Chapter 456 - 459: The Heavenly Cycle of Retribution

Sunlight couldn’t reach the cell in the detention center.

Heavy iron bars on the windows completely sealed it off from the outside world. All that remained was the intermingling stench of damp mildew and acrid disinfectant, a heavy weight on every inmate’s heart.

A ghastly white fluorescent tube flickered, casting a cold light that slammed onto the concrete floor.

Maya Marshall stood rigidly at the entrance. The gentle, elegant mask had fallen from her delicate, surgically-enhanced face, leaving only a deathly pallor.

With her crimes exposed and the chain of evidence complete, the false identity she had constructed was torn to shreds.

The moment Maya Marshall stepped into the cell, the clamor within instantly fell silent.

Several pairs of eyes locked onto her—some sizing her up, some mocking. But one gaze, cold as ice and filled with years of accumulated venom, held her fast.

In front of the bunk in the center of the cell stood a sharp, cold woman.

Her posture was ramrod straight, her features sharp. She exuded an aura of hostility and intimidation cultivated over long years in prison. She was the undisputed top dog of the cell, someone no one dared to cross—Laura Alden.

The instant Maya Marshall saw that face, her breath caught. Her heart seized, and the blood in her veins turned to ice.

She remembered Laura Alden. The memory was seared into her bones.

Years ago, Laura Alden had been an unremarkable, low-level employee at the Marshall Group. She was down-to-earth and dutiful, a diligent and honest worker who often stayed late, never fought for credit, and never made mistakes. She was the most compliant employee at the company.

What ruined Laura Alden’s life was nothing more than a trivial incident.

Back then, Maya Marshall was still the tyrannical and domineering heiress of the Marshalls. One day, on a whim, she decided to drop in on a department for an inspection.

At that moment, Laura Alden happened to be busy checking reports, her head down as she organized data. In her momentary distraction, she failed to stand up and greet Maya immediately.

This single second of neglect, this insignificant trifle, utterly enraged Maya Marshall.

Maya Marshall had always been vindictive, tolerating no insubordination, no slight to her dignity.

She nursed a secret grudge that very day. Later, she fabricated evidence of embezzled public funds and falsified data, using the Marshall Family’s power to cover up the truth and pin the crime on Laura Alden.

Laura Alden, who had never done a single thing wrong, tried desperately to defend herself. She knelt and begged, pleading her case with the flawless reports she had spent days and nights verifying. But in the face of the Marshall Family, all claims of innocence seemed pathetic and laughable.

Her years of diligent, law-abiding work, her entire career, collapsed in an instant.

Unable to argue her case, Laura Alden was convicted. She lost her job, her reputation was destroyed, and she was sent to prison under a false accusation. Her promising life was completely ruined by a trivial matter.

And the perpetrator, Maya Marshall, immediately forgot all about this insignificant person.

Later, she orchestrated her plastic surgery, changed her name to Claire Bennett, and lived a glamorous life, never once thinking of the innocent employee whose life she had casually destroyed.

She thought she would never cross paths with Laura Alden again, that she had buried that dirty part of her past forever.

But fate is nothing if not fair, and nothing if not ironic.

The high and mighty heiress who once wielded immense power was now a prisoner.

The diligent, dutiful, and wrongly accused low-level employee had endured years of imprisonment to become the one who called the shots in the cell.

Laura Alden advanced slowly, the heavy thud of her footsteps grinding against the floor, each step landing on Maya Marshall’s frayed nerves.

Her indifferent gaze swept over Maya Marshall’s perfect yet fake, surgically-altered face. There was no surprise in her eyes, only the cold hatred that had festered for years. The corner of her mouth curved into a bone-chilling sneer.

"That’s a perfect face you’ve got there," Laura Alden’s voice was low and frigid, every word barbed. "So many years have passed. You changed your skin, changed your identity, lived a glamorous life under the name Claire Bennett... I suppose you completely forgot about the debt you owe me for ruining my life, didn’t you?"

A violent shudder wracked Maya Marshall’s body. Her face was ashen as she dug her fingertips into her palms, panic instantly consuming her.

She never imagined that after all these years, the woman not only remembered everything but had also recognized her at a single glance.

"I..." Maya Marshall’s voice trembled. She shed all her arrogance, humbling herself and bowing her head in submission. "I was young and willful back then, petty-minded. I took out my anger on you over something small. I’m sorry. I know I was wrong. Please, don’t hold it against me."

"Something small?"

Laura Alden let out a sudden, low laugh filled with sorrow and hatred. She took a step closer, looking down at the wretched Maya Marshall, her every word a knife to the heart.

"Maya Marshall, to you, it was just a small matter of an employee not greeting you promptly. But what about to me?"

"I worked diligently for the Marshall Group. I never slacked off, never schemed for personal gain. But just because of your passing whim, my name was ruined, my reputation destroyed! I was framed and imprisoned for years! My family couldn’t hold their heads up in public, and my life was utterly ruined!"

"You call it ’something small,’ but it cost me my entire life. Now that you’ve fallen on hard times, you think a simple ’I’m sorry, don’t hold it against me’ can just wipe the slate clean?"

The surrounding inmates had heard the whole story. Their gazes toward Maya Marshall instantly filled with contempt and derision.

Everyone now understood. This former heiress was nothing but a petty, malicious woman, rotten to the core.

Laura Alden’s eyes turned glacial. Shedding all restraint, she gave a cold order to the women beside her.

"Today, Miss Marshall is going to get a taste of all the suffering I endured."

"Understood, Laura. Leave her to us. We’ll teach her the rules."

As soon as the words were spoken, a few female inmates stepped forward and surrounded Maya Marshall.

The fluorescent light in the cramped cell flickered. The ghastly, cold glow fell upon Maya Marshall’s delicate yet pallid face, making the panic in her eyes impossible to hide.

She was no longer the all-powerful Miss Marshall, who could command the wind and rain. Her glamorous identity was gone, as was the protection of her carefully crafted, gentle facade.

Before, she had looked down from on high as she crushed other people’s lives. Now, having fallen to rock bottom, she lacked even the ability to protect herself.

"What... What are you going to do?" Fear was written all over Maya Marshall’s face. It would be a lie to say she wasn’t terrified.

One of the inmates stepped forward and snatched the brand-new toiletries the guard had just issued her.

The new toothbrush, towel, and soap were casually tossed onto the floor.

"When you’re in here, you follow the rules in here." The inmate grabbed Maya Marshall’s arm and yanked her forward viciously.

Maya Marshall stumbled, lurching half a step forward before barely catching her balance. A fine layer of cold sweat instantly broke out on her back.

She had never suffered such humiliation. She, who had never had to lift a finger, who had wanted for nothing and been the center of everyone’s universe—when had anyone ever dared to manhandle and degrade her like this?

But now, she was at their mercy. She didn’t have the courage to utter a single word of protest. She could only bite her lip, clench her cold palms, and force herself to bow her head and endure.

Laura Alden stood quietly to the side, watching everything with a cold, detached gaze. Her expression was calm and placid, but a chilling hostility that had built up over years churned in the depths of her eyes.

She didn’t need to lift a finger herself. Just watching this scene unfold was enough to soothe the wounds of a life that had been utterly destroyed.

"You just got here, so you don’t know the rules, is that it?" Laura Alden began to speak, her voice soft but carrying an absolute authority. "Then let me teach you."

She looked up at the tense, trembling Maya Marshall, her every word cold and deliberate.

"You used to be the young miss of the Marshalls—spoiled, arrogant, and reckless. You used your family’s power and status to trample on ordinary people’s lives as you pleased. A single slight, a moment of displeasure, and you would fabricate crimes, ruin someone’s name, and destroy their future."

"This isn’t the Marshall estate. No one here is going to coddle you or put up with your princess tantrums. And no one is going to pay the price for your paranoia and malice."

After speaking, Laura Alden lifted her chin, signaling to the women beside her.

Someone immediately brought over a bucket of cold water, freshly drawn from the toilet. It was bone-chillingly cold and mixed with fine particles of dust.

"On my first day in prison after being framed, I was doused with water just like this. It left me with a high fever that wouldn’t break. No one cared, no one asked. I had to tough it out on my own." Laura Alden’s gaze was icy as she stared fixedly at Maya Marshall.

"Today, you’ll get a taste of it, too."

As she finished speaking, the entire bucket of cold water was mercilessly thrown onto Maya Marshall.

The icy water soaked through her thick prison uniform, seeping through to her skin in an instant. It chilled her so deeply that she began to shake violently, her teeth chattering uncontrollably.

The sodden fabric clung to her body. She was a pathetic sight, with strands of her delicate hair stuck to her pale cheeks.

A bone-deep chill spread through her limbs, bringing with it an endless humiliation and misery that left her feeling suffocated, unable to breathe.

Maya Marshall couldn’t stop shivering. Her eyes reddened against her will, but she bit her lip hard, not daring to let out a single sob.

She knew with perfect clarity that showing weakness here would only invite even worse bullying.

"Still giving us an attitude?" Seeing her expression, one of the inmates pushed her directly into the corner of the cell.

The corner was the dampest and coldest spot in the entire room. It never saw a breath of fresh air, and the stench of mildew was suffocating. It was the dead spot everyone avoided.

"From now on, this is your spot." Laura Alden walked slowly to stand before Maya Marshall, looking down at her. Her tone was indifferent, but every word was a stab to the heart.

"All the dirty and tiring chores in this cell—mopping the floor, scrubbing the toilet, washing everyone’s clothes and bedding—they’re all yours now."

"While others rest, you’ll work. While others sleep, you’ll be on duty. In this cell, you are the lowest of the low."

"A one-second oversight on my part cost me my entire life. Now, I don’t want your life. I just want you to pay back, bit by bit, all the suffering I went through."

Maya Marshall kept her head down, her shoulders trembling, her eyes filled with endless regret and despair.

She was finally, truly experiencing the same despair Laura Alden must have felt all those years ago—kneeling, begging, wronged in every way, yet with no way out.

In a fit of pique, she had once treated another person’s life as worthless, crushing and trampling it at will. She believed power could smooth over any mistake and never cared about anyone else’s life or future.

But karma is a cycle, and heaven never favors the wicked.

In the days that followed, the ceaseless torment completely crushed Maya Marshall’s psychological defenses.

Before dawn, while the other inmates were still fast asleep, she had to get up and clean the entire cell.

Bone-chilling water soaked her hands day after day. Her once delicate, fair, and meticulously cared-for skin soon became coarse and red, covered in fine, cracked lines that ached at the slightest touch.

She was always the last to receive her three daily meals. The leftovers were cold and hard, often mixed with grit, making them difficult to swallow.

If she dared show the slightest hint of disgust, someone would immediately knock her food bowl over, and she would go hungry for the entire day.

At night, while everyone else slept soundly, she could only curl up in the cold, damp corner, letting the bone-deep chill envelop her.

Sometimes, others would deliberately roll over and bump the wall, making noise to keep her from sleeping through the night. She lived each day in a state of tension and agony.

No one remembered that she was once the great Miss Marshall of the Marshall Family.

They only knew her as Maya Marshall: the petty, malicious woman who used her power to bully others and ruin an innocent person’s life.

Occasionally, when Maya Marshall’s limbs ached with exhaustion, she would lean against the cold wall to catch her breath. Staring at the dim, oppressive cell, a profound sense of absurdity and regret would well up inside her.

The evil seeds she had sown with her own hands were now bearing fruit as endless suffering, tormenting her day and night. They held her fast in this sunless cage, slowly grinding away what little dignity and pride she had left.

Laura Alden sat on her clean, neat bunk, quietly watching the humble, wretched, and tormented Maya Marshall in the corner, her eyes devoid of joy or sorrow.

This wasn’t the strong bullying the weak. This was karma, retribution for good and evil, a debt finally being paid.

In the sunless cell, the chill remained, and the smell of mildew never dissipated.

The night was bone-chillingly deep. Snores rose and fell throughout the cell, mixing with the damp, musty air to create a suffocating tightness in the chest.

The ghastly white fluorescent light was completely extinguished, leaving only a sliver of faint, dark light seeping in from the barred window.

Everyone was deep in sleep, except for Maya Marshall in the corner, who had not slept a wink.

She was curled up on the cold concrete floor. Her thin prison uniform was soaked with dampness, the fabric clinging to her body, cold and stiff, chafing her skin until it hurt.

She didn’t dare stretch her legs, especially where her prosthetic met the stump of her residual limb. In the cold, damp air of the long night, it sent waves of a dull, piercing ache through her.

The old injury was inflamed again. A searing pain spread through the seams of her bones, making her whole body tremble.

Laura Alden never laid a hand on her, only watched coldly.

That indifferent gaze was more agonizing for Maya Marshall than all the other bullying combined.

Hidden within that gaze was a silent accusation, the half a life she had personally destroyed. It was a constant reminder that all her suffering today was of her own making.

The jeers and taunts of the other inmates from the daytime echoed in her mind.

’So she used to be one of those heiresses who threw her weight around. How vicious.’

’Ruining someone’s life just because they didn’t greet her fast enough? She’s so petty.’

’She hurt people whenever she felt like it when she was on top. She totally deserves what’s happening to her now.’

’She should have gotten the death penalty with immediate execution. The Marshall Family bankrupted themselves pulling strings to get it reduced to a two-year suspended death sentence...’

Every word was like a fine needle, pricking relentlessly at Maya Marshall’s heart, shattering what little face and hope she had left.

She had felt a flicker of regret.

’If I hadn’t been so spoiled back then, so paranoid, so reckless with my family’s power... If I hadn’t destroyed the innocent Laura Alden because of my vanity and arrogance, would I still be facing this karmic retribution today?’

’If I hadn’t become so obsessed later, coveting things that weren’t mine... If I hadn’t plotted schemes, laid traps, and relentlessly schemed against others, would I still have ended up disgraced and imprisoned?’

But in this world, there was nothing more useless than "what if."

It was too late.

It was all too late.

The chain of evidence was solid, her crimes set in stone. What awaited her was a heavy sentence, a long and hopeless life in prison. For years, for decades to come, she would be trapped in this sunless cage.

She would endure bullying, torment, and humiliation day after day, repaying her past sins day after day. There was no end, no hope.

Every day she lived would be spent groveling in disgrace.

Maya Marshall slowly turned onto her side, pressing her cheek against the cold, rough concrete wall. The biting chill instantly enveloped her face, barely suppressing the suffocating feeling churning in her chest.

She lifted a hand slightly, looking at it in the faint, dim light.

’These hands were once slender and fair, delicate and beautiful. They only knew how to play the piano, appreciate tea, and hold a pen for calligraphy, never touching a speck of dust or hardship.’

’Now, her palms were covered in thick calluses, her fingertips cracked and rough. A web of tiny cuts crisscrossed her skin, some still sealed with dark red scabs. They were a pathetic sight.’

’These hands had committed evil, destroyed people, and single-handedly buried her own life.’

An extreme exhaustion and despair washed over her, a weariness not of the body, but of a soul that had completely withered and died.

’To live meant having my past evils dredged up and spat upon daily. It meant repaying an endless karmic debt, day after day.’

’Rather than cling to this wretched existence, letting others trample all over me, it would be better to end it all.’

Once the thought of death took root, it was impossible to uproot.

All the light faded from Maya Marshall’s eyes, leaving only a dead, desolate emptiness.

She slowly curled up, burying her head deep between her knees.

Her shoulders stopped their violent trembling. There were no sobs, no breakdown, only an unnatural calm.

She slowly closed her eyes. Only a single thought remained in her heart: suicide.