en years of my life in a concrete

bell, eating slop, and watching m

my life. He took my fiancée. He took my inheritance. He lived in a mansion, we

d made sure he was safe. She had built a fortress of lies

by the hour. I sat on the edge of the lumpy mattress, the springs groani

son gave me, buzzed. It was Sarah. I ignored it. It buzzed

do you

o worried," her voice was filled with tha

worried, Sarah?" I

something might have happened. I have something for you.

package for fourteen years of my li

" I asked, p

, her voice smooth as silk. "He' s set up a trust for you. A hundred t

es and my stolen future. It was an insult. It was less than the cost

said, my voice dripping with

. He just... he made a mi

e got drunk, killed two people, and f

, as if that justified everything. "Olivia and t

y life was the price for theirs. The pieces

my voice dropping low. "I th

her end of the line. "What? Ethan, don' t b

After the first trial. You convinced me not to testify. You said the jury would see me as

tect you!" she insis

in my first sentence. I had a black eye and a split lip. I told her about the inmat

?" Sarah had asked, he

my mouth shut, jus

od. Don' t cause any trouble

m my second sentence. I was in the prison workshop when a piece of machinery malfunctioned, a safety guard removed. A blade came lo

asn' t

g on me. "The one with Jake. He said his mother was killed by a hit-a

he other end

eone you could manipulate. You told him I was responsible for his mother's death,

ng any sense," she said,

nt. Just when I get out, just when I might start asking questions, you find a way to silence me again. Another seven year

elp me!" she shrie

ed back, my control finally snapping. "You played on my gratitude, my

ed me. She had actively worked to make my life a living hell, to keep me broken and

m, dead. "I was at the house. I heard you and your m

almost feel her shock, her panic, radiating thro

t against the wall. It shattere