Chapter 2

"A steel probe has to be driven through the spine and into the brain. Once it connects to the central nervous system, the pain is beyond anything most people can endure.

"And the voltage is unstable. It could kill you at any moment."

He paused, as if offering me one last chance.

"There's still time to turn back. If you're willing to tell the truth, I'll file for the proceedings to be halted."

A bitter smile tugged at my lips, bloody foam spilling from the corner of my mouth.

"I won't talk."

The veins at Daniel's temple bulged, but he swallowed his anger and said nothing.

Instead, he personally fastened the restraints around my arms, legs, and torso, securing me firmly to the platform.

Then he picked up the steel probe gleaming with cold light and pressed its tip against the center of my spine.

"Ah!"

The probe pierced my skin, bored into the bone, and tore through my nerves.

The agony was so intense that I nearly blacked out.

"Faith! Faith!"

My mother's voice rang out from below, shrill with desperation as she screamed my name.

"Tell them! Please, sweetheart! I’m begging you! Just tell them!"

But I clenched my teeth and refused to make another sound, even if it killed me.

My refusal to speak made Daniel's gaze turn completely cold.

"You're a hopeless monster."

"Activate the current. Begin the extraction."

Electricity surged through my body.

Darkness swallowed my vision.

The first memory pulled from my mind appeared on the massive screen suspended above the Judgment Platform.

The scene on the screen took place not long after the tragedy.

I was gripping a small knife, preparing to slash my wrist.

Just then, Daniel burst through the door, rushed over, and pinned me against the wall, knocking the knife from my hand.

He searched me from head to toe.

To his surprise, he found a family photograph tucked inside my jacket—a picture of me standing together with his entire family.

"Give it back!"

I lunged for the photo like a madwoman, tears pouring uncontrollably down my face.

Daniel caught my jaw in one hand and forced me to look up at him.

"What is this supposed to be? You're pretending to miss them now?

"The police said you were the only witness. You saw the killer!

"Why didn't you tell them? Why?!"

A bitter smile crossed my face.

"You want to know? Fine. I'll tell you."

Daniel unconsciously leaned closer.

But in that instant, I snatched the photograph from his hand and tore it to pieces right in front of him.

"No!"

Daniel instinctively tried to stop me.

I simply flicked my hand and let the fragments drift to the floor, refusing to say another word.

He dropped to his knees and gathered the torn pieces one by one, staring at the barely reconstructed faces of his parents and younger sister.

The last shred of Daniel's sanity snapped.

He lunged forward and wrapped his hands around my throat, then grabbed the knife from the floor and pointed it at me.

I closed my eyes.

I didn't try to dodge.

But the knife never came down.

Daniel's gaze fell on my swollen belly.

Our child was there.

The knife slipped from his hand and clattered onto the floor.

He clutched his head in despair, letting out an animal-like howl of anguish.

Then, in the end, he turned and charged toward the balcony, throwing himself over the edge.

And I simply stood there, watching it all happen.

From beginning to end, I refused to say a single word.

The memory ended there.

My entire body shook violently with convulsions, and the image on the screen faded away.

Daniel stared at me, then slapped his hand against his right leg—the one left crippled after the fall.

His teeth clenched as he spat out the words, "I hate you. I hate that I didn't kill you that day. And I hate myself..."

His voice broke.

"Why didn't I die when I jumped?"