CHAPTER 59: CHAPTER 59; AT LAST.. FREE...

He had attended every school event, every piano recital, every parent-teacher conference.

He had braided her hair when she was young, even though his large hands fumbled with the delicate strands. He had stayed up late helping with homework.

He had taught her to be strong, to be kind, to be everything her mother would have wanted.

And then she had just collapsed.

Collapsed like that without any warning.

And all his money, all his power, all his influence couldn’t fix it. It couldn’t wake her up no matter how...

"If you can hear me," he whispered defeated, "if there’s any way you can guide me... please... Show me I’m doing the right thing. Show me signs that this woman can actually help. I’m not asking for forgiveness, because I know I don’t deserve it. I’m just asking for a chance to save our daughter."

The incense continued burning, its smoke carrying his desperate prayer into the night.

Lu Yuze remained kneeling for a long time, surrounded by the memory of the woman he had loved and the crushing weight of a promise he didn’t know how to keep.

Tomorrow, he would sign papers that would release four convicted criminals. They will be set free.

Tomorrow, he would enter into a contract marriage with a woman whose eyes held nothing but contempt for humanity. He knew nothing about her.

Tomorrow, he would bring that strange, cold creature into his home and give her access to his dying daughter and a place that was supposed to hold his wife’s memories.

It was insane and reckless. Possibly suicidal.

But when you were drowning, you grabbed at any lifeline thrown your way.

Even if it came with claws.

Lu Yuze remained kneeling before his wife’s memorial for another hour, the incense burning down to ash, his prayers hanging in the silent air unanswered. Finally, he rose stiffly, his knees protesting from the hard marble floor.

"I’ll save her," he whispered one last time. "I promise you that. I will do anything to save her..."

He extinguished the remaining incense and left the mausoleum, walking back through the darkened gardens toward the main house. The estate was quiet at this late hour, most of the staff had retired for the night, and only the security detail maintained their invisible watch.

Sixth Master Lu climbed the stairs to his master bedroom, a spacious room he had barely used since his wife’s death.

For years, he had fallen asleep in his study or beside Yuyan’s hospital bed or bedroom. Coming home felt wrong when his daughter wasn’t there. It felt like a cold home without any warmth.

But tonight, exhaustion pulled at him like a physical weight.

He stripped off his expensive suit, letting the garments fall carelessly to the floor, something he never did, but tonight he couldn’t muster the energy to care about anything else.

The shower was scalding hot, steam filling the marble bathroom as he stood under the spray, letting it wash away the tension coiled in his muscles.

His mind kept returning to that cold laughter. Those glowing jade eyes. The guard who’d collapsed bleeding from every orifice.

What have I made a deal with?

But then he thought of Yuyan’s pale face, her closed eyes, her silver hair spread across the hospital pillow. Six months of machines breathing for her, of her body growing weaker despite all medical intervention.

Anything, he thought fiercely. I’ll deal with anything if it means she opens her eyes again.

He finally emerged from the shower, toweling off quickly before collapsing onto the massive bed. The silk sheets felt cool against his skin. Through the floor-to-ceiling windows, he could see the city lights twinkling in the distance, oblivious to his desperation.

Sleep came slowly, but when it did, it was deep and dreamless.

For the first time in months, Lu Yuze slept with something he hadn’t felt in a long time.

Hope.

Even if that hope wore a human face and harbored inhuman eyes, it was still hope... Hope that his daughter will be better...

— — — —

The next morning arrived with harsh fluorescent lights flickering on at exactly 6:00 AM, the same way they had every morning for years.

But at 8:00 AM, something different happened.

The cell door opened, and instead of the usual guard rotation, two officers entered carrying trays, not the standard prison slop, but actual breakfast. Rice porridge with preserved vegetables, steamed buns, and even small portions of fruit.

"Eat up," one of the guards said, his tone notably less hostile than usual. "You’ve got a court hearing at 8:30. Get yourselves ready. Probably, your freedom depends on the outcome..."

The words hung in the air like a miracle.

Tank’s chopsticks froze halfway to her mouth. "Court hearing? What court hearing?"

"Appeals hearing," the guard clarified, though he looked as confused as they felt. "Orders came down from high up. Real high up. You’re all being transferred for immediate review of your cases. You are damn lucky!"

The moment the door locked behind the guards, the cell erupted.

"Oh my god," Razor breathed, her hands flying to her mouth. "Oh my god, she actually did it. Princess actually did it!"

"Court hearing," Blade repeated, her voice shaking with something between disbelief and desperate hope. "That means they’re reviewing the evidence. That means there’s a chance...."

"Eat," Tank commanded, though her own hands were trembling as she picked up her bowl. "We need our strength and for whatever happens next, we face it together."

They ate quickly, their minds racing with possibilities. Only Shuyin remained calm, eating at a measured pace, her jade eyes reflecting nothing of the excitement radiating from her companions.

If she wanted to be free, she could simply walk out. Her powers were growing stronger each day in this body, she could kill every guard in this facility without breaking a sweat, could walk through walls if she pushed hard enough.

But that would be escaping like a criminal.

And she refused to run from humans like prey.

No. She would walk out the front door, legally freed, with her head held high. That was the proper way. The way that wouldn’t draw unnecessary attention or mark her as a fugitive.

At 8:20, the guards returned with plain clothes, faded and old, clearly donated items from some forgotten charity drive, but infinitely better than prison uniforms.

They changed quickly, the simple act of wearing civilian clothing felt surreal after years in orange jumpsuits.

At exactly 8:30, they were escorted out.

Not through the usual corridors to the exercise yard or the visitor’s area, but toward the main entrance. Toward freedom. Freedom that was calling and waiting for them...

You could see the changes on their faces, they were so ready to embrace this freedom.

The courthouse was only twenty minutes away, and the proceedings that followed felt like a fever dream. They didn’t know what had happened, but everything was in order without even saying anything.

They were led into a courtroom where lawyers they’d never met presented evidence they’d never seen. Security footage that had mysteriously surfaced showed different perpetrators.

Financial records proving embezzlement had occurred before Tank even worked at the company. Witnesses who recanted their testimony, claiming they’d been coerced.

For Blade, medical records emerged showing that the patient had signed a DNR and explicitly requested that she help end their suffering. The mercy killing that had condemned her was suddenly legally defensible.

For Razor, evidence appeared that her stepfather had a history of violence, that she’d acted in self-defense when he’d come at her mother with a weapon.

For Shuyin, the forensic experts presented irrefutable proof that her grandmother’s death had been no accident, that the poison had been planted and the evidence forged. It was the maid who had orchestrated everything, framing her so convincingly that she’d been imprisoned for murdering the very woman who raised her.

The judge, a different judge from their original trials, reviewed the evidence with a speed that suggested he’d been thoroughly briefed beforehand. His gavel came down with decisive finality.

"In light of new evidence, all previous convictions are hereby overturned. The defendants are cleared of all charges and are to be released immediately with full exoneration."

The courtroom erupted in shocked murmurs, but no one dared to question it.

Not when the paperwork had clearly been pushed through by someone with serious power.