Chapter 187: Enduring Punishment
Paige was pushed against the wall, the cold, white surface behind her stark and unyielding. From the four corners of the wall, thick iron chains extended mechanically.
Two men each grabbed a heavy chain, fastening one end tightly around her wrists, tightening it to the point where escape was impossible.
Her hands and feet were spread apart, the long chains pulling her into a “T” shape. She stood there, humiliated and defeated.
Her pale complexion, the blood on her right shoulder, the claw marks on her clothes-all these only made her appear more frail and weak. Yet, despite everything, her face showed no fear. She remained calm, standing there resolutely.
A subordinate brought a chair for Rafael, and he sat down, watching her quietly. There was no sense of gloating or kicking someone when they were down. He was simply doing what he had to do.
…
On her first day in Gangnam Hall, Paige was forced to take TP1314.
As she stood there, her arms pulled by the chains, she closed her eyes for a moment, perhaps too tired to continue. A wave of pain slowly spread from below, creeping upward like a car’s wheels crushing her legs, shattering her bones, traveling upward to crush her organs, inch by inch.
Paige’s eyes snapped open, and a bead of sweat fell into them. Rafael, seeing her eyes open, knew the drug had begun to take effect. He said, “Paige, I know you suffered greatly during your three years in the slums, perhaps with resentment, perhaps with a sense of justice. But those feelings shouldn’t turn into an obsession with rebuilding the slums.”
Paige’s head began to throb, as if hundreds of tiny arrows were piercing through her skull.
“A hundred years ago, the oligarchs fought endlessly, with new families rising and old ones falling. To avoid further conflict and maintain balance, they decided to exile the weaker losers to Wind Island.”
Rafael continued his narrative, watching her pale face. “No one wanted their enemies to survive, and no one wanted to let their own grudges die easily. In the midst of these schemes, the slums became synonymous with Wind Island.”
Paige grasped the cold chains tightly, clinging to them as the relentless pain continued to torment her.
“You’re right; the people from the slums are riddled with diseases, and they turn to crime-rape, drug dealing-immediately upon arriving in the country. These are rumors spread by the oligarchs and powerful families over the past century.”
Rafael went on, “The goal was to make the public hate Wind Island and the slums, to isolate it completely into an island of its own.”
Seeing that Paige’s only reaction was to tighten her grip on the chains, with veins bulging on her neck and her hands clutching the iron links, one of Rafael’s subordinates stepped forward. He grabbed her chin and forced another pill into her mouth, which she swallowed dryly.
Rafael frowned as he continued, “The survival of the fittest rule in the slums was established to maintain that isolation. Over the years, many oligarchs have sent their enemies-those who crossed them, often maimed-into Wind Island for their own satisfaction. I don’t know if you’ve gathered evidence, but the Gustin Group was involved, with Jeremy committing many such acts.”
Pain.
It became unbearable, overwhelming.
Paige stood there, feeling a tightness in her chest, her breathing growing labored. Her head pounded, a blank void, with only Rafael’s voice and her own drawn-out breaths echoing in her ears. It felt like she was suffocating, on the brink of death.
“I know the law seems unfair to the people in the slums, but compared to the entire country of A, Wind Island is just a tiny, insignificant island.”
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Paige held on tightly to the chains. She had to endure it. She must endure it. The situation outside had already caused a massive uproar, and Rafael couldn’t keep her in Gangnam Hall forever. At most, he had three days. After that, he would have to make a decision. Then, she could be freed.
Rafael watched her slowly lower her head, thinking she was close to breaking. He continued, “Paige, have you ever considered the chaos that would ensue if the truth about the slums were fully revealed? International intervention, the oligarchs returning to the chaos of a century ago, an economic downturn, a weakened country, and impoverished people. Everyone would be dragged into an endless abyss.”
“So, the people of the slums are destined to be sacrificial lambs for generations?” Paige suddenly lifted her head, her face now ghostly pale, thin beads of sweat appearing on her skin. Her breath was shallow as she spoke, a bitter, mocking smile curling on her lips.
Rafael was genuinely surprised. She could still speak after taking two pills? Her endurance was astonishing.
After a long pause, he finally said, “For the stability of the country, such sacrifices are necessary.”
“Ridiculous.” Paige’s bloodshot eyes glared at him with a searing intensity, her voice a hoarse whisper filled with disdain.
“You’ve considered this too, haven’t you? That’s why you haven’t taken this to the international level directly. You were born in A, you have feelings for this country.”
Rafael’s brow furrowed in frustration. He stood up from his chair. “If that’s the case, then let those feelings run deeper. Let the secrets that should be buried stay buried forever, and the people who should be abandoned stay abandoned.”
Paige gripped the chains tightly, the sharp pain stabbing through her lungs, settling in her heart, tormenting her over and over again.
Her vision went black, and it took a long while before her sight returned. Rafael still stood before her, repeating the same arguments. For the greater good, the people of the slums must be sacrificed. He wanted her to surrender everything she had planned.
The pain exploded within her, stabbing through her throat. Paige tightened her grip on the chains, her bones nearly protruding. She looked at Rafael with a smile, her voice nearly gone, “Why?”
So raspy.
Rafael’s gaze froze. “I’ve said so much, and you still…”
“Why don’t they deserve fairness?”
Paige suddenly dropped her smile, her bloodshot eyes glaring at him with rage as she screamed, her body trembling and the heavy chains clanging loudly.
After shouting, Paige felt a metallic taste in her throat. She coughed up a mouthful of blood, splattering it across the floor, staining her pale lips red.
The excruciating pain surged through her body, attacking her relentlessly.
Rafael stood there, utterly shocked, unable to regain his composure. Despite being on the verge of death, her eyes were still full of a vitality that was difficult to comprehend.
He suddenly realized that the tree on Wind Island must be just like this-a trunk broken beyond repair, yet still blooming every single day.