Meanwhile, word of Heather Frost's actions had spread like wildfire.
The government, alongside the influential Storm family they were affiliated with, acted swiftly and decisively.
Heather was imprisoned and subjected to a public trial where her role in facilitating the kidnappings and experiments was laid bare.
It was eventually concluded that after a period of imprisonment, she would be subjected to a public execution. The punishment was severe, as both a warning and a statement: treasonous actions of this magnitude would not be tolerated by the empire.
The fallout for the Frost clan was catastrophic. Once a powerful and influential family, they were entirely severed from the Storms. Their businesses collapsed under the weight of the scandal, their allies abandoning them one by one. In a matter of weeks, the Frosts had gone from a position of prestige to the brink of ruin—of course, all of this was in the future.