Chapter 4

Before my transfer to the out-of-state branch plant, I took a few days off, planning to rest up in the dormitory.

After the signed complaint was filed under my real name, investigators from Roy's workplace came to see me.

They confirmed the facts, and not long after they left, Roy's mother stormed into the dormitory in a fury.

Without a word, she grabbed my arm and dragged me off the bed.

My body hadn't recovered yet, and my incision still hurt. I had no strength to resist, and she yanked me so hard that I crashed to the floor, hitting it painfully.

She pointed at me and cursed, "You heartless thing! Who committed any lewd conduct? You deserve it! You gave birth to a girl, and she died the moment she was born—that's your fate! And you still have the nerve to report my son?!"

I curled up on the floor while she lunged at me, pinching and hitting. My head was buzzing, and my vision kept going black.

Thank goodness the other women workers from the dormitory finally came back from their shift, and together they pulled and shoved the old woman out.

Before I could catch my breath, the door was pushed open again.

Roy rushed in, his forehead drenched in sweat, his clothes disheveled.

He grabbed my wrist and pulled me up off the bed. "Marilyn, you're coming with me right now!"

"Because of your report, my workplace is going to publicly discipline me and Bonnie. You have to come help set the record straight!"

He pulled so hard I stumbled a step, and the pain in my wound flared worse.

I tried to shake off his hand, but I couldn't.

His voice was edged with panic. "Marilyn, you can't keep making trouble like this, don't you understand?"

"You're going to get Bonnie and me killed doing this!"

I looked up at him and suddenly felt how absurd it all was.

I stared at him and said slowly, "If it really was just colleagues looking out for each other, then how did you two get the company-assigned housing? You need a marriage certificate to get an apartment."

He was speechless for a moment, guilt flickering in his eyes.

But he quickly changed the subject, his face going stern. "Marilyn, you don't understand at all. You're just a worker with an elementary school education. If you can't follow what I'm saying, then stop spreading rumors everywhere and come with me now!"

And with that he dragged and hauled me out of the dormitory.

We went across the factory grounds and down two streets until we reached their school.

The school gates stood wide open, and even from a distance I could see a huge crowd packed in front of the speaking platform on the far side of the field, a dark mass of people.

The crowd jostled me forward, and I could hear the buzz of talk all around.

They were calling Bonnie a whore, saying the leaders should march Bonnie and Roy through the streets.

Bonnie was standing up on the platform.

Her hair was loose, her face deathly pale, and she stood there with her head down, her shoulders shaking, insisting over and over that she'd been wronged.

Several people from the school security office stood blocking the front of the platform, but the crowd below was so worked up that she was trembling all over with fear.

Roy pulled me through the crowd, and when we got to the side of the platform, I finally managed to break free of his grip.

"Roy, let go of me!"

"You two brought this on yourselves! What is there left to explain?! Let go of me!"

He was full of anger and urgency. He held back, and held back again, then suddenly cupped my face in both hands and made me look at him.

His eyes were bloodshot, and he said through gritted teeth, one word at a time, "Marilyn, listen to me."

"There's really nothing between Bonnie and me. If your misunderstanding gets Bonnie killed, how will your conscience live with that?"

"If something happens to her, what happens to the child? Have you even thought about that?"

"If I'm lying to you, may heaven strike me dead, may the school expel me on the spot!"

He paused, and looked at me almost pleading. "Marilyn, all you have to do is go up there and set the record straight now, and there's still a chance to turn this around—you can save her life and mine."

"If both she and I die because of your misunderstanding, you'll never have any peace for the rest of your life."

I looked at him.

His eyes were sincere, desperate, and looking into them my heart began to waver.

In that one instant of distraction, he had already pulled me up onto the platform.

The voices below were a chaotic, buzzing jumble, and I couldn't make out a thing.

My mind was still a mess when Roy started speaking loudly.

He lifted my arm and thrust it toward the dark mass of people below, his voice rising over all the clamor:

"Comrades! Everyone, listen to me!"

"My marriage certificate with Bonnie is real. We're the ones who are a lawful married couple!"

For a moment the crowd went silent.

"This woman, Marilyn!"

He clamped down on my wrist and shoved me forward half a step. "Because she's always been infatuated with me, and because she wanted to cheat her way into the company-assigned housing, she deliberately forged a fake marriage certificate!"

"She's the one who's been profiteering and committing lewd conduct!"

I turned my head and stared at him in disbelief...