Chapter 3

"Did you hear that? It's not that we don't want to hire you, but your qualifications are just too poor. You're putting us in a tough spot..."

The moment the surrounding staff heard I had a record, their gazes turned judgmental and disgusted, whispering among themselves.

"She's an ex-con... No wonder she's creeping around by herself. And look at her wearing long sleeves and pants in this scorching heat—what a total freak!"

"Hey, keep it down! If she hears you, who knows what a criminal like that might do to you!"

Hunching my shoulders and hanging my head low, I bolted out the door without looking back.

I never imagined that the very first person to out my past to the public would be Logan.

The same man who had once vowed to the entire world that he would protect me for the rest of his life.

Strangers stared at me on the street as if I were a lunatic.

Suddenly, my phone rang. It was the lawyer who had once represented me.

"Ms. Vance, I have incredible news."

My heart pounded with nervous hope as I listened, but before the joy could even settle, a crushing revelation hit me.

As it turned out, that prison sentence could have been avoided entirely.

It was Logan who had secretly convinced Madeline's brother not to drop the charges.

That was why I had been locked away for aggravated assault.

I had known it all along—the thug hadn't died; he had suffered severe bleeding, but the hospital patched him up completely.

I slapped my own forehead hard, trying to shock myself into clarity.

"Marcus, is that... is that really true?"

"It's completely true. I uncovered the full trail. The original verdict was a massive miscarriage of justice. The state is issuing a formal exoneration along with substantial compensation. Your record is officially wiped clean."

I collapsed onto the curb, sobbing uncontrollably.

When my parents had heard about the incident ten years ago, they refused to see me at the courthouse, even sending a relative to deliver a formal letter disowning me.

I slapped myself across the cheek again.

It stung. It really hurt.

This was real... It was a wrongful conviction. My name was finally cleared.

My phone buzzed again, this time displaying Logan's number.

I hesitated, but muscle memory took over before my brain could stop it, and I swiped to answer.

"Serena, come over to my place. We need to talk."

"Think of it as our final goodbye."

Coincidentally, I had a few questions for him as well.

I bought some toys for the two kids and headed straight to the address Logan provided.

My stomach churned with anxiety the entire way.

Logan had known the truth all along, yet he chose to keep me in the dark.

I could have had my freedom, yet he stood by and watched me waste ten precious years of my youth behind bars.

None of this was supposed to happen...

Logan stood outside the doorway, chain-smoking one cigarette after another, a small mountain of butts piled at his feet.

He stepped ahead of me and pushed open the front door.

Madeline was sitting on the sofa, right beside her brother, Keith.

"Madeline was worried you wouldn't have anywhere to turn, so she wants to introduce you to her brother."

"Why don't you two give it a shot? You already have some history together."

"As the saying goes, no hard feelings between old sparring partners, right?"

Without a second thought, I raised my hand and slapped him hard across the face.

"Logan, are you even human?"

"Who is he? He's the monster who nearly killed you and tore our lives apart! You're literally pushing me into the lion's den!"

To think I had actually trusted him enough to come here and talk things out.

Logan licked the trace of blood from the corner of his lip. "Keith is my brother-in-law now. Got a problem with that?"

The memories of the courtroom rushed back with brutal clarity. I couldn't erase them even if I tried.

"When you were sobbing your eyes out in that courtroom, watching him point his finger at me, was this what you were planning all along?"

"Do you feel even an ounce of remorse?"

"Setting me up with him—are you seriously out of your mind?!"