Three years after my death for murder by poisoning, I finally dragged my entire family before the Court of the Afterlife.
This court only judged the dead. They had all died at the hands of my enemies, including my younger sister Emily Evans and her husband Daniel Carter.
If the charges were proven, they would be sent to the Inferno of Eternal Torment, suffering the five great punishments, while I would ascend to Heaven.
If not, they would go to Heaven, and I would be cast into Hell.
Judge Williams glanced over me—draped in gold and jewels—and then at my sister, clad in plain linen, before repeating:
“Are you certain you wish to initiate a trial? The charge is… favoritism?”
Before I could respond, my entire family dropped to their knees, pleading.
“Sophia, don’t be foolish and start a trial. Wouldn’t it be better to enter Heaven together and enjoy peace?”
“In this life we did right by you. You wanted luxury items and pretty clothes, we sold everything we had to buy them for you. Even when you became a murderer, we used Emily’s tuition money to buy you a cemetery plot, which cost her her place at Harvard University.”
I ignored them and turned to the Judge, nodding firmly.
“Pretty clothes? They weren’t even full price. Every single one bought with discount coupons!”
“I demand the trial. Let them suffer punishment, condemned for all eternity!”
My mother, Linda Evans, widened her eyes in disbelief.
“All this… just for something so small?”
I sneered.
“Yes. Just for this.”
…
“Oh God, what a heartless, ungrateful creature! A family raises what should have been a precious daughter, only to end up with a debt-collector of a child!”
Onlookers gathered around the court. Trials were common enough, but a charge of “favoritism” was rare, drawing in a curious crowd.
“How foolish. She could have gone straight to Heaven, but instead drags herself into certain damnation. What kind of stubborn pride is this?”
Hearing this, Linda also fell to her knees.
“Yes, Sophia, don’t be so reckless. If this trial begins, the only one who will lose is you. I just don’t want you to suffer in Hell!”
“If you truly feel neglected, then let’s be mother and daughter again in the next life. By then, I’ll sell my own kidney if I must to buy you full-priced Chanel and Louis Vuitton clothes.”
Tears streamed down Linda’s face as she clutched at my robes, banging her forehead against the ground until it bled.
The sight moved many onlookers to tears.
“She’s only trying to protect her daughter. How can Sophia not see it?”
“As the saying goes, only women and petty men are hard to deal with. I say she’s both woman and petty—stupid as a pig, not innocent but willfully blind!”
Finally, Emily couldn’t bear it any longer. Her eyes were red and swollen as she pulled Linda up.
“Mom, stop. She’s an ungrateful wolf. Don’t kneel to her.”
“She wants to die, let her. She’s already nearly killed us once when we tried to stop her!”
I remained unmoved, even letting out a mocking laugh.
“Yes, you never understood anything. You couldn’t use a phone or a computer, and all your life you did was nag with useless words. My affairs no longer concern you.”
The crowd clenched their fists, glaring at me as if they wished to strike me down on the spot for my unfilial cruelty.
Yet a few voices took another view.
“Am I the only one who notices how calm and confident she seems? Maybe there’s more to this than we know.”
But others scoffed.
“What else could there be? The facts are plain enough. Just watch—she’ll be the one thrown into Hell.”
