CHAPTER ELEVEN:CONDEMNED BY DECEPTION

The courtroom was packed. Reporters, strangers, and faces I once trusted sat in the audience, waiting to see my fate.

I sat at the defendant's table, my hands trembling in my lap. The weight of the handcuffs around my wrists reminded me that I was no longer free.

Leon sat across from me, dressed in a sharp suit, his expression calm and composed. Beside him sat his fake parents and sister, their faces painted with grief and disgust—as if I were the monster.

The trial began.

The prosecution stood, a man in a sleek black suit, his voice cold and sharp. "Your Honor, today we are here to bring justice for Maria and Brown—two innocent lives taken too soon by the woman sitting before you."

I shook my head, my heart pounding. "No… I didn't kill them."

The judge banged his gavel. "Silence in the court!"

Leon's fake mother wiped her tears dramatically. "She was always unstable, Your Honor. We tried to help her, but she became violent. She threatened our lives!"

Leon's fake father nodded. "Maria and Brown discovered something about her, and that's why she killed them. My son had no choice but to report her."

Leon sighed heavily, putting on his best performance. "She was my wife. I loved her. But I didn't know I was living with a murderer."

The audience murmured. The judge turned to me. "What do you have to say for yourself?"

I stood shakily. "Your Honor, they're lying! None of them are even related! It was all a setup!"

The prosecutor smirked. "Where's your proof?"

I opened my mouth—but I had none.

Tears burned my eyes. Leon had erased every piece of evidence, and I had no one to defend me.

The jury whispered among themselves.

The judge sighed. "The evidence presented against you is overwhelming. Fingerprints at the crime scene, testimonies from the victims' own family, and a history of unstable behavior."

I shook my head violently. "No! Please! You have to believe me!"

The judge's gavel struck the wood.

"The court finds the defendant guilty of murder. She is hereby sentenced to fifteen years in a maximum-security prison."

The room erupted into noise.

I screamed. "NO! I'M INNOCENT!"

Leon only smiled.

As the guards grabbed me, dragging me away, I caught Elena watching from the shadows.

She smirked.

And I knew—this was just the beginning of my suffering.

The prison gates slammed shut behind me, sealing my fate.

Fifteen years.

Fifteen years for crimes I didn't commit.

The air inside the prison was thick with sweat and fear. The walls smelled of damp concrete and desperation. Guards shoved me down the cold hallway, past rows of cells filled with women whose eyes followed me like hungry predators.

My cell was small, dark, and suffocating. The moment I stepped inside, I knew—I wasn't just a prisoner. I was prey.

The torment began immediately.

The prisoners hated me. The rich man's wife, the murderer, they called me. They stole my food, tore my clothes, and beat me whenever the guards weren't looking. Some even did it when they were.

The guards weren't any better. They treated me like filth, making sure I knew I was powerless.

But through it all, I stayed silent.

I endured.

Because I knew—one day, I would make them all pay.

Weeks passed before I saw him again.

Leon.

He walked into the visitation room dressed in an expensive suit, his arrogance filling the space before he even spoke.

He sat across from me, his blue eyes twinkling with amusement. "Look at you," he whispered, leaning closer. "You used to be my beautiful wife. Now, you're nothing."

I stayed silent, my wrists still bruised from the last time the guards had beaten me. My body ached, but I refused to let him see my pain.

Leon smirked. "You should thank me, you know. At least you're still alive. Imagine if I had let Elena finish you off?"

My hands clenched into fists under the table.

Elena.

The woman who looked like me. The woman who murdered Maria. The woman I never even got a chance to fight.

Leon leaned back. "You'll rot here, alone, forgotten. And when you finally die, no one will remember you."

I lifted my head slowly, my swollen eyes burning with fury.

"You think you've won," I whispered. "But one day, Leon… one day, you and your fake family will pay for this."

Leon chuckled. "Oh, I'd love to see you try."

He stood up, straightening his suit. "Goodbye, darling. Enjoy hell."

As he walked away, I didn't scream. I didn't cry.

I only watched.

Watched.

And planned.

Because this wasn't the end.

This was just the beginning of my revenge.