Prison For Love, Drowning In Deceit

Alexis Brandt POV:

I walked out of the hospital, my body aching, my mind a blank. The city lights blurred into a meaningless haze. My life here was a dead end. There was nothing left but pain. One last thing. I had to say goodbye. To my mother.

I bought a bouquet of her favorite white lilies, their petals soft and pure, a stark contrast to the ugliness swirling inside me. The cemetery was quiet, peaceful. But as I approached her grave, my breath caught in my throat. The stone was shattered, split in two. The earth was disturbed, dug up, desecrated.

A guttural cry tore from my throat. My mother's grave. My mother. Fury, cold and absolute, washed over me, eclipsing every other emotion. It could only be her. Eva. That monster.

My wounds screamed as I stumbled, collapsing onto the ravaged earth. I wept, raw, primal sobs that tore at my throat. My mother. My only comfort, even in death, had been violated.

I scrambled to my feet, a new, terrifying resolve burning inside me. I had to make her pay. I raced back to the hospital, my legs pumping, fueled by pure rage.

Eva lay in her bed, serene, a smug smirk twisting her lips as I burst in. "Did you miss me, Alexis?" she purred, her eyes gleaming with satisfaction.

"You bitch!" I screamed, my voice hoarse, raw. "Did you dig up my mother's grave?"

Her smirk widened. "Oh, yes," she whispered, her voice dripping with venom. "I thought you and your dear departed mother might enjoy some quality time together. Un-rest."

A cold dread spread through me. My hands shot out, grabbing her by the collar of her gown. "I'll tell Austin everything," I hissed, leaning close, my voice trembling with fury. "About the baby. About Julian. About the whole plot to destroy his company."

Eva just laughed, a cruel, mocking sound. "And who do you think he'll believe, Alexis? The crazy ex-con or his pregnant fiancée?"

Something in me snapped. The last threads of my sanity unraveled. My hands tightened around her throat. I squeezed, the urge to silence her forever overwhelming. Eva gasped, her eyes wide with terror, clawing at my hands, thrashing wildly.

The door burst open. Austin. His face was a mask of pure, unadulterated fury. He lunged, tearing my hands from Eva's throat, throwing me across the room. My head slammed against the sharp edge of the bedside table. Blood streamed into my eyes, blurring my vision.

Eva sobbed, clutching Austin, pointing at me. "She tried to kill me, Austin! And our baby! She's a psychopath!"

Austin looked at her red-marked neck, then at me, lying in a pool of my own blood. His eyes were colder than ice. "You're insane, Alexis," he spat, his voice laced with disgust. "You're beyond redemption."

"She desecrated my mother's grave," I whispered, my voice barely audible past the pain. "She did this, Austin. All of it."

He didn't even hear me. He turned to his guards. "Get her out of my sight. Lock her up. Now."

I laid there, staring up at him, the blood running into my hair. A slow, chilling laugh bubbled up from my chest. It was a laugh filled with bitter irony, with the profound sadness of a soul utterly broken.