Yuan Yuan's hands were bound together by cold, unforgiving handcuffs, a tangible manifestation of her new reality. Her once vibrant clothing replaced by a drab orange uniform, she looked every bit the inmate she had become.
This was the standard issue, the mark of someone who had lost their freedom and was now at the mercy of the prison system.
As she was escorted down the dimly lit corridor, flanked by two stern-faced officers, Yuan Yuan's eyes betrayed a haunting emptiness.
There was no flicker of remorse or regret in them; instead, they held a steely determination, a resolve that seemed to blame herself for not eliminating Stacey when the opportunity had presented itself.
The heavy door to her cell loomed ahead, an ominous barrier between her and the outside world. With a creaking sound that echoed down the hallway, the officer swung it open, revealing the stark, barren space that would be her new home.