Sam's POV.

"Liar!"

"She was jealous of Diane!"

"She's evil!"

The endless accusatory words kept echoing in my head. Then my adoptive mother's threats too.

"Sam, you're going to take the blame, or I'll make sure I destroy you."

I was shaking and almost going crazy as I stood before the school tribunal, awaiting their judgment.

My best friend, Diane, had lost her life a few days ago at the hands of my adoptive sister, Benny, who was jealous of Diane's relationship with Ethan, the Alpha's son, and wanted her out of the way so she wouldn't be chosen as the next Luna.

I had witnessed my sister pushing Diane into the toilet, resulting in her death, yet here I was, standing before the school tribunal as the accused.

"Do you accept that you are the one who murdered her?" The school headmistress asked and I tried to speak up, say something in response but my mouth was suddenly heavy, it was as if words were stuck in my throat.

"Samantha Woods, do you admit before everyone that you murdered Diane Smith a few days ago in the toilet?" she asked. I tried to respond, but my mouth wouldn't open.

"Samantha!" I heard my adoptive yell my name, causing me to jerk and come back to the present. As I looked up at her, her eyes narrowed, and her jaw clenched as she took a step closer to me.

Her voice dropped to a low growl, and I could feel the heat of her anger radiating towards me. I flinched, my heart racing, as she quietly hissed.

"You better not screw this up, Sam.'" Before heading back to her seat making me so uncomfortable and sweaty despite the weather being cold.

"Samantha!" The headmistress called, attracting my attention back to her and I turned to face her.

"Samantha. This is the school court and you are obliged to answer whatever questions that are thrown to you and not act the way you want to okay or we will pass the final verdict without caring to hear anything from you," she threatened and I swallowed hard, and clasped my hand together.

It wasn't easy accepting to be a culprit for the crime I didn't commit, especially the crime against my best friend who had done nothing but had been absolutely good to me.

There was nothing Diane hadn't done for me, she would go against her family, she was ready to end her relationship with the Alpha's son and do anything just to make sure I was alright so standing here to accept taking the punishment for the death of my best friend was something bitter that I wished I could never do but remembering all that my adoptive mother said to me last night was more bitter than this.

If I am not here admitting that I killed Diane instead of Benny, my adoptive sister, then my life will really be over because there was manipulated evidence against me.

Instead of Benny being recorded in the school camera as the one who killed Diane, I was the one there—and I didn't know how my adoptive mother manipulated it to turn out like that. She had asked me to choose: willingly accept that I was the murderer of Diane and get Benny to stand as a witness for me to testify that I had done it out of mistake, or she would submit the evidence to back up the alarm Benny had raised on that day, accusing me of being Diane's murderer.

If that happened, I would be hanged for killing my best friend according to the pack laws. But knowing that the best option was accepting that I was the murderer so I wouldn't get hanged, I had to agree. It wasn't like this was the first time I was cleaning after her daughter and I wasn't sure it would be the last unless I made it stop.

My adoptive mother had promised me that she would make sure I ended up serving a few years in prison with some minor punishment, and I would be out.

Then everything would be alright because that would be easier for her family since I was adopted. But if her biological daughter Benny were exposed as the murderer, her dream of Benny being chosen as Ethan's Luna to elevate our family status would be ruined.

She couldn't imagine her daughter being labeled a murderer and hanged and then her family which was also mine becoming a laughing stock.

"Samantha," I heard an angry voice hiss, and a slap stung my cheek, jerking me out of my absent mind.

Benny stormed beside me, her voice venomous.

"What's wrong with you? Focus, so I can get out of here. I'm humiliated to be standing up for you," she hissed, as if granting me a favor by testifying on my behalf.

Her words stung, but I knew better than to react.

Her manipulative nature and talent for gaslighting had always made her mother make me take the fall for her mistakes time and time again. From our young age, Benny had mastered the art of playing the innocent, shifting the blame every time onto me easily under her mother's support.

Now, as we stood in court with my future hanging in the balance, Benny's conscience remained clear – or so it seemed because that had always been the case. She was the perpetrator and I was always the scapegoat.

"I am sorry," I whispered but she shrugged.

"Samantha." It was the headmistress's voice again and this time, I paid attention, finally ready to give everyone the answer I knew all of them wanted to hear.

"Samantha Woods, did you murder your best friend,

Diane Smith two nights ago in the school restroom?" She asked and I went quiet for a while as tears filled my eyes but I knew I had to muster the courage to admit it.

"Yeah! I did," I answered and the hall erupted in a gasp. The audience started whispering aloud and I could hear a lot of them cursing me, and saying they could not believe I was that evil after everything Diane did for me, I ended up taking her life. Some even said it might have been that I was jealous of her life since she was dating the Alpha's son and was from a rich family which I couldn't dream of but I could only sigh as I tried to block out their whispers from my head.

"Silence," the headmistress's voice echoed and everyone became silent.

"Well. Can we know the reason why you took her life," she said, staring at me.

I swallowed hard and my eyes shifted to my stepmother who had a smile on her face. She winked at me, signaling me to explain, just as she had instructed me.

"It wasn't intentional," I said, shaking all over. "We were playing in the school restroom, and I unintentionally pushed her. She slipped and hit her head on the water closet."

The hall erupted in noise again, with many disagreeing with my account.

"'Do you have any evidence or a witness who can vouch for you?" the headmistress asked.

"Yeah, I'm a witness," Benny spoke, raising her hand and stepping forward.

Everyone's eyes widened in surprise, because they all knew that Benny was the last person who would involve herself in anything concerning me.

"I just happened to be in the school bathroom that day, and what she said is exactly what happened," she stated.

"But you raised an alarm that day, saying she killed Diane. If it was never intentional, why didn't you say so after raising the alarm?" one of the teachers asked. I could see the irritation the question caused Benny, but instead of showing guilt or remorse, she looked at me with disgust.

"That was because I was afraid after witnessing what happened," she replied. The hall erupted in murmurs until the headmistress called for calm.

"Does anyone believe that Benny might not be telling the truth and that Sam purposely killed Diane?" the headmistress asked. However, no one stepped forward.

"Well, in that case, I'll make this judgment quickly, since today is the last day."

"Now, I'll announce the punishment she'll face. She will…"

"Wait! I have the evidence exhibiting who murdered my sister," a voice rang out and we all turned in its direction, it was Jane, Diane's sister.