Chapter 6: The Enemy Who Saved Me
I stared at Ava’s statement until the words stopped making sense.
Confess.
Killed.
Daughter.
Three words.
Three knives.
The warden watched me carefully.
“Do you understand the seriousness of this?””
I slowly lifted my eyes.
“No.””
Her expression hardened.
“You assaulted an inmate. Now we have a statement claiming you admitted to murdering your child.””
I pushed the paper back.
“This is fake.””
“Can you prove that?””
I opened my mouth.
Nothing came out.
Because that was the same question everyone had asked before.
Can you prove it?
Can you prove you’re telling the truth?
Can you prove the people with money and power are lying?
The answer had always been no.
The warden leaned forward.
“Your situation just became much worse.””
“Who gave you this?””
She didn’t respond.
That told me enough.
Ava.
Or someone pretending to be Ava.
When I returned to my cell, I expected the other inmates to stare.
Instead, they moved away completely.
Whispers followed me.
“Murderer.””
“She killed her kid?””
I kept walking.
Because I knew something they didn’t.
The truth could look exactly like a lie.
Hours later, someone knocked on my cell door.
I looked up.
Ava stood outside.
My first instinct was anger.
My second was disbelief.
“You signed it.””
She looked exhausted.
“I know.””
“You told them I killed Lily.””
“I know.””
I stepped closer.
“Why?””
Ava’s eyes filled with tears.
And that shocked me more than the accusation.
“I had no choice.””
“There is always a choice.””
“Not when they have something you love.””
I froze.
“What do they have?””
Ava looked away.
“My brother.””
I said nothing.
“My father disappeared him years ago.””
“Why would I believe that?””
“Because my father does this.””
She gripped the bars.
“He collects people’s weaknesses.””
I remembered Daniel.
The statement.
The lies.
The missing pieces.
“What happened to your brother?””
Ava swallowed.
“I don’t know.””
For the first time, I saw the woman behind the anger.
Not a monster.
A prisoner.
“You signed that statement to protect him.””
“Yes.””
“Then why tell me?””
“Because I found out something.””
“What?””
Ava looked over her shoulder.
Then whispered:
“The statement wasn’t meant to put you back in prison.””
I frowned.
“I’m already in prison.””
“No.””
Her voice became quieter.
“It was meant to get you transferred.””
A chill moved through me.
“Transferred where?””
Ava looked at me.
“The same facility where Lily was last seen.””
I couldn’t breathe.
“What?””
Ava stepped closer.
“Your daughter wasn’t taken far.””
My hands gripped the bars.
“You know where she went?””
“I know where the trail ended.””
“Tell me.””
Ava hesitated.
Then said:
“An abandoned property owned by my father.””
I stared at her.
“Why didn’t you tell anyone?””
“Because everyone who tried disappeared.””
The hallway suddenly felt colder.
Ava reached into her pocket.
She pulled out a small key.
“I stole this from my father’s office years ago.””
I looked at it.
“What does it open?””
“Something hidden.””
“What?””
She looked at me.
“The truth.””
Before I could take it, an alarm sounded.
Red lights flashed.
Guards rushed down the hallway.
Ava immediately stepped back.
“What’s happening?””
A guard shouted from the entrance.
“Lockdown!””
Everyone started moving.
Then another guard ran toward us.
“Carter!””
I turned.
He held an envelope.
“This was found in your cell.””
My stomach dropped.
“I wasn’t there.””
“I know.””
The guard handed it to me.
The envelope had no name.
Only one sentence written across the front.
FOR THE MOTHER WHO NEVER STOPPED LOOKING.
My fingers trembled as I opened it.
Inside was a single photograph.
A recent photograph.
Not an old one.
Not a memory.
A living person.
A teenage girl standing outside a house.
A girl with Lily’s eyes.
May you like
On the back, four words were written.
SHE IS STILL ALIVE.
