Chapter 1 Chapter 1 Chapter One

"Clothes off. Now."

"Turn around, spread your legs, and bend over!"

Inside Juzora's top women's prison, icy jets of water blasted down from the high-pressure hoses, sweeping over the naked women lined up like objects.

"Second row, get in here! Move it!"

With the shout, the next group of inmates rushed in, stripping as they went. One woman was a second too slow-immediately, a stream of water slammed into her face, making her gasp and sputter.

"Hurry up!"

A guard, scowling, tapped her baton against the metal gate, eyes locked on a girl who stood completely still.

"You. What're you waiting for?"

The others trembled under the freezing spray, skins pale from cold and fear. But the girl? She didn't budge an inch. No panic in those eyes. Just a bone-deep calm that didn't belong on a face that young.

Their gazes met-hers dark and sharp, filled with barely hidden loathing. The guard's gut twisted at the look. Then something clicked: that name on the file - the one with the unspeakable charges.

At five, she'd poisoned her parents.

At twelve, she'd stabbed her uncle to death.

Just one day ago...

The police had come to the orphanage to take Serena Douglas into custody. She was accused of killing her biological parents when she was a child.

It sounded too crazy to be real. But the witness?

Her own aunt, Esther Douglas.

Then, even more shocking-on the stand, Esther had thrown out a new bomb.

"My brother and sister-in-law died at Serena's hands when she was barely five," Esther sobbed, shaking on the witness bench. "And now she's killed my husband too!"

"I couldn't bring myself to press charges back then... she was just a kid. But I was scared of her. Couldn't have her in the house either, so I let her grow up in the mountains. Can't believe it-she faked being pitiful just to stay at the orphanage for all those years. I thought she'd changed. I even sent Edward to visit her, thinking maybe it was time to bring her back home. I didn't know... I had no idea she'd murder him too..."

"You're lying!"

Serena's voice cracked as she shot to her feet, eyes burning, before the bailiffs slammed her back into her seat.

"You're the one who did it! You wanted the Douglas fortune and my dad wouldn't give it to you, so you poisoned him and Mom!

"And Edward? He found out-it's why he blackmailed you all these years! He cheated on you, threatened you, and when you couldn't take it anymore, you killed him!"

Serena saw everything last night.

They didn't send her to the mountains to protect her. They dumped her there like trash!

If the orphanage director hadn't rescued her, she wouldn't even be alive now!

Serena thought they came to give her a home again... but it was all a setup-to pin three murders on her!

Esther's face twitched. She tried hard to keep the tears flowing. "You're making this up..."

The judge struck the gavel, calling the room to order. Then he turned to Serena.

"What we need here is proof. Do you have any?"

Serena slumped.

She didn't.

Not a shred of real evidence.

While Esther had everything. She even presented the knife that had been stuck in Edward's chest-covered in Serena's fingerprints.

With both evidence and testimony stacked against her, Serena's defiance drained away, along with the color in her face.

The judge didn't take long to decide.

"For the crime of intentional homicide, Serena is hereby sentenced to a thirty-year prison term. Due to her age of twelve, the death penalty is waived."

When the bailiffs escorted Serena out of the courtroom, Esther leaned close and whispered with a sly smile, her voice low enough for only the two of them to hear: "Sweet niece, don't worry, I'll make sure you never step out of here alive."

...

Six years later.

The cell door suddenly burst open with a loud bang, slamming against the wall. The noise had other inmates clinging to their bars, craning their necks to see what was going on.

The cell's so-called queen, a bulky woman with greasy curls, lifted her pudgy face, squinting her eyes into slits at the figure striding in - a woman blazing in red from head to toe.

"Serena? That little brat who used to lick my boots?"

Serena gave a soft smile. "Long time no see. You're still alive? Good. Makes it easier for me to settle the score."

The curl-haired woman blinked, stunned for a few seconds, unable to look away from that stunning, wickedly beautiful face.

Her scrunched-up features twisted with jealousy.

"So... you got bailed out for six years, used up and tossed back in? This time, I won't let you walk away."

She stood up slowly, her legs wobbling slightly, then barked at the two women beside her, "Get her! Pin her down!

"I'm gonna mess up that pretty little face of yours first!"

Serena's smile deepened, dimples popping sweetly on her cheeks - but the coldness in her eyes could freeze blood.

"Oh, I'm not letting you off easy either."

As soon as she spoke, the two women lunged at her.

Serena didn't even flinch. Just lifted her hand slightly, and in the next second - wham!

The two attackers were launched backward. In perfect sync, they slammed into opposite walls of the cell with a sickening thud. Their legs dangled, eyes wide open in death.

Blood gushed from wounds in their throats, soaking the flower-shaped throwing blades pinning them to the wall.

Red Spider Lilies. Umbel-shaped blooms. Now drenched in blood, the petals looked even deadlier, beautiful in the most terrifying way.

The curly-haired woman's face went pale. She stared in horror at their corpses, then turned her head -

Only to feel her neck caught in a vise. Serena had her by the throat, lifting her clean off the ground like she weighed nothing.

The woman's skin turned purple as she gasped for air, flailing. She choked, "I-I was wrong... please... let me live...

"There was a hit on you when you first got here," she wheezed, voice ragged. "Someone paid to have you killed. I only roughed you up a few times... didn't go all the way... mercy, please..."

Serena abruptly let go. The woman collapsed to her knees, coughing violently, her head low.

Serena looked down like she was staring at something disgusting. "You think I'd kill you that quick?"

At that moment, the warden rushed over after hearing the commotion. He bowed deeply in front of Serena and held out a handkerchief, full of respect.

"Scarlet Valkyrie, how would you like us to handle it? Your orders."

Serena wiped her hand with clear disgust, then threw the handkerchief in the woman's face, not even sparing her a look as she walked off.

"Strip her. Toss her in the laundry machine."

As she walked away, her ornate flower-like hairpin made a crisp clinking sound.

Behind her, screams echoed through the cell.

The inmates looked on in terror, eyes trailing her every step.

Serena's lips lifted at the corners, eyes tilted slightly upward. Walking away, she raised one crimson-polished hand, lazily waving at the gawking prisoners. Bold and striking, but never cheap.

That was a femme fatale - lethal and mesmerizing.

The prison gates creaked open slowly.

A gust rolled in, tossing her loose locks into the air. Serena reached up, smoothing her hair - her fingertip casually grazing her lower lip.

Just like that, her smile turned icy and fierce.

Like a Red Spider Lily blooming straight from hell - stunning yet deadly.

Six years.

She was finally back.

And everyone who hurt her, every last one of them-

Would pay.