When I returned to Awakening Manor, Janet told me excitedly, “Emily, did you see? During my death on the platform, nearly seventy percent of the onlookers were women.”
I was surprised. “I’ve seen that in the past, when women committed suicide, the crowd was mostly men, with only a few women. This is a positive change!”
It was indeed a good sign! It showed that even these women were deeply unhappy with the current laws and yearned for freedom.
Janet, the rest of Awakening Manor, and I were all moved to tears. I hugged Janet and said, “You did an amazing job today.”
Using death to jolt people into action—that was Viola’s mother’s idea. Janet had agreed without hesitation, preparing meticulously for her role as the “deceased.”
The poison was fake, and the death was staged. Even the people handling the body were two strong women from Awakening Manor in disguise.
The eighth day came.
Viola’s family was running a fabric shop, a cosmetics store, and a bunch of other businesses. Anyone who shouted “Liberate Women!” inside would get a box of cosmetics or a roll of fabric as a reward.