The station felt colder at night. The fluorescent lights, harsh and unyielding, had been replaced by dim bulbs in the holding area. Shadows stretched long across the walls, and every sound—footsteps, doors slamming, distant voices—echoed like a warning.
Aaron had offered to stay with me.
"I'll stay the night," he said firmly, worry could be seen in every line of his face. "You shouldn't be alone."
I shook my head, forcing a tight smile. "No. You have your life, Aaron. You can't…"
"You can't refuse me," he interrupted gently, gripping my hand. "Not now. Not tonight. I'm not leaving."
I pulled my hand back. "I'll be fine. Really. I just… need to do this alone."
His eyes softened but didn't relent. "If anything happens—anything—I want to be here. I'll regret not being here forever."
I swallowed hard and shook my head again. "Please… I need to face this alone"
He hesitated, lingering, his thumb brushing over my knuckles. Finally, he stepped back, giving me that protective, unshakable gaze before leaving.
The cell felt smaller after Aaron left.
The sound of his footsteps fading down the corridor was the last tether I had to the outside world, and the silence that followed pressed down on me like a weight I couldn't lift.
I sat on the thin, cold mattress, hugging my knees to my chest, my mind running in circles.
Every whisper from the board, every glance from the office, every mistake I thought I had buried replayed relentlessly.
And then… a soft scrape at the door.
My heart jumped. A small envelope slid under the bars, landing at my feet. My hands trembled as I bent down and picked it up.
The handwriting was jagged, cruel, almost mocking. I ripped it open, and my stomach turned as I read the words:
I know you're fucking your brother-in-law… you whore… that's the price for betrayal.
I dropped it immediately, fear gripping me, but my eyes kept returning to it, the words burning into my mind. My chest heaved, my knees shaking.
"No… no, no, no…" I murmured, pressing my palms to my face.
I tore the note into pieces and flung it against the wall.
The paper crumpled, but the words didn't disappear from my thoughts. They echoed, taunting me, twisting inside my skull.
I ran to the cell door, scanning the empty corridor to see who might have left me this.
Silence.
Not a soul in sight. No one to blame. No one to confront.
"Who… who would do this?" I whispered, voice trembling. My hands clawed into my hair. My mind refused to calm.
I thought about Victor, our foolishness, I had buried every suspicion, every indulgence, every moment of foolish desire, we had been careful.
And yet here it was, being used against me, dragging me back into the guilt and shame I knew I would never escape.
Was this… a trap?
My thoughts spiraled, dark and wild.
Robert? His smirk, his dislike, his envy. Could he have done this?
Loretta? She thrived on my misery. She would laugh at this. Could she have done it just to see me crumble?
Elena? My stomach twisted. No. Impossible. Elena wouldn't—she couldn't. She had always been my calm, my comfort… my protector. No, she wasn't capable of this. I shoved the thought away as quickly as it came, but doubt lingered like a shadow.
I sank back onto the mattress, hugging my legs tighter.
The shadows in the corners of the cell seemed alive, stretching, whispering, mocking. The words repeated themselves relentlessly in my head:
SPOILT RICH BRAT… THAT'S WHAT YOU GET… FOR FUCKING YOUR SISTER'S HUSBAND…
I pressed my face into my knees, rocking back and forth, whispering, trying to block the images, the accusations, the guilt—but it was no use.
And then, for a fleeting, impossible second, I saw him.
Victor—tall, impossibly composed, standing at the edge of the cell. Watching me. Smiling faintly, unreadably.
"Victor…" I breathed, reaching out.
And just like that, he was gone.
The walls closed in, the shadows danced, and my mind spun faster and faster. Every mistake, every indulgence, every secret… every whispered accusation from the world outside was now trapped in this cell with me, echoing, mocking, never letting me rest.
"I thought… I thought I was over this…" I murmured, voice barely audible, tears streaking my cheeks.
But I wasn't.
And in the dead of that night, with only the dim light and the remnants of a cruel note, I realized—I was utterly, terrifyingly alone.
Next day
****
I barely slept.
If I closed my eyes, the nightmares came.
If I kept them open, the roaches crawled.
I spent the entire night jerking awake at every sound — metal clanking, women whispering, distant laughter that sounded like it was meant for me. The thin mattress did nothing to soften the cold. My skin itched. My mind wouldn't rest.
By morning, I felt like I had been hollowed out.
They pushed a tray of food toward me — something pale and shapeless with a slice of dry bread. The smell alone made my stomach turn.
"I'm not eating that," I muttered.
The female guard hissed loudly. "Look at this one. Spoilt rich brat thinks this is a hotel."
I didn't answer. I couldn't. My eyes were swollen from crying. My head pounded. My body felt weak.
I wasn't spending another night here. I couldn't.
Not after the note.
Not after the whispers.
My heart started racing again.
Not long after, I heard his voice.
Aaron.
I shot up from the bench and rushed to the call gate, gripping the bars so tightly my knuckles turned white.
"Aaron," I breathed. "Please. Find a way to get me out of here. Please."
My body was trembling so badly I could barely stand.
He stared at me — and his face changed.
"What's wrong with you, Alyssa?"
He thought I looked insane. I could see it in his eyes. My hair was messy. My face was pale. My pupils were wide.
Then he turned to the guard. "She doesn't look well. Can you get her to the medical unit? She's shaking."
The guard barely glanced at me. She popped her gum and shrugged.
"She's fine."
"I'm not fine!" I snapped suddenly, my voice breaking. "Someone is threatening me in here!"
The guard rolled her eyes. "Everybody's threatened in here."
Aaron grabbed my hands through the bars. They were ice cold.
"Calm down," he whispered urgently. "Talk to me. What happened?" what is the threats about?.
I shook my head violently.
"It's about the fraud case," I said quickly. "Someone is trying to scare me because of it."
The lie slipped out too easily.
He didn't know about Victor.
And I wasn't ready to let him.
"What if someone actually tries to hurt me in here?" I whispered. "What if this isn't just about the fraud? What if someone wants me destroyed?"
Because now I know.
This wasn't random.
The fraud.
The board finding out too quickly.
The police arriving within days.
The threats inside jail.
No one even knew how the case got to the police that fast. It was still under internal investigation. So who pushed it forward?
Someone was pulling strings.
And I was the puppet.
"Aaron," I said, gripping him tighter. "This isn't a coincidence. It can't be."
He looked at me carefully now — not confused anymore. Not dismissive.
Suspicious.
"You think someone set you up?" he asked quietly.
"I know it," I whispered.