A bright incandescent light shone harshly overhead in the police station's interrogation room. There was also a musty smell in the air.

I sat in an icy steel chair, with Captain Jenkins and a female officer sitting across the table from me. The latter was in charge of recording the process.

"Name."

"Charles Luson."

"Age."

"28."

"Occupation."

"Unemployed."

Captain Jenkins slammed his pen down on the table, the sound ringing in the room.

"Mr. Luson, I suggest you come clean! There's already evidence and a witness to prove your crime! Just how long do you plan on lying about this?"

I turned in his direction and calmly asked, "May I ask who the witness is? And what evidence do you have?"

"The witness is none other than the victim, Rebecca Zangler! As for the evidence…"

Captain Jenkins paused, seemingly realizing that this was a tricky situation.

"We're still searching for the evidence! Don't think that you'll be fine just because you refuse to admit to your crime!"

Then, he spoke in a much sterner voice, as though he were attempting to cow me with his authority.

"Ms. Zangler has already told us everything! You only moved in last week, yet you've harbored intentions toward her right from the start! Every night at eight, you would use your binoculars to peep on her while she showered! You even took photos of her and uploaded them to a shady overseas website to earn money!

"Everything you've done is a serious offense! If you come clean now, then you'll still get a chance to apply for leniency!"

I almost laughed in his face. Everything had been perfectly thought out—the time, location, tools, and motive. If I weren't the person involved, I would've believed that story to be true!

"Captain Jenkins," I began, instantly cutting off his tirade, "Firstly, I don't have binoculars. Secondly, I don't have anything that could commit the latter crime. I already switched my laptop and phone to models suitable for blind people three years ago. None of them has a camera to take photos. Thirdly, and most importantly…"

Pausing for a second, I then put emphasis on my next words. "I'm blind. That means I can't see anything."

Captain Jenkins' breathing grew audibly heavier.

"I already told you to stop using that as an excuse! We'll take you to get an examination to prove whether you truly are blind or not! Before the results of that come out, you're the biggest suspect!"

At that moment, the interrogation room door opened before a young officer stuck his head inside.

"Captain Jenkins, the victim is extremely agitated and keeps crying. She says she's taking this to the higher-ups because she claims we're defending the criminal."

Captain Jenkin's face darkened at the news. "I got it."

Waving a hand to dismiss the young officer, he then turned to glare at me.

Naturally, I couldn't see his glare, but I could hear the sound of his teeth grinding.

"Mr. Luson, do you have any idea how much pressure we're under right now because of you? Ms. Zangler graduated from a prestigious university, so a lot of people are paying attention to this case. If this matter isn't handled properly, our entire precinct is going to suffer criticism!"

In that instant, I understood. Rather than finding out the truth, he was more interested in soothing ruffled feathers.

And the easiest way to do that? Force me into admitting to the crime.

"So, just because you don't want to be criticized, you want me to admit to something I didn't do?" I uttered coldly.

However, my attitude seemed to anger Captain Jenkins.

"What sort of attitude is that? Who do you think you are? Let me tell it to you straight—anyone who comes in here has to adhere to our rules and obey us, no matter who they are! You absolutely refuse to come clean, right? That's alright! We have plenty of ways to loosen your lips!"

He stood up and gazed down at me imperiously.

"Lock him up and wait for the search warrant! Once we have it, we'll turn his house upside down! I refuse to believe we won't find any evidence!"

The door opened, and two police officers entered to grab me by the arms.

I didn't resist, for I knew that the moment Rebecca called the police, I had already fallen for an elaborate trap. Since they had the guts to do something like this, that meant that they would have done the necessary preparations.

I was certain that what would happen next was the police "finding" some "evidence" in my house, which would result in me being thoroughly branded with this shame.

…

The metal door swung shut behind me with a deep thud as I was locked into a temporary detainment cell.

The room was incredibly small, with only a hard slab for a bed and a toilet bowl. The cloying smell of disinfectant mixed with the despair that hung heavy in the air.

With my hands outstretched, I slowly fumbled my way over to the bed and sat down to quietly listen to the noises outside my cell.

The sound of footsteps echoed up and down the corridor as the police officers went about their business. I could hear a few of them talking to each other in low voices.

"That's the pervert who peeped on that woman showering?"

"He looks like such an ordinary man. Who would've thought he would do something so repulsive?"

"I heard that he claims to be blind. It must be an act, right?"

"Who knows? Either way, he's dead meat. Of all the people he could've offended, it had to be a female white-collar worker."

Their words stabbed into my ears like countless tiny needles.

I had long since grown used to the darkness, but this was the first time that darkness felt bone-chillingly cold.

Roughly two hours later, the metal door swung open once more.

It was Captain Jenkins, holding a transparent evidence bag. A smug smile painted his face as he waved it at me.

"Mr. Luson, look at what I've got here."

He seemed to have forgotten that I couldn't see.

Nonetheless, he was quick to reveal the answer to his question, his tone practically dripping with satisfaction.

"We found this beneath the window at your unit. It's a pair of military-grade binoculars! We also discovered this!"

He took out another evidence bag that contained a digital camera.

"Tons of humiliating photos of Ms. Zangler were found on this camera, with many taken from different angles! What do you have to say for yourself now?"

I remained silent, but deep inside, I was shocked.

They clearly hadn't wasted any time in planting the evidence.

Captain Jenkins took my silence as an admission of guilt.

Pulling a chair over, he sat down across from me and began lecturing me in the way an elder would talk to a younger person.

"Mr. Luson, you're still so young, and you have relatively decent looks. There are plenty of things you could've done to earn money, so why did you resort to something so disgusting?

"With all this concrete evidence, there's no point in you denying it any longer. Hurry up and sign this, and I might be able to help you plead for a lighter sentence from the judge."

He held out a form and a pen.

"Come on, sign it. The quicker we get this over with, the better it is for everyone."

I took note of the impatient and flippant tone in his voice.

He clearly didn't care about the truth; he just wanted to close the case as soon as possible.

Slowly raising my head, I gazed in his direction.

"Captain Jenkins, if I sign this, does that mean I'm admitting to all the charges?"

"But of course!"

"So, I'll be sentenced to prison for voyeurism and distribution of obscene materials?"

"That's right. These crimes will get you a combined sentence of at least three years."

"Then my name, my life, will forever be branded with the title of 'pervert'?"

Captain Jenkins finally lost all patience with me.

"What's with the incessant questions? You did this to yourself and are only reaping what you've sown! You can't blame anyone else but yourself for this!"

I laughed, the sound echoing in the room eerily.

"You're right. Who else can I blame?" I muttered to myself.

Then, I reached out and felt around till I brushed against the statement record.

Just as Captain Jenkins thought I would sign it, I mustered every bit of strength in my body to tear it into shreds.

The scraps of paper fluttered to the floor like falling snow.

Captain Jenkins was utterly dumbfounded, clearly not expecting that I would dare do that.

"You… Are you nuts?" He jumped to his feet and jabbed a finger at me, yelling, "You're resisting arrest, which is an additional charge that will make things worse for you!"

Meeting his fury head-on, I calmly said, "I won't admit to something I didn't do. You can fabricate the evidence, or you can beat me up. Whatever you do, don't think that you can make me submit. You want me to confess to those crimes? Well, over my dead body."

My words had the same effect as if a resounding slap was sent across his cheek. His face reddened, then purpled.

"Alright! Fine!" His entire body was trembling from the extent of his rage. "You have guts, I'll give you that! Let's see just how much you can take, then!"

Following that, he spun on his heel and stomped toward the door, where he bellowed, "Men, cuff him up and submit an official detainment form! I'll make him learn what the authority of the law truly is!"

Seconds later, two officers rushed inside and roughly yanked me off the bed. Once again, I had cuffs slapped over my wrists, but this time, they were much tighter, enough to cause me pain.

With the officers shoving me from behind, I could only stumble my way forward.

At that moment, my phone rang. The monotonous electronic voice typical of a blind-accessible phone then spoke up, telling me I had a call.

Impatience radiated from one of the police officers, and he moved to hang up.

However, I said, "Let me answer it."

My voice was calm and steady, leaving no room for negotiation.

The officers hesitated, only for Captain Jenkins to shout, "As if! Take him away!"

"If this phone call causes you to miss the 'truth' you're so eager to uncover, you'll have to bear the consequences yourselves."

That had Captain Jenkins freezing on the spot and shooting me a suspicious look.

In the end, though, he still gestured for one of the officers to hand me my phone.

I felt around till I found the "accept" button and pressed it. Immediately, a familiar female voice came over the line, tone cold and distant.

"Mr. Luson, it's me, your landlady. I'm giving you three days to move out of my house. I don't want a disgusting pervert staying in my unit."

The woman was none other than my landlady, Mary Liese. Not a hint of warmth was in her voice.

"Mrs. Liese, it's not what you think," I attempted to explain.

"I don't want to hear it!" She cut me off harshly. "I just know that you moved in, and a week later, such an ugly mess happened! The residents' group chat is exploding with messages as everyone is cursing me for renting the place out to you! How am I supposed to rent out that unit in the future? What about my reputation?"

Her voice grew increasingly shrill as she spoke, and it was filled with her fury at being dragged into this matter.

"Mr. Luson, I don't care whether you're truly a pervert or if you're innocent. You only get three days! If you're not moved out by then, I'll have people come in to throw all your belongings out!"

With that, she ended the call, not even waiting for me to respond.

A dead silence descended upon the room.