For a breath, silence blanketed the hall. Then, the laughter swelled into a roar. The sound coiled around me like a venomous snake. One after another, they called out my number.
“0528, apologize!”
“0528, crawl like a dog!”
My teeth ground together as my whole body trembled. But when I tried to resist, Charlton leaned close and hissed into my ear, “Make Mariam happy. If you don’t, I will never tell you where your son is buried.”
My heart was torn open. My son… My one weakness.
My vision went blank. My body moved on its own. I sank to my knees, my palms slapping against the cold marble.
With that, applause and laughter exploded around me.
Someone pushed further, smirking. “0528, strip!”
Charlton’s face flickered with unease, but before he could stop me, I had already torn my skirt open with a sharp motion.
The light fell not on glamour, but on the jagged scars etched across my skin—marks carved by years of prison beatings.
Finally, the hall froze into silence.
Charlton’s pupils shrank. He sprang to his feet, stripping off his coat and wrapping it tightly around me before dragging me toward the exit.