Epilogue

SUSPECT PLED NOT GUILTY UNDER MURDER CHARGES

36-year-old Charles Hansen, accused of murdering his wife, was pled not guilty to all charges against him which include first-degree murder, malice murder, and felony murder on Tuesday, 14 March 2023.

He was formally charged in court in Boston, Massachusetts on Monday, in a trial that lasted two days, after being held in confinement for three months prior.

He was accused of murdering his 34-year-old wife of three years, Emelia Hansen (née Lynch), with a lethal stab to the throat with a kitchen knife. Police examined the knife at the crime scene and were able to test the DNA upon it, which traced back to Mr. Hansen.

Further evidence, such as text history, search history, and the testimonies of friends have piled against the suspect, making most believe that he was guilty.

Charles Hansen denied all charges against him.

Charles Hansen's attorney, 29-year-old Santana Lopez had delivered her defence for the suspect 'flawlessly' and with 'great composure' in court on the day of the trial. It is said that she had found many 'mistakes' and 'errors' in the evidence that was in the police's possession. She was able to point out various mistakes made in the process of the examination and collection of said evidence, as well as find many holes the police have done in the investigation.

The fight between the plaintiff and defendant's lawyers was a 'spectacular show', witnesses in court say.

The plaintiff's lawyer, Scott Steele, is one of the most respected and expensive lawyers in the whole state of Massachusetts, so his defeat to the up-and-coming, young lawyer Miss Lopez was a huge surprise to all.

It was at 15:30 on Tuesday that Mr. Hansen was pronounced not guilty.

"It is not something to be ecstatic about," Miss Lopez remarked in an interview afterwards. "I was simply doing my job."

When asked what inspired her to take on this career path, Miss Lopez replied, "Law has always interested me. When a tragedy struck twelve years ago, I was more than determined to make it to the top."

Attorney Santana Lopez is rapidly gaining recognition and status as she successfully defended her client 'against all odds' and with 'flawless technique'.

Miss Lopez is currently preparing another case for the murder of 22-year-old Kirsten Harrington.

More information on this case to be revealed in the future.

- Mike Chang for CNN.

"Santana!" 11-year-old Santana quickly threw her school shirt on as her mother screamed at her. "You're going to be late! AGAIN!"

"Alright! I'm coming! Jeez," Santana shouted back as she finished putting on her school uniform and ran out of her bedroom.

"God," her mother chastised as Santana made her way into the dining room. "You are going to be late! On your first day as well! Of middle school! I can't believe you."

"It's fine," Santana mumbled, wolfing down cereal rapidly spoon after spoon, trying her best to not get any milk on her shirt. "I will be on time." She held up her watch. "See? I have twenty minutes. I can get there in ten."

"You better," her mother frowned. "Quinn is already outside waiting for you."

"Is she?" Santana started to eat faster.

"Yes. She's such a well behaved and organised girl. Sometimes, I wish you could learn a thing or two from her," her mother said.

Santana rolled her eyes and grabbed her backpack. "You always say that," she grumbled. "All right, I'm off."

As Santana opened the door, letting the strong autumn wind whip her in the face, her mum shouted after all one last time as she walked down the porch.

"Take care! I love you!"

Santana didn't feel the need to respond, so she didn't say anything. She opened the small gate that connected her front garden with the pavement, walking up to Quinn who was waiting patiently.

Quinn was Santana's best friend. They met in elementary school and at the beginning, they had a bit of a love-hate relationship, sometimes bickering over small things that seemed silly later on, sometimes having a bit of a rivalry. But then they got over their differences and they became best friends ever since.

"Looking forward to your first day of middle school?" Quinn smiled as she fell in step with Santana, starting the short walk to school.

"It's literally going to be the same thing," Santana groaned. "Same stuff, same teachers, same people…"

"No, I heard that there will be a few new people coming in," Quinn informed. "Maybe you could use some more friends, Santana."

"I don't need more friends," Santana rolled her eyes. "I've got you already. Besides, friends are just a hassle. They pester you and they disappoint you."

"Don't say that Santana," Quinn chastised. "Maybe if you weren't so antisocial people may actually like you."

"You are people, aren't you?" Santana raised an eyebrow.

"I never said I liked you," Quinn said. Santana simply stared her down and Quinn gave in. "All right, I was kidding, you're my best friend."

"You're my best friend too," Santana smiled.

"Yeah, that's because I'm your only friend," Quinn pointed out. Santana slapped Quinn's arm playfully.

"Whatever," Santana grumbled. "So, you know anyone new coming in?"

"Nah," Quinn waved her hand. "I guess we'll find out when we get there. Who knows, you may actually like them."

"Unlikely, but I'll keep my eyes open to all possibilities," Santana replied.

The two girls walked in quiet for a short moment, just staring ahead and the occasional sound of cars driving by the neighbourhood distracting them.

"So, what did you do this summer?" Santana asked, just wanting to make conversation. It wasn't like she felt awkward walking next to Quinn in silence. Santana was curious, and besides, she liked talking to Quinn. She didn't like talking to people in general though, so maybe that's why she and Quinn were such close friends.

"Not much," Quinn answered. "I did go to Miami with my family for a week though. What about you?"

"You know my family, my dad is always busy. Actually, I don't think I saw him much at all over the summer, he's always working. So, yeah, I didn't go anywhere," Santana said.

"That's too bad," Quinn said. "Maybe we should have met up more over summer."

"Yeah, we probably should've," Santana replied contemplatively.

Another few seconds in silence.

"You think that we'll be in the same class?" Quinn asked.

"Hopefully," Santana looked over and gave a lopsided smile. "I don't know how I can stand a whole year of degenerates in my class if you aren't in it."

"Ugh, I haven't been in middle school for five minutes and I already hate it," Santana grumbled as she trudged along the school corridors with Quinn by her side.

"Why are you such a downer, Santana?" Quinn reprimanded. "Do you not like school that much?"

"No, not really," Santana shrugged.

"Hey, at least we're in the same class," Quinn said. "It could be worse."

"Yeah, and my locker is at the bottom corner right next to the toilets!" Santana shot back hotly. "The boys' toilets! It reeks all the time, and I have to crouch every time I try to get stuff from my locker! I'm not happy."

Quinn laughed at how Santana was pouting petulantly. "It's not that big of a deal, you'll get used to it," Quinn chuckled. "All right, let's get to class. Apparently, we have to go to this room…" Quinn squinted to read what was on the paper clutched in her hand that they got from reception. "Um, room 105. That's where we have to go every day before class begins, I think."

"Great," Santana said. "We're literally there anyway." Santana pointed at a room on the far side of the corridor.

When the two girls made their way into the room, what was on the board made Santana groan again.

"Seriously?" Santana gritted her teeth. "We have a seating plan?"

"Well, this is middle school," Quinn pointed out. "You can't expect everything to stay the same."

"This is not good," Santana grumbled. "At least they could let us sit next to friends when the teacher is droning about things that we're not even interested in."

"Which is why you should be actively trying to make friends," Quinn said. "You only have one friend. The odds of you sitting next to your one friend is not very high, is it?"

"Shut up," Santana groaned. "Let's see who's next to you, then, shall we? If you're so popular then you should be next to a friend, right?"

"Good idea," Quinn said simply, ignoring the bite in Santana's voice. Her hazel eyes raked across the board, trying to see her name on the seating plan.

Santana spotted her name before Quinn did. "Ha! You're next to Trouty Mouth!" Santana laughed. "Have fun."

"Hey, Sam's not that bad," Quinn argued.

"Yes he is," Santana snickered. "He's such an idiot! He does the worst impressions! You're going to have to help him so much! He's going to copy you on every test! Ha!"

"Let's see who you're next to, why don't we?" Quinn scowled, scanning the board. Eventually, she saw Santana's name. Her seat was not that far from Quinn's, thankfully. It's not that Quinn needed Santana to be close to her. It's that she thought Santana needed Quinn sat close to her, for Santana's sanity.

Santana saw her name as well. "I'm next to Brittany," Santana scowled. "Who the hell is that?"

"I don't know a Brittany either, Santana. I think that she's new," Quinn said.

"Who names their child Brittany? That's like a super old name, like something from the nineties. Not even the 2090s. Like the 1990s." Santana made a face.

"Santana, that's mean," Quinn chastised. "She didn't choose her name. For all you know, she might be your bestie for life."

"Nah," Santana swatted her left hand. "Let's hope she's tolerable."

"Hopefully," Quinn said, as they made their way to their seats.

When they reached their seats and sat down, Santana whipped around and saw Quinn giving an unamused look while Sam just kept talking to her animatedly. "Quinn!" she hissed. Quinn pushed on Sam's face with her hand so that he was no longer intruding on her personal space. She looked up and met Santana's eyes. "I don't think she exists! It's one minute to class and she's not here yet!"

"Maybe she's late!" Quinn hissed back.

"On her first day in a new school?" Santana snickered. She was happy that there was no one next to her. She may actually have some peace.

"Maybe the traffic is bad," Quinn suggested. Suddenly her eyes focused on something past Santana's shoulder and she frowned a bit.

Before Santana could turn her head and see what Quinn was looking at, she felt something bump harshly into her back. This made the pencil case that Santana was holding in her hands drop, and all the pens and pencils spilled out onto the floor.

Furiously, Santana whipped around. "What the hell? Look at where you're… Woah." Before Santana stood a blonde girl with long hair. Her face was flushed, probably from embarrassment, and she looked nervous and flustered. She had really beautiful blue eyes.

"I'm so sorry," the girl said quickly. "Look, I'll help you," she bent down and started to pick up some pencils.

"No, it's okay," Santana put a hand on the blonde girl's shoulder. The girl stopped and looked straight into Santana's eyes worriedly. "Are you Brittany?"

The blonde girl nodded. "I'm sorry, I'm a bit clumsy, really, I can help you pick up the pens –"

"Don't worry about it," Santana said, scooping up some pens on the floor and throwing it back into the pencil case. Within no time, all items in her pencil case were restored. "See? Done."

"Okay," Brittany whispered, and she settled down in her seat next to Santana.

"Why are you nearly late on your first day?" Santana asked the blonde.

Brittany looked a little embarrassed. "I actually got here half an hour ago. I got lost in the school halls. It's like a maze!" she enthused. "I was going around in circles not knowing where I was going for ages."

Santana laughed. Normally, if Brittany was any other person, she would berate them and try to get rid of them, as she would want nothing to do with them. However, with Brittany, Santana is strangely getting drawn in. She wanted to be her friend. For whatever reason Santana didn't know.

"Well, it can be a bit difficult to get around, especially when you don't know the place," Santana replied. "I could give you a tour at break time?" Wait. What on earth was she doing? She doesn't give up her time for anyone, except maybe for Quinn, and especially not for eccentric people like Brittany.

"That sounds great," Brittany smiled and Santana felt a new feeling that she had never felt before. It was weird. She felt as if her heart melted. She knew that it wasn't possible, but she couldn't think of any other way to describe it. She would do anything to see her smile again.

"Santana!" Quinn's voice broke her out of her stupor.

Santana whipped around angrily. "What?"

"Two things," Quinn smirked. "Number one, congrats! You made a new friend!" Quinn did a mock cheer, much to the annoyance of Santana. "Number two, why do I feel like I've seen that girl before?"

"Really?" Santana mumbled, eyebrows slightly furrowed, turning back around to look at Brittany. Brittany turned to look at Santana at the same time, and their eyes locked.

Quinn was right. Brittany did look a bit familiar, but Santana couldn't place where she saw her before. It was like something that was at the back of her head that she just couldn't dig out, annoyingly.

"Brittany, you look a bit familiar," Santana frowned. "Have we met before?"

Brittany's eyes shifted upwards towards the ceiling as she thought for a short moment. "I don't think so," she replied. "But you look kind of familiar too."

"Hmm, strange," Santana mumbled.

"Yeah, it's like some information is stuck at the back of your head and you can't get it out. It's a bit frustrating," Brittany said.

"That's exactly what I thought!" Santana smiled. Brittany smiled back and Santana's heart melted again.

She felt a vague sense of déjà vu.

She had a feeling that her friendship with Brittany will be one that lasts a lifetime.