CHAPTER 56-HELP

Henry roamed the streets a free man, the chains that had bound him to suspicion and fear had finally been broken.

Yet, the scars of the past lingered, and there were those who remained skeptical.

"Murderer!" a voice hissed from a dark alley.

Henry ignored him, his gaze fixed ahead.

"You should be behind bars," another voice taunted but Henry kept walking.

"Face us, you coward!" a group of burly men yelled following him through the street, blocking his path. They were embolded by collective hatred, surrounded Henry. Their menacing presence a constant reminder of the stigma he carried.

Henry stopped, his eyes narrowed. "I've done nothing wrong," he said, his voice steady.

"You got away with it," one of the men sneered.

"You're a monster," another said. Despite having proven his innocence in the gruesome killings that had been plagued the town, whispers and judgmental glances still clung to him like a suffocating shroud.

"I can't believe they let you go. You probably got off on