Inside Henry's head, the fire of revenge was blazing uncontrollably. Laboni's calm contempt and open challenge robbed him of all sense of right and wrong. He felt that as long as Laboni remained alive, he would never be able to rule in peace. The arrogance of power and his wounded ego dragged him down to the level of a beast.
Henry screamed,
"Then die! Go to hell with that arrogance of yours!"
At that very moment, Henry pulled the trigger with all his force.
"Bang!"
A deafening explosion shook the entire house. The windowpanes shattered with a sharp clang. The flash of fire bursting from the revolver briefly illuminated Laboni's face.
Laboni was thrown backward and collapsed onto the floor. The white wall was instantly soaked in red blood. Her eyes remained open—yet there was no fear in them. Instead, there was a strange sense of liberation. At the corner of her lips appeared a faint smile, as if it said, "Henry, in the end, you still lost."
In the other room, hearing the gunshot, Sara screamed,
"Mom!"
She could no longer hold herself back. Unlocking the door, she ran into the drawing room. What she saw was far beyond what her young mind could endure.
Her mother lay motionless in a pool of blood on the floor, and in front of her stood her father, holding a revolver like a madman.
Henry stood frozen, smoke rising from the gun in his hand. He couldn't comprehend what had just happened. He had only wanted to frighten Laboni—but in his blind rage, he had truly killed the mother of his children.
Sara ran and threw herself over Laboni's body. Her hands were soaked in her mother's blood. She cried out in agony,
"Mom! Open your eyes, Mom! Please talk to me!"
Henry staggered one step backward. He looked into Sara's eyes and saw no fear there—only an endless, solidified hatred. Sara wiped away her tears, stood up straight, and looked directly into her father's eyes.
Sara (calm, but razor-sharp):
"You killed my mother. I saw everything. From today on, I am not your daughter. I am the only witness to your murder. You can never imprison us again."
At that moment, police sirens wailed outside. The IGP may have tried to save him—but before dying, Laboni had turned on a live stream that spread directly across the internet. The whole world watched in real time as Henry shot his wife. Now no IGP, no power on earth, could save him.
By giving her life, Laboni trapped Henry in a cage from which there was no escape.
As Sara wailed beside Laboni's lifeless body, the front door burst open and a large police force stormed inside. This time, they had not come to salute Henry.
Before dying, Laboni had positioned her phone's front camera in such a way that the entire shooting was broadcast live online. Neither the IGP nor any high-ranking official could cover up such a massive crime anymore. Thousands of people had witnessed the brutality in real time.
Police commandos surrounded Henry from all sides. He still stood rigid, revolver in hand, until an officer lunged forward and knocked the weapon from his grasp.
Officer (with fierce contempt):
"Mr. Henry, your game is over. By order of the IGP, you are under arrest. You have been charged with murder."
As two constables grabbed him firmly from both sides, Henry began to laugh like a madman. His arrogance, the pride of his uniform, and the dominance of his power were all reduced to dust.
Henry:
"Let me go! Do you know who I am? I'm your officer! Laboni forced me… she forced me!"
The police dragged Henry out of the house. In the courtyard, hundreds of people had gathered, shouting curses at the killer. Before being pushed into the van, Henry looked back one last time. On the veranda stood Sara. Her little sister clung to her, crying.
There were no tears in Sara's eyes. She looked straight at her father and raised one finger—an unspoken message: "Your destruction has begun."
Henry was shoved into the police van. As the siren wailed and the vehicle drove away, a deep, quiet stillness settled beside Laboni's lifeless body.
Laboni had not lost. By sacrificing her life, she sent the demon into a darkness from which he would never again see daylight.
She proved that power can dominate the body—but never the soul. Stripped of power, Henry remained in history as a disgraced criminal, an ordinary prisoner stained by eternal shame.
After Henry's arrest, the entire country erupted. Within days, the long-awaited trial began. The courtroom was packed—journalists, lawyers, and citizens filling every inch of space.
Henry in the Dock:
Once a fearsome police officer, Henry now stood broken in the dock. The expensive uniform was gone. The arrogance in his eyes had vanished. His hands were cuffed. The man whose gestures once shook the city now stood with his head lowered, watching judgment descend upon him.
After the judge took his seat, Laboni's lawyer presented the historic evidence—the live video from Laboni's phone and the audio recordings of Henry's past abuses sent to Dr. Arian.
Sara on the Witness Stand:
The greatest shock came when ten-year-old Sara stepped into the witness box. As the small girl climbed up slowly, the entire courtroom fell silent. Henry tried to look at her, but the intense hatred in her eyes forced him to look away.
Lawyer:
"Sara, can you tell the court what happened in the drawing room that day?"
Sara (firm and clear):
"I saw with my own eyes—this man, whom I once called my father, shot my mother in cold blood. My mother only wanted freedom, but he forced her to die. He is a murderer."
Her testimony stunned the entire court. Henry muttered desperately, trying to prove his innocence, but even his IGP friend did not come to save him this time. Power had shifted, and out of fear of public outrage, no one dared stand beside this monster.
The Verdict:
Based on all evidence and eyewitness testimony, the judge delivered the judgment:
"To be a protector of the law and yet act as its devourer is the gravest crime. Henry is not only the murderer of his wife—he has stained the entire justice system through abuse of power."
The gavel struck.
"The accused, Henry, is found guilty under Section 302 of the Penal Code and is hereby sentenced to death."
Hearing the verdict, Henry collapsed onto the floor, wailing. The key to his fortune and power was lost forever. As the police dragged him away, Sara stepped outside the courtroom and looked up at the sky. She felt as if her mother, Laboni, was smiling from beyond the clouds. Even in death, Laboni had ensured Henry faced justice and received his rightful punishment.
Suddenly, a grave voice broke the suffocating silence of the courtroom. Everyone turned in shock. A highly respected senior police officer—known for his integrity—raised his hand and stopped the judge.
Many thought he had come to save Henry, but his words left the courtroom frozen.
Officer:
"Your Honor, one moment. Do not give this demon such an easy release with death. Death is a momentary punishment—he would be freed from all suffering instantly. But should the agony he inflicted on Madam Laboni, killing her inch by inch for years, end so easily?"
The judge frowned. The officer stepped forward, pointing at the shriveled Henry in the dock.
Officer:
"Do not make him a 'martyr' with execution. Give him a sentence that makes him wish for death every day—yet never grants it. Sentence him to life imprisonment and order that he be kept not with ordinary prisoners, but in solitary confinement, where he must speak only to the shadow of his sins. Let him be reminded every day that he lost to the hatred in his own daughter's eyes."
The officer was Henry's lifelong enemy. He knew that for a man as arrogant as Henry, powerlessness and isolation were worse than hanging. A man intoxicated by prestige and authority would suffer far more by rotting alone in darkness.
Officer:
"Death would be a blessing for him. I want him alive—so he can look at the murderer in the mirror every single day. I don't want him to die quickly. I want him to rot."
The judge reflected in silence. The courtroom understood the depth of the argument. Execution would end Henry's suffering in seconds—but life imprisonment would burn him every second with Laboni's absence and his own guilt.
The Revised Judgment:
"The court accepts the officer's argument. The death sentence is commuted. Henry is sentenced to life imprisonment with hard labor. No pardon or parole shall be granted. He will remain in the dark confines of prison until his final breath."
When Henry realized he would never again breathe free air, he screamed like a madman. He understood then—death was not his punishment. Endless captivity was his true hell.
As the police dragged him away, the senior officer leaned close and whispered into Henry's ear:
"Death would have saved you, Henry. Now suffer."