The officer had clearly lost any semnce of sympathy for the Zade family mother
and son.
Sometimes, the prisoners locked up in jail were essentially just deprived of freedom. For some, the loss of freedom paled inparison to the agony of survival in the outside world.
At least in jail, they didn''t have to worry about making ends meet. But outside, the suffering they endured could make them wish they were dead instead.
Moreover, in their current state, they were no longer a threat to society nor a harm to others.
Soon enough, Miranda was led to where Arabe was being held. The officer gave a nod and dismissed the others.
Arabe was a wreck, her whole appearance was a testament to the horrors she had been through—like she''d endured electrocution, beatings, and psychological torment.
In such a short time, she seemed like apletely different person. Huddled in a corner, her hair disheveled, her eyes reflecting fear, she trembled incessantly.
The officer had mentioned earlier that Arabe was found locked up with pigs. That ce was filled with nothing but pig filth and troughs.
By the time they arrived, Arabe had been starving for days, deliriously fighting with pigs for scraps.
As the officer spoke, he had furrowed his brows, seemingly unable toprehend why Arabe had been subjected to such cruelty. He even suspected that the one holding Arabe captive, Dorian, was a deranged individual.
Miranda listened, a bit taken aback. She hadn''t expected Dorian to actually make Arabe eat pig slop. It confirmed the officer''s words-Dorian was indeed deranged.
What kind of normal person would do such a thing? She spected that Dorian must have been triggered, leading to his mental breakdown.
Besides her own provocations, what truly shattered him was probably the events involving Sunny.
"Seeing you in this pitiful state, I feel relieved," Miranda got straight to the point. There was a ss partition between her and Arabe, but an opening allowed them to converse clearly, preventing any physical contact.
Arabe looked up, her eyes bloodshot as she recognized Miranda.
"It''s you."
Her voice was hoarse, yet the hatred was unmistakable.
"Why don''t you just die? Why? Why don''t you just die?" she repeated over and
over.
"It''s all because of you. If you hadn''t shown up, I wouldn''t be like this. They wouldn''t have done this to me."
She stared at Miranda with a twisted intensity.
"If it weren''t for you, my brothers, they wouldn''t have done this to me! It''s all your fault, you tramp!"
Miranda smirked callously. "But I did show up. Does that make you mad?"
Arabe''s expression was vacant. "I hired people to kill you, why didn''t they seed? No, Dorian, don''t! Don''t do this to me!" she shrieked, clutching her head, "I didn''t do it, I didn''t!"
"Orion, Lysander, don''t leave! Don''t do this to me," she began to weep.
Miranda thought to herself, as expected, though Dorian was the mastermind, the others chose to turn a blind eye. They all tacitly. allowed Dorian to harm Arabe. Typical family loyalty, she mused sarcastically.
"Smartened up, have you?" Miranda remarked.
But Arabe kept repeating the same phrases, seemingly oblivious to Miranda''s words.
"Trying to feign insanity to escape justice, gotta admit, your brain''s
edel
working a bit better now." Miranda''s words finally elicited a reaction from Arabe, though she remained motionless. Miranda took a couple of steps forward, looking
condescending as she stared at her.
"Even if you truly are insane, I won''t let you live in your little world. Living in a haze would be too easy. Staying awake and suffering is what you deserve."
Arabe red intensely at her, fear flickering in her eyes.
Momentster, Miranda walked away, while Arabe curled up on the ground, something glinting on Arabe''s head-a silver needle. But soon it vanished, disappearingpletely into her scalp.
Arabe didn''t know what had
happened, but a wave of terror swept through her mind, driving her to the corner. For her, the painful memories and soul-crushing images stabbed at her mind like daggers, one after another.