INNOCENT UNTIL PROVEN GUILTY" and "INVESTIGATE THE FAMILY."
But they were drowned out by the larger, angrier crowd baying for her blood.
The van couldn't even get close to the entrance. The crowd was too thick, too aggressive.
Police officers on horseback had to clear a path, their voices amplified through megaphones.
"Clear the way! Official police business! Clear the way!"
When the van doors finally opened, the sound hit Shuyin like a physical force.
Screaming, chanting, the thunder of hundreds of voices united in their hatred of her.
"Murderer! Murderer! Murderer!"
The officers formed a tight circle around her, their bodies a human shield as they pushed through the mob.
Shuyin kept her head down, but she could feel things hitting her, not hard enough to injure, but enough to terrify. They were crumpled papers, plastic bottles, someone's shoe, and spit that landed on her shoulder.
"You deserve to die!"
"Burn in hell!"
"Monster!"
" You are a monster...."
The courthouse steps seemed impossibly far away. Every step was a battle through the screaming crowd.
And then they were inside, the heavy doors slamming shut behind them, muffling the chaos to a dull roar that still echoed through the marble halls.
A woman was waiting for them in the hallway outside the courtroom. She was young, maybe in her early thirties, with glasses and an overstuffed briefcase that looked like it might burst open at any moment.
She rushed forward as soon as she saw them.
"Lin Shuyin? I'm Zhou Mei. I've been appointed as your defense attorney."