Chapter 1

When the notice accusing the mayor's son of treason arrives, I am wearing my wedding dress, waiting for him to marry me.

Just like that, a wedding becomes a disaster.

My fiancé is sent to death row. My family, the Vales, is punished for working with him.

All the men will be shot. The women will be sent to the red-light district and forced into escort houses for life.

After hearing the news, Grandmother pulls open the drawer with a shaking paw and hands the gun and the poison to Mother, my sisters-in-law, and the younger girls.

"Vale women die before we let anyone shame us."

That night, Grandmother shoots herself. Mother swallows the poison. My sisters-in-law hold my young niece and jump from the top floor.

When I swallow the last poison capsule, I suddenly hear the guards outside the cell complaining in low voices.

"Adrian Blackwell and the Vale men spoil that true daughter way too much."

"She was only scared Adrian still wanted to marry the adopted one. She was scared her father and brothers still loved the daughter they raised for sixteen years. So she cried and asked them to prove they loved her. And they actually forged a treason notice and a raid order, then tricked all the women into jail."

The other guard laughs.

"Adrian said once she signs the engagement release, he'll bring the Vale women home tomorrow. The Vale men are still at the house right now, throwing a dinner and figuring out how to cheer up the true daughter."

So there is no treason.

There is no ruined family.

My fiancé is safe. My father and brothers are alive and well.

They only want to make the true Vale daughter feel safe.

But they forget one thing.

Vale women die before we let anyone shame us.

Every woman in this cell is already unable to go home alive.

……

The poison works fast.

I curl up on the cold floor.

The two guards outside are still laughing and talking.

"It's just a show. If Miss Vale had signed the engagement release sooner, she wouldn't have had to suffer one night in jail."

I want to tell them I am not afraid of one night in jail.

But something sweet and bloody rises in my throat. The second I open my mouth, I cough up a mouthful of black blood.

The two guards finally notice something is wrong.

"What's happening to her?"

One of them comes closer. He looks through the cell door, and his face turns white.

"Go. Go get a doctor!"

The other guard grabs him.

"What's the rush? Miss Vale is stubborn. Maybe she's trying to scare Adrian."

"And that woman gave orders. No matter what happens inside tonight, we don't open the door. If we ruin her plan, can you take the blame?"

The guard hesitates.

In the end, he stops.

I curl on the ground. My stomach hurts like thousands of dull knives twisting at once.

But what hurts more than the poison is what I just heard.

So Father is not fired or thrown in jail.

So Grandmother does not have to watch her son die before her.

Mother, my sisters-in-law, and the younger girls could all have lived.

If only someone had told us sooner that this is just a show.

When my mind fully fades, I see my wedding dress slowly darken with blood.

When I open my eyes again, I am floating above the cell.

Below me, my own body lies with its eyes closed. A thin line of black blood stains the corner of my mouth.

Mother lies on the floor, poison still in her hand.

Before my eldest sister-in-law dies, she gives her only gold bracelet to a guard and begs him to bury the Vale women later.

My second sister-in-law is three months pregnant.