Chapter 14 11 299 Vouchers Chapter 14 In the surveillance room, Alexander ordered the person in charge to summon everyone who had contact with Sophie. Within half an hour, the cramped little room was packed with people. Alexander's eyelids twitched uncontrollably as his expression darkened. Nearly half the staff from this small Refor- matory stood before him. Had every single one of them touched Sophie? This realization made Alexander scrutinize each person with blade-sharp intensity. Everyone shrank under his gaze, too terrified to meet his cyes. "How dare this pitiful academy harbor such lawlessness!" Alexander's voice trembled with rage. He snatched a black baton from his bodyguard and smashed it against the mon- itoring desk. Dust exploded into the air as the deafening crash silenced all whispers in the room. "Investigate!" His roar sent bodyguards and technicians scrambling to comply. A trembling technician finally spoke up: "Found it!" Alexander took a deep breath before leaning over the screen. Grainy footage flickered before him. The scenes were brutal. On Sophie's first day, staff forced wasabi into her eyes. She clutched her face, screaming in agony while surrounded by mocking laughter. Desperately banging on the door until her fists bruised-no one answered. She was dragged down staircases like a mop, limp and lifeless on the ground. Ten men entered her room. Alexander could barely keep watching. Three days. That's all it took for such horrors to unfold-because of him. "Find every last recording" Sophie trembled at her own voice She fled through the window, adrift and anchorless DOM 12.39 Chapter 14 11 288 Vouchers Leaning against the Reformatory's outer wall, she faced the wind to steady her breathing. The electrocutions, the dragging, the humiliation-all must be forgotten. Forget. No tears left, no sobs escaped. She willed Alexander to stop digging. She screamed into the gale, begging the tempest to halt this merciless man. The wind answered. Thunder rumbled as lightning struck down the Reformatory behind her. Inside, the technician froze in terror. But Alexander merely dragged those from the footage out of the crowd. Bodyguards pinned them down while Alexander swung his baton-crack after crack-against restrained bodies. Screams pierced through windows, drowning even the thunder. Blood splattered across Alexander's hands. Crimson-eyed, he never faltered. Recalling the torment Sophie had endured, Alexander felt it was not enough, not enough. He kept pounding with all his might, as if before him lay not a living soul but a rag doll to be torn apart. Only when his hands grew numb and tingling, and blood pooled thickly on the floor, did Alexander stop. Staring blankly at the crimson staining his hands, he thought of Sophie. Meanwhile, Sophie listened to the screams from within, numb and heartbroken. Why, Alexander? What are you trying to prove with all this? It's all useless now, isn't it? 55.0% 12:39