Chapter25
Mona bowed her head, genuinely grateful. “Thank you, officer.”
Just then, her phone rang.
She picked it up, and Liza’s sweet, venomous voice came through.
“Mona, my brother’s leg is broken. Hairline fracture, counts as a minor injury–three years minimum. Congrats. Hope you enjoy your shiny new handcuffs.”
Mona scoffed. “All I did was hit him on the head with a vase. He walked to the hospital on his own. How’s his broken leg my fault?”
Liza immediately jumped in, voice trembling with fake sincerity. “Mona, you’ve always been like this–doing something wrong and refusing to admit it. Our entire family saw you break Colton’s leg with their own eyes.”
She sniffled dramatically, even letting out a few half–hearted sobs.
“I know you’re angry that no one came to see you during those three years in prison. I know you want revenge. But how could you go this far? What’s Colton supposed to do now with a broken leg?”
Then she burst into tears again. “Eldon.
Right on cue, Eldon’s voice came through the phone. “Mona, what I said before still stands.”
Mona hung up on him without hesitation.
‘To hell with him,‘ she thought.
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Even if she had to spend another three years behind bars, she’d never beg Eldon for anything.
She sat silently in the station, trying to figure out her next move.
She already knew exactly what kind of people the Morse family were- she’d learned the hard way three years ago.
Colton had literally broken his own leg just to frame her and send her to prison.
He was willing to destroy his own body just to take her down. ‘But why? What could possibly be worth that?‘ she wondered.
Mona couldn’t wrap her head around it.
She opened her phone, scrolled through her contacts. The only name there–Waylon.
‘Should I call him? But what right do I have? I am just his wet nurse, bound by a work contract. Nothing more.‘
The more she thought about it, the colder her heart grew.
‘If this is what family looks like, then why did they bother bringing me into this world at all?‘
Not long after, the officers who’d gone to the hospital returned.
The verdict: Colton’s leg was indeed broken. Every witness said Mona was the one who did it.
She was formally detained. Her phone was confiscated.
The holding cell was packed–just rows of narrow, hard bunks crammed side by side. Dozens of people, lying shoulder to shoulder.
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Chapter25
The air reeked. It was stuffy, suffocating. The entire room was drenched in the stench of despair.
For a moment, Mona felt like she’d time–traveled back three years. Back when she was only nineteen.
She remembered waiting–hoping her parents would speak up for her, hoping Eldon would show up to save her.
But all that came was betrayal. The man she’d loved the most had been the one to throw her into the abyss.
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Those once-familiar faces, now twisted in her memory, were nothing but demons in disguise.
She couldn’t eat. She couldn’t sleep.
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By the third day, she was nearly at her breaking point.
Then, just when she felt like she’d completely lost herself, someone came to get her.
“Mona, your lawyer is here. You’ve been granted bail.
She blinked, stunned, then followed the officer out.
Waiting in the hall was a neatly dressed middle–aged man in a tailored suit.
“Ms. Morse,” he said politely, “I’m from Haley Group’s legal department. Mr. Haley sent me to post your bail. You’re free to go.”
Mona stared at him in disbelief. “Really?” She had no idea how Waylon even knew she’d been arrested–let alone why he would help her.
“Of course, Ms. Morse. This way, please.”
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As he led her out, Mona said quietly, “Please tell Mr. Haley I didn’t break Colton’s leg. I’ve been framed.”
The lawyer gave a small nod. “We’re already aware. We’ve recovered surveillance footage of Micah walking out of the house and getting into a car-unaided. You’re in the clear.”
Mona’s heart surged with emotion.
‘This. is what power looks like,‘ she thought.
Three years ago, on a street full of bystanders and surveillance cameras, not a single piece of evidence had surfaced. No one caught Liza hitting someone. No one saw Mona being drugged and dumped.
But now? With Waylon making a single move, even the footage from right outside her home had been dug up in record time.
In that moment, one thought echoed through her mind, I need to rise. I need power. I need to become someone no one dares to touch.‘
The lawyer opened the car door waiting at the curb. “Ms. Morse, please.”
Mona climbed in–and found Mckinley waiting in the back seat.
Mckinley sat in the front passenger seat. Mona was in the back.
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