NIGHTMARISH AWAKENING

Alex was hyperventilating when the police officers led him to the detention room.

The inmates had pummeled him badly when he was thrown in, however he was numb to the pain.

He couldn't believe that Mia testified against him.

She didn't provide a lawyer as she promised, and when the police finally provided an attorney at the last minute, she spoiled everything with her testimony, making him get a fifteen years sentence.

He will spend fifteen years in prison!

He was about to win the fucking case due to his stellar records and contributions to society, but Mia painted him as a monster, shifting public opinion against him.

The whole court had raised an uproar, calling him wolf in sheep's clothing.

So when officer Ann had come to bring him out since Mia visited, he had been eager to see her to ask her what went wrong.

He stared at the woman sitting with a food flask in the middle of the room, wondering if she was really his angel.

Is she still his angel?

Or is she simply a demon on a mission to ruin him?

"Mia!" He called coldly.

Mia's heart immediately skipped a beat on hearing Alex address her without warmth.

But she smiled kindly, knowing that Alex can never raise his hands against her. Besides, police officers were watching vigilantly.

"Alex honey," she whispered, scrunching up her nose to hold back her disgust as she forced herself to hug him.

She quickly sat down and pushed the food to him.

"Why did you do it? I almost won the case, but you made me get the worst sentence possible. Fifteen years imprisonment with hard labor! When have I ever raised my hands on you? I never shouted at you and I definitely never beat you up. I have never tasted hard drugs and alcohol. The crimes you heaped on me while testifying, even a hardened criminal cannot commit them all. Why will you do such a thing to me? Why will you lie in court against me?" Alex roared furiously.

Mia broke down in tears.

"Some men attacked me last night, threatening to kill me if I don't testify against you. I had to protect our baby. I didn't know what to do, so I decided to obey them and find a way to file for an appeal later," she wailed, holding her heart while gasping.

Alex frowned while staring at her.

He doesn't want to believe her, but then, crying too much will affect his child.

"Fine, I won't blame you. Just take care of the baby and go for antenatal check-ups often. Also, stop going to clubs so the baby will be healthy," he whispered and drew her into his arms.

Alex was furious but he was barely holding it in.

He immediately resolved that even if Mia lives up to her reputation as a materialistic gold digger, he will just endure it for the baby's sake.

As long as he remains alive, he has the confidence of earning more money.

After all, he was kicked out of his family without a penny, but he made it that far in just a few years, without anyone's help.

Alex sat down and stared at the food. For some reason he found the food suspicious.

He reached for it anyway but Mia quickly stopped him.

"Not yet dear. You can eat it after I leave," she said with a smile.

She can't have him die without extracting every information she wanted from him.

"About the formulas to our two products, I need it to produce more", Mia whispered with a gentle smile.

Alex's frown deepened.

"I produced enough to last us for two years, what do you need the formula for?" He asked unhappily.

"But you will be here for fifteen years. You might as well give me the formula now, let's start researching it before the stock gets exhausted," Mia said with a patient smile.

Alex chuckled and stared at her.

"I thought you promised to get me out soon, why are you saying I will stay here for fifteen years? Or did you lie to me? I will be out of here soon, trust me and wait. Forget about the formula, I won't give it to anybody. Even if I give it to you, it will be useless since you won't be able to procure the herbs," he said calmly, looking at Mia.

Mia was immediately infuriated, but the sight of the police officers and cameras around made her remain calm.

"It's fine if you don't trust me. I will leave now," she said bitterly and stood up.

"I trust you. It's just that you won't be able to find the herbs. It's useless anyway," he said calmly, holding her hand.

She withdrew her hand and walked away.

Just then, officer Ann walked in and stared at Mia suspiciously.

Her hand tightened on the tablet in her palm, staring at Mia who smiled at her while leaving.

"Someone deleted the footage, but I finally recovered it. She was the one that hit that woman, not you. So why are you the one in custody?" Ann growled as she sat down, feeling furious at being deceived.

Alex smiled wryly.

"She's pregnant with my baby. How can I let her go to prison? Mia may be a little spoiled, but she's not an evil person. So I hope you will keep that footage a secret," Alex pleaded, looking at Ann.

Ann frowned and sighed, looking at the foolish man before her

It's obvious that he loves the sly girl, so she decided against telling him the things she also discovered.

Mia had intentionally killed the woman and also bribed officials to ensure that Alex rots in prison.

She has totally taken over the company, parading herself as the person who discovered the drugs, claiming that Alex forcefully stole her moment of glory, piggy-backing on the fact that she was kind.

Worse, Ann saw her making out with another man while following her, during the course of her private investigations.

She smiled and patted Alex's shoulders, feeling sad because her brother was also killed by his evil and materialistic, adulterous wife.

*****

Alex sat on the damp floor of the prison, with his eyes shut.

It has already been a month since he was thrown into this hellish maximum security prison.

At first, the inmates had tried to boss him around and pick on him to let out their frustrations.

But after Alex beat them up mercilessly, they all gave him a wide berth, for fear of being sent to the prison infirmary once again.

“Hey! Alexander Winthrop,” A warder called, making him open his eyes.

“Come out and clean yourself up, you're leaving this place,” the warder said coldly, making Alex jump to his feet in shock.

They had said fifteen years, why are they letting him go in just a month?

“It must be Mia, she really fulfilled her promise,” Alex whispered, a broad smile on his face.

He had almost lost hope after suffering Mia's betrayal. Worse, she didn't visit him for the whole month, making him wonder what the hell went wrong.

His utmost concern was the baby, could it be that she didn't visit because she was in danger?

But now, all his fears have been absolved.

He quickly took his bathe and wore his clothes, following the two prison wardens out.

“Is my fiancée here?” He asked, looking all over the place while searching for Mia.

“Shut up and follow us!” One of the wardens snapped while the other chuckled coldly.

To Alex's greatest surprise, they stopped before a helicopter.

He frowned and entered wordlessly, wondering why they chose a helicopter of all things.

However, the more they travelled, the more his suspicions deepened.

They were flying in the opposite direction from Veneco, where he assumed Mia was waiting for him.

He sighed heavily and shut his eyes, deciding it's better to wait patiently and see what they were up to.

Alex's frown deepened when they began to fly over a huge sea the color of blood.

Despite being miles away from the sea, high up in the sky, he could see the mighty beasts floating atop the water.

His eyes widened, and he quickly ran closer to the window, watching them carefully.

Alex suddenly noticed the helicopter descending and looked at the six-man crew flying with him, noticing that they seem to be in a heated discussion with each other.

“We're already here, disembark,” the pilot ordered.

“Is Mia here? What will she be doing inside this jungle?” Alex asked skeptically.

“You can ask her when you see her,” the warden said in irritation, opening the hatch.

Alex's eyebrows furrowed, wondering why Mia would want to see him in a jungle.

“After you,” the warden whispered, motioning to Alex.

Alex sighed and obediently began to climb down.

An ominous premonition arose in him, making him to quickly turn around.

Almost immediately, the warden gave him a vicious kick, sending him out of the helicopter, even before he could scream out.

“You can ask her in hell, when you see her,” the warden said viciously, shooting Alex multiple times with his silver colored handgun.

Alex quickly shielded his head with his arms, making the bullets get caught in his arms, ribs, and thighs.

He coughed out blood as he watched the helicopter flying further away.

“Mia,” he whispered, holding his bleeding side before he slipped into darkness.