Emma sat curled in the corner of her cell, her arms wrapped tightly around her legs as she tried to control the violent tremors racking her body. The cold, damp air pressed in around her, suffocating, closing in like the walls themselves were swallowing her whole. Her trial was only hours away. A trial that wasn't really a trial. A trial that had already been decided before she even stepped foot in that courtroom.
She wasn't stupid. No legal system worked this fast, not for someone like her, a nobody. Yet here she was, sitting in a prison cell, awaiting a trial that had been set in motion with the snap of Nathan Sterling's fingers. A man who could make and break lives with a single phone call.
Her fingers curled into fists, nails digging into her skin as she tried to will herself to stay strong, but it was getting harder. The panic was setting in, wrapping itself around her throat like an iron chain, suffocating her.
This isn't happening. This can't be happening.
She had spent her whole life trying to avoid bad decisions, trying to survive. If she had known this was how it would end, maybe... maybe marrying Mr. Liang would've been a better choice.
The thought struck her like a blade.
She had hated the idea, despised the notion of selling herself into a loveless marriage with a man nearly twice her age. But would it have been worse than this? A life where she had security, wealth, a future, even if it wasn't the one she wanted? Because now, what did she have? A prison sentence. A powerful man's wrath. A fate worse than death.
Tears burned in her eyes, but she refused to let them fall. She had to think. She had to find a way out.
Her mind raced, replaying every moment, every interaction that had led her here. Who had framed her? Why was she the one taking the fall for something she didn't do? She wasn't a kidnapper. She wasn't a criminal. But none of that mattered.
Nathan Sterling didn't care about innocence. He cared about justice. His justice.
And she was the target of his rage.
Emma squeezed her eyes shut, her body shaking as she tried to regulate her breathing. The walls around her seemed to close in tighter, the air growing unbearably thick.
She wasn't ready to die.
A sharp clank of metal echoed through the hallway, followed by the heavy stomp of boots. The sound jolted through her like an electric current, and she looked up just as a guard stopped in front of her cell.
His expression was unreadable, but his words were cold.
"It's time."
A shiver ran down her spine. Time for what? To be dragged in front of a courtroom where Nathan Sterling's influence had already decided her fate? To be paraded like a criminal while the world watched?
She didn't have a choice.
The cell door screeched open, and rough hands yanked her forward. The cuffs were slapped onto her wrists with unnecessary force, metal biting into her skin. A reminder that in their eyes, she was already guilty.
"Move."
She stumbled forward, her legs weak from hours of sitting on the cold, hard floor. They dragged her through the dimly lit corridors of the facility, past other prisoners who barely spared her a glance.
She was nothing to them.
The fluorescent lights flickered overhead as they led her outside, the harsh evening air slamming into her like a slap. A black prison van was waiting, its back doors yawning open like the mouth of some hungry beast.
Emma dug her heels into the ground, a desperate attempt to resist the inevitable. "Please," she gasped. "I didn't do anything!"
No one listened.
A heavy hand shoved her forward, and she tumbled into the van, landing hard on the cold metal floor. The doors slammed shut behind her, locking her inside with nothing but the suffocating silence of her own despair.
The engine roared to life, and the vehicle lurched forward. Heading to the place where her fate would be sealed. But not for good. That much, she was certain of. Because Emma wasn't going down without a fight.
The van rattled as it sped down the road, the engine's deep hum vibrating through Emma's bones. She sat with her hands cuffed in her lap, her heart pounding so hard it drowned out the sound of the tires against the pavement. Every second that passed tightened the noose around her throat, a suffocating reminder that she was heading toward her doom.
Her fate had already been written. Nathan Sterling had made sure of that.
She clenched her hands into fists, her nails digging into her palms. She couldn't go to that courthouse. Not like this. Not when the verdict had been decided before she even stepped into the prison transport. She had to find a way out.
But how?
The doors were locked. The guards in the front were armed. The vehicle was in motion. There was no escape. Then, as if the universe itself had decided to favor her, chaos erupted.
Shouts rang out from the front of the van. The brakes screeched, throwing Emma forward as the vehicle lurched to an abrupt stop. Her shoulder slammed against the cold metal floor, pain jolting through her, but she barely had time to process it before the doors flung open.
"What the hell?!" one of the guards shouted.
Footsteps pounded against the pavement. More yelling. A blur of motion outside the van.
Emma craned her neck toward the small, barred window at the back, trying to make sense of what was happening. Then she saw him, another prisoner, bolting down the street, running as if his life depended on it.
A runaway.
"Damn it! Stop him!"
The guards scrambled, abandoning their posts as they took off in pursuit. The driver cursed, jumping out to join them, leaving the vehicle completely unattended.
Leaving Emma completely unattended. Her breath hitched. This was it. This was her chance. Adrenaline surged through her veins. She didn't think, she moved. Fast.
She threw herself forward, shuffling on her knees toward the open doors. The cuffs on her wrists made it difficult, but she didn't care. She had seconds.
Her feet hit the pavement, the sharp sting of gravel digging into her skin as she stumbled forward. The road stretched ahead, empty, except for the distant shouts of the guards still chasing after the other prisoner.
Emma didn't wait. She ran.
Her bare feet slapped against the ground as she darted toward the nearest alleyway, her breath coming in ragged gasps. She didn't stop, didn't look back, her pulse hammering against her ribs as she disappeared into the shadows.
She couldn't go to that courtroom. Her fate was about to be sealed, and she refused to let Nathan Sterling control the outcome.
But she needed help.
There was only one person who could unseal what had already been written. And she had to find him.