Chapter 2
James frowned, looking at me like I was crazy. "What are you laughing at?"
I stopped laughing, my gaze sharp. "I'm laughing at you guys. You're all in deep trouble and you don't even realize it."
"In deep trouble?" James scoffed, as if it were the funniest thing he'd ever heard.
He stood up abruptly, pressed his hands on the table, and fixed me with a fierce stare.
"Olivia, did you lose your mind living out in the boonies? Do you have any idea where you are? This is a police station!"
He pointed a finger almost at my nose. "The evidence is rock solid. We've got witnesses and physical proof.
"Your mother accused you. Your sister is a witness. How are you planning to clear your name?"
I turned my head away in disgust, avoiding his spit. "You call those fake garbage pieces evidence?"
James snorted, pulled his hand back, and straightened his tie.
"The judge will decide what's garbage. One last warning: sign, and your grandmother's grave stays untouched.
"You've got one night to think it over. I want your signature by morning," he said, pushing the confession forward.
With that, he grabbed his briefcase and walked out without looking back.
The interrogation room door slammed shut again.
I closed my eyes and drew in a deep breath.
The air reeked of mildew and rust.
Not long after, two female officers came in and escorted me out of the room.
They marched me down the long corridor and shoved me into a temporary holding cell.
The iron door clanged shut behind me with a heavy, muffled thud.
The cell was small, with a long bunk along the wall.
In the corner was an exposed toilet, stinking of ammonia.
Three women were sitting on the bunk.
As I stepped in, they all looked up, their eyes brimming with undisguised malice.
The leader, Luna White, had a buzz cut and a long scar running from her left eye to her jaw.
"Wow, fresh meat," she grinned, twirling a sharpened plastic toothbrush handle.
She spat out her gum and swayed unsteadily to her feet.
She looked me up and down, stopping at my ill-fitting clothes.
"Heard you're some rich girl? Why did you dress like a bum?" she scoffed.
The other two women snickered.
I ignored them, walked to the cleanest corner of the bunk, and sat down.
Angry at being ignored, Luna strode up to me, her face dark.
She lifted her foot and stomped hard on the bunk next to mine. "Cat got your tongue? New girls follow the rules here.
"You're cleaning the toilet tonight. And we haven't washed our feet in days. Fetch water and scrub them for us."
I looked up calmly. "Get lost."
The cell went dead silent.
Luna paused, shocked I'd talk back.
Then she burst out laughing. "Girls, hear that? She told me to get lost."
Suddenly, her smile vanished, her eyes turning cruel. "Ms. Yvonne Stone paid us good money to 'teach you a lesson.'"
She pressed the sharpened toothbrush handle against my shoulder. "You're gonna bleed today if you don't learn who runs this cell."
Before she finished speaking, she stabbed the toothbrush handle hard at my arm.
I didn't even blink.
The second she moved, I dodged the tip easily.
At the same time, I grabbed her wrist with my right hand and squeezed hard.
A sharp crack rang out.
Luna let out a piercing scream, the toothbrush handle clattering to the floor.
I didn't stop. Using the force of her downward motion, I kicked her hard behind the knee.
Her legs gave out, and she collapsed to her knees in front of me with a loud thud.
My whole movement was smooth, done in under two seconds.
The other two women froze, stunned speechless.
I let go and stood over Luna, watching her writhe in pain on the floor.
"Tell Yvonne her money was wasted," I said.
Guards outside heard the noise and rushed over.
The iron door flew open.
A guard pointed his baton at us. "Knock it off, all of you!"
At the sight of Luna wailing on the floor, he stood dumbfounded. "What happened here?"
Luna drew ragged breaths from the agony, too afraid to even look my way.
"N-nothing, officer. I slipped and fell," she mumbled.
She knew no ordinary person could pull off a move like that.
The guard eyed me suspiciously, warned us all, and locked the door again.
That night, the holding cell was eerily quiet.
The three women huddled together at the far end of the bunk, not daring to breathe loud.