The world was never fair.
Justice was a privilege, handed to those with wealth, power, and connections. The rest were left to suffer in silence, their cries buried beneath the weight of corruption.
Audrey Sarasvati Laurent had learned this the hard way.
She had spent years crafting the perfect life—building a career as a diplomat in Australia, making a name for herself in a world dominated by men who underestimated her. She was intelligent, ambitious, and strikingly beautiful. People admired her, envied her, and some—like Nathaniel "Nate" Sullivan—saw her as something to possess.
Nate had been perfect at first. The charming heir to a powerful corporate empire, he had swept her off her feet with effortless confidence and devotion. But perfection was always an illusion.
Over time, his love turned into control. His concern became manipulation. And before Audrey knew it, she was trapped.
At first, it was small things—questions about her schedule, disapproving glances when she laughed too freely with her colleagues. Then came the isolation, the gaslighting, the threats.
"You don't get it, do you, Audrey?" Nate had murmured one night, tracing his fingers along her jawline with unnerving gentleness. "I own you. You think you can just leave me? No company will hire you if I say so. You'll have nothing."
She had stared at him then, her heart pounding, but said nothing. Silence was safer.
But silence had a price.
And Audrey would pay for it in blood.
Audrey's POV
I should have left sooner.
I should have run the first time Nate raised his voice.
I should have fought back when he grabbed my wrist too tightly, when he made me doubt my own mind.
But I stayed.
And tonight, I paid the price.
I remember the way the door shook as he pounded against it, his voice laced with barely controlled rage.
"Open the door, Baby."
I pressed myself against the cold wall of my apartment, my breath shallow. I shouldn't have answered his call earlier. I should have ignored him, should have cut him off completely.
But I hadn't.
I had made the mistake of reasoning with a man who only wanted control.
"You're cheating on me, aren't you?" His voice was a whisper now, dangerous in its quiet fury. "Daniel? Is that who it is?"
I clenched my fists. "Nate, please—"
The door burst open.
Before I could react, he was in front of me.
His hand struck my face with brutal force, sending me crashing onto the floor. White-hot pain exploded behind my eyes.
"Do you think I'm stupid?" His voice was eerily calm as he knelt beside me, gripping my chin so tightly that I could barely breathe.
"N-Nate," I gasped, my vision swimming. "Please, just—"
His fist met my ribs.
I choked on a cry.
Another blow.
Then another.
Pain became my world.
Somewhere in the haze of agony, I felt him stroke my hair.
"You should've just listened to me, love," he murmured.
Then—darkness.
Third Person POV
Audrey's world ceased to exist.
One moment, she was drowning in pain, in fear. The next, she was weightless.
For a brief second, she thought she was dead.
Then—she opened her eyes.
She was no longer in her apartment.
The air was thick with silver mist, the sky above her swirling with stars that pulsed like a living thing. She was standing on nothingness, yet her feet felt firm beneath her.
She wasn't alone.
Before her stood a woman cloaked in silver, her piercing golden eyes watching her with unreadable intensity.
And beside Audrey—
Three other people stood, dazed and confused.
Audrey's POV
I turned my head, trying to steady my breath.
A man stood closest to me—tall, his features sharp and distinctly Japanase-American, his dark eyes shadowed with something I recognized all too well.
Pain.
Beside him, a woman with Korean features, her raven-black hair cascading down her back, stood with her arms crossed. Her face was impassive, but there was something in her posture that screamed anger barely contained.
The last was a man with American-Indonesian features, his skin bruised, his knuckles bloodied.
We were strangers.
And yet—I knew.
They were like me.
Broken. Betrayed.
Left to die.
The woman in silver stepped forward, her presence radiating power.
"Welcome," she said, her voice smooth as silk, yet laced with something ancient. "You stand at the crossroads of life and death."
My hands trembled.
"Who are you?" I asked, my voice barely above a whisper.
The woman smiled.
"I am the Goddess of Justice."
The words shook the very air around us.
"You have all been wronged," she continued, her gaze sweeping over each of us. "Your lives stolen. Your justice denied."
I swallowed. Nate's face flashed in my mind.
"And now, I offer you a choice."
She raised her hand, and suddenly—power surged through my veins. It was unlike anything I had ever felt before, something raw, something untamed.
"You may remain here," the goddess said, her golden eyes glowing. "Or—"
She smiled.
"You may return to the world as my agents of justice."
A cold shiver ran down my spine.
The bruised man beside me spoke, his voice hoarse.
"What's the price?"
The goddess tilted her head, pleased.
"If you fail—" she said lightly, "your souls will vanish forever."
Silence.
A heavy silence.
I clenched my fists, Nate's words echoing in my mind.
"You think you can just leave me?"
"I own you."
"No one will hire you. You'll have nothing."
My body shook with rage.
For so long, I had been powerless.
For so long, I had been a victim.
I looked at the others. I saw it in their eyes.
The same fury. The same hunger.
Slowly, I turned back to the goddess.
And I smiled.
"I accept."
The others, one by one, echoed the same words.
The air crackled with power.
The goddess extended her hands, her golden eyes gleaming.
"Then let justice be done."
The world around us shattered into light.
And we fell—
Back into the living world.
Back into vengeance.
—
As Audrey's consciousness returned, the first thing she felt was fire.
Power burned in her veins, unlike anything she had ever known.
And when she opened her eyes—
The world was different.
She was no longer weak.
She was no longer powerless.
And neither were the others.
Vengeance had begun.