Chapter 1
Chapter 1
Betrayal in Blood
Elena’s POV
Blackridge Prison was not for the weak. The air inside was thick with the scent of sweat, rust and something sour that stuck to the walls like a permanent
stain.
The overhead light bulb was dim, flickering every few minutes and casting uneven shadows across the broken cement floor. The air was deathly still but hushed whispers filtered through cracks and holes.
Guards patrolled the hallways, their footsteps heavy.
My cell door scraped against the concrete floor as it slid open. I raised my head up, my vision blinking to adjust to the dimness. Two stern faced guards stood outside.
Why were they here? I was just led back here less than an hour ago after dinnertime.
I tried to read the expression on their faces but they gave nothing away.
“On your feet, Inmate Carter.” The shorter guard barked.
I staggered to my feet, feeling a slight wave of dizziness overcome me. My boots shuffled towards the door and I held out my chained wrists before me for the guard to unlock.
My gaze was fixed ahead, trying to ignore the other inmates uneasy stares following.
Some nodded their heads in my direction while others were more subtle, whispering behind their palms.
I’d been here for ten years, enough time to block out what the people in here thought about me. The reactions I elicited ranged from shock to outrage, even from people who were in here for similar crimes. I didn’t care anymore.
My mind was already somewhere else.
A place I didn’t think I could ever escape from.
I was eighteen years old when my life ended.
The first thing I remembered was the cold. It seeped deep into my bones, stiffening and numbing my fingers as my eyes fluttered open.
I tried to sit up but a red hot pain filled my senes. It was as though someone had taken a hammer repeatedly to my skull. Stars burst in my vision even then, I could tell that I wasn’t in my room.
For one, the curtains were white and the sheets were tough against my skin.
A strong metallic scent filled my nostrils, it made me want to gag. Then I turned my head and saw it.
The red.
Dark and thick staining my hands, forming a pool around my feet. My heart stopped for a moment and I froze as my gaze traced the blood down to a body that was lying motionless on the floor.
It was a man and he was covered in blood. In the dim light emanating from the lamp, I could make out a pale face and glassy, empty stare gazing blankly at the ceiling.
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It was then I realized my right hand was curled tightly around an object. A knife. Blood roared in my ears. This can’t be
I shook my head, starting to hyperventilate, my chest rising and falling in an uneven rhythm.
No. This cannot be real. My fingers trembled as I dropped the knife on the tiled floor. The metal clattered to the floor, cutting through the silence.
“What…what is this?” My voice cracked on the last word.
I tried to sift through my memories but they were like fragmented glass.
How did I even get here? How the hell was I even holding a knife in the first place? My heart pounded against my ribs. The whole room spun as I tried to remember something, anything.
Suddenly, the door was kicked open with a loud bang and several uniformed men holding high powered beams burst into the room. They pointed the flashlights in my face.
“It’s the police! Don’t move!”
Someone switched on the light and the room was bathed in bright yellow. It was too much at once. I heard the sharp click of guns cocked. I blinked severally to find them pointed at my face.
“Hands where we can see them, miss!”
I raised my shaking hands. My palms were bloodstained. The cops exchanged looks of shock. This was bad. This was really bad
“Please……I didn’t do this,” I cried out.
But the evidence was damning and my pleas fell on deaf ears.
“On your knees! Now!”
I obeyed immediately but they pounced on me nonetheless. A forceful hand twisted my arms behind my back, the cold cut of metal cuffs locked around my wrists.
“Miss, you are under arrest for the murder of Lucas Vance.”
Murder. The word hit me like a punch to the face, shattering every little thing I thought I ever knew.
The trial was a quick one, lasting just several weeks before I was sentenced. The prosecutor tore into me like a wolf with prey and it didn’t help that I was caught with the body, red handed–literally.
The knife was covered in my fingerprints and DNA. The hotel room had even been paid for with my credit card, and it had been booked in my name.
The security camera footage showed me walking into the hotel all alone about an hour before the murder.
Even my lawyer didn’t quite believe me but I kept reiterating my innocence. Foolishly, I hoped that the testimonies from witnesses would be in my
favour.
“Miss Charlotte Carter, can you please step forward to the stand?”
My heart leapt in hope. Charlotte was my sister, my blood, she was going to save me with her testimony and get me out of this mess. I didn’t kill Lucas, no matter what the evidence said. Even though he’d sexually harassed me. Lucas blackmailed me to meet up with him that night.
I remembered entering the hotel room that night but I couldn’t remember anything else after that. My head was a blank slate.
I’d told Charlotte everything. She could turn things in my favour with the truth.
My sister stood up to walk to the stand, her posture straight, her pink tailored gown elegant and untouched. Her face was the picture of sorrow, tears rolling down uncontrollably on her cheeks. My heart went out to her. She’d visited me several times in prison, assuring me that everything would be fine
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in the end.
I tried to hold on to those words now.
After she swore on the Bible, my lawyer urged her to speak.
“Elena is my sister,” she started, her voice shaky. “But I can’t lie about what I know.”
1 blinked, exchanging glances with my lawyer. What was she talking about? This wasn’t what we’d agreed on,
Charlotte continued, “She told me…she told me that Lucas Vance had always been sexually harassing her for months.” She wiped her eyes with a tissue. “She was afraid of him, She said that he hurt her and he does not plan on stopping and that one day, he would eventually force himself sexually on her. She could no longer endure it anymore.”
I shook my head slowly, looking at her as she blurted out those lies, No. This wasn’t
happening.
“She told me she had to do something to make all these stop.”
The leash on my control snapped. “Lies!” I shouted, my voice echoing through the whole courtroom. “Charlotte, what are you even saying? It’s all lies!”
The judge hit his gavel. “I need order to be maintained in this court!”
I felt sick, as if the walls were closing in on me. My sister… my own sister…was throwing me into the fire.
The second witness called to the stand was Adrian. My Adrian, the love of my life, even if Charlotte betrayed me I know that Adrain would always have my back, he would surely save me.
“Elena is my girlfriend,” he said, his voice steady, “But she just always had this temper. She told me she despised Lucas for what he was doing to her.”
“She even tried to suggest that we kill him together then laughed it off as a joke. She’s manipulative and will do whatever it takes to get what she wants.”
His words struck me like an electric shock. “No,” I whispered, shaking my head. “No, Adrian, please.”
“She tried to manipulate me,” he continued, his voice breaking just enough to make all he said believable. “I never thought she would decide to do it all by herself, but I was wrong.”
There was nothing I could do but sit there, shivering violently as though I’d been possessed. The two most important people in my life had just damned me to hell.
The jury didn’t even take too long to make their decision. All eleven of them found my guilty. I was sentenced almost a month later.
“You are hereby declared guilty and sentenced to life imprisonment without the possibility of parole.” The judge declared.
That was the beginning of the end for me.
The cell door banged shut behind me, forever sealing my fate. Days turned into weeks. Weeks into months. And then they finally decided to show faces after what they did to me.
We were separated by thick glass in the visiting room. They sat together, their hands clasped tightly.
“Poor Elena,” Charlotte began, picking up the phone to communicate. “We just thought you needed to know the truth, my dear sister.
“We framed you. Lucas was never your victim/he was ours.” Adrian cut in, smirking. “You were just at the wrong place at the wrong time.”
My grip on the telephone tightened until my knuckles whitened from the effort. “Why?” I said in a broken whisper. “What did I ever do to the both of you to deserve this?”
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“Oh, Elena.” Charlotte hissed, dropping the act. “Everything that was given to you by our later parents is now mine, it belongs to me.”
“And one more thing my love” Adrian added, wrapping his arms around Charlotte’s waist. “We’re getting married.”
They brought their faces close to each other, kissing passionately in order to add to the sting of betrayal I was already feeling.
I banged on the glass wall, a wail ripping from my throat. A tinge of satisfaction filled me as they both jumped back in surprise. It didn’t last long though, the guards interfered, pulling me away roughly. I didn’t care, I continued to scream.
“Elena Carter,” the voice drew me sharply from my thoughts.
I shook my head, forcing myself to return to the present. If I’d known that I would be attending an interview of sorts, I’d have prepared better.
Desperate hope caused my heart to beat faster. The President of the country was seeking to sign executive pardons for a few prisoners and I’d been shortlisted because of my good behavior in prison for the past ten years.
“You’re in prison for murder. What would you do if you’re pardoned? How would you live your new life?”
I swallowed as a number of thoughts flit through my mind. I thought I’d given up on getting out of here but with the possibility of freedom dangling in my face, I wanted it so bad. I wanted to get out of here, I deserved a second chance at the life that was stolen from me. I wanted to make Charlotte and
Adrian pay.
The force of my own hate was staggering, made me inhale in short gasps. I couldn’t say that though. I needed to say something that would get me out of
here.
I kept my voice demure, low and harmless. “I won’t take a second chance for granted, I want to make amends for the bad I’ve done by leading a good life this time.”
I could tell that I’d said the right thing. My interviewer gave a distracted nod.
“Well, you’ll find out soon enough if you’ll be pardoned.” He said dismissively.
I closed my eyes and said a prayer. If there was a god out there, please, help me.
