Heaven's Retribution
Sophie White woke up once again, this time to a bucket of cold water thrown in her face.
The moment she regained consciousness, she was assaulted by excruciating pain in her limbs—her bones were fractured, and the tendons in her hands and feet had been severed. She was a complete wreck.
Sophie White opened her eyes. The first thing she saw was the blinding sunlight, and then, angry shouts filled her ears: "Look, this woman is awake!"
Sophie White was stunned for a moment. She had just woken up, her mind blank, but clarity returned quickly when a stone struck her head, raising a bump.
Dazed and instinctively furious, Sophie White shouted, "Who dares hit me!"
But as she came to her senses, Sophie realized she was locked inside a sturdy prison wagon, suspended high above the ground.
Below her was a dense crowd of commoners, and on the platform ahead stood Lily Evans, the Minister of Justice, and the Deputy Minister of Justice.
Sophie White’s mind went blank for a moment. She tried to get up, but any movement sent waves of agony through her body, forcing her to lie on the floor of the prison wagon and listen as Lily Evans’s voice rang out from the platform.
"...Criminal Sophie White, you cruelly murdered fifty-four innocent children, shattering fifty-four families. Your crimes are unforgivable! According to the laws of the Jin Empire, blood must be repaid with blood. If a blood relative is killed, the family has the right to take revenge, and this is not considered a crime. I know you have all lost beloved sons and daughters, your grief and fury immeasurable. Therefore, I hereby declare the following verdict..."
Lily Evans paused, and everyone awaiting the verdict held their breath, staring at her.
“Yes! Wonderful! I will personally take revenge for my child! My poor son was only ten months old when he was killed—I will not forgive my enemy!”
“Killing Sophie White with a single blow is too easy for her. I want her to taste the suffering my daughter endured before she died!”
“Karma always comes around! Who has Heaven ever spared? That demon who killed both my children—I’ll tear your flesh off, piece by piece!”
Lily watched the parents’ overwhelming fury with calm eyes, then glanced at Sophie White.
Sophie White stared at the parents, and in her eyes, Lily saw a terror that cut to the bone…
“All the evil you’ve done will ultimately come back to you,” Lily said quietly.
Lily Evans waved her hand, and immediately someone lowered Sophie White’s cage, placing it right at the center of the platform.
Lily looked calmly at Sophie White, who lay on the floor of the cage, panting heavily and glancing around as if searching for someone.
“Your Highness… Your Highness…” Sophie White murmured, her face taking on a deathly gray hue.
Lily approached and stood beside the cage, speaking evenly, “Didn’t I tell you? The Prince has entrusted this matter to me entirely. He won’t come. Even now, you’re still clinging to hope?”
At last, Sophie White truly understood—Alexander Hayes would not come.
Despair and hatred surged in Sophie White’s heart. She glared venomously at Lily Evans: “Wretch, if you’re going to kill me, just do it! Beheading is nothing but a scar the size of a bowl. In eighteen years, I, Sophie White, will return for revenge!”
“Behead you?” Lily blinked, then shook her head and turned to the grief-stricken, furious parents who had lost their children. To Sophie White she said, “For a monster who harmed children, beheading is far too merciful. I want to…”
Lily’s tone and expression made Sophie White shudder. “You—what are you going to do to me?”
Suddenly, Lily raised her voice, and under the expectant gazes of the crowd, she continued reading the verdict: “…Hereby, I pronounce: the criminal Sophie White shall be handed over to the parents who lost their children, to be dealt with as they see fit!”
No sooner had Lily finished speaking than thunderous shouts erupted from the crowd. The parents, who had suppressed their grief and pain, now let their rage blaze like wildfire: