Chapter 7

Adrian sat in the courtroom, his hands cuffed and his body tense. Today was the day that he would know his fate.

Everyone’s gaze was focused on him. He hardly heard the murmurs of the people around him or the rustling of paper from the legal teams. All he could concentrate on was the gnawing feeling in his chest.

Evelyn didn’t even bother to get him a lawyer, and he had to make do with a public defender.

The judge, an older man with a stoic face sat on the high table in front of the room and read over the case details.

“Mr. Adrian, you stand accused of vehicular assault and obstruction of justice. How do you plead?”

Adrian swallowed hard. His eyes glanced to the back of the courtroom where Evelyn sat, her face looking cold and detached. She had done this to him, yet she sat there not looking affected at all.

"I. I plead guilty," Adrian managed to speak.

There was a collective shift in the room, a low murmur of voices as the judge nodded and scribbled down something. Guilty. It was the word that now defined him.

The rest of the trial went by in a blur. His mind was elsewhere-his mother. He was doing all this for her and all he could hope was that Evelyn kept her end of the deal. Her surgery was all that mattered.

Finally, the big moment arrived. It was time to announce his sentencing. The judge cleared his throat and looked down at Adrian, his expression unreadable.

“Given the nature of the crime and your plea of guilty, I hereby sentence you to seven years in a federal prison. The sentence is to take immediate effect.

Those words felt like a bomb. Seven years. He was going to give seven years of his life for something he didn’t even do.

His heart sank as he struggled to wrap his mind around the reality of the situation. This was really happening; he was going to prison.

It wasn't until the gavel fell, marking the end of his trial, that Adrian felt his world start to break around him. The guards came closer, ready to take him away, but before they could, he turned back toward the chairs where his wife Jane sat, but she looked away. Evelyn, on the other hand, smiled with wicked satisfaction.

He was taken out of the courtroom into the transport vehicle that would take him to prison. He took one last look at freedom before the vehicle took off arriving at the prison in no time.

As he stepped out of the vehicle, the bitter air hit his face, sharp and unwelcoming. Guards flanked him, leading him through echoing hallways of concrete and steel.

The sounds of clanging metal doors and distant shouts sent shivers down his spine. He was in the belly of the beast now.

The bed, if it could be called that, was just a narrow slab with a thin, discolored mattress. It smelled of mildew, sweat, and despair.

From the moment he was locked inside, Adrian knew this wasn’t a place for someone like him. This place was meant for predators, men who had spent years sharpening themselves into weapons of survival. He was just prey.

He could feel the eyes on him from the other cells, sizing him up, testing him without a word.

The first few days were full of fear and confusion. Adrian kept his head and tried to avoid any situation that could lead to trouble for him. However, trouble found him first.

He was sitting alone in the prison cafeteria after receiving his food tray. He had hardly taken a spoon when a large man approached him.

He could see tattoos all over the man’s arms. The man was known as ‘crusher’ and was definitely someone to be wary of.

“Hey, pretty boy, Hand over your food.” He demanded.

Adrian pulled his tray closer, trying to protect his food. “No. this is mine.” he said, his voice shaking a bit.

“What? I told you to hand it over!”

The man grabbed him onto the table and slammed him down, giving him hard jabs in the face and stomach with force. Some of the other prisoners watched with interest; others could care less.

Just when Adrian thought he couldn’t take any more, a voice cut through the chaos. “Enough!”

A tall inmate with a hardened face stepped forward.

“Leave him alone” he said firmly.

Crusher glared at the man but let him go, leaving him bruised on the floor.

“Thank…you” Adrian struggled to speak through the pain.

“Don’t think that this is the end. If you don’t learn how to stand up for yourself here, you’re going to get chewed up.”

Adrian nodded weakly, his body still shaking from the beating. He realized he had a lot to learn about surviving in prison, and he had to learn it fast.

“Who are you?” Adrian asked the strange man, wondering why he came to his aid.