Chapter 2: Tragedy.

Cielle's POV.

I couldn't speak, I was lost for words. My tongue tied just like my eyes were dry.

"You will have to come with us, Ms Coleman." The policeman continued and signalled for two others to come get me.

" Wait… wait, you can't just take her.

She lost her child, where's your humanity?" My gynaecologist barked as panic filled the room.

" Let her go, at least… at least let her process the loss of her child.

Please, she's in so much pain." The doctor's words fell on deaf ears as my wrists were bound by the handcuffs.

"We waited two months to get her behind bars, that's long enough."

The drag from the handcuffs made me stand up and walk down the bed, my eyes glued to the ground.

"You're under arrest for laundering public funds and fraudulent company activities.

You have the right to a lawyer and one will be issued to you if you cannot afford it."

His words flew past my ears as the doctor's vicious words kept ringing in my head.

I lost my baby.

The police officer led the way to the door and I followed willingly, my mind too foggy to care.

But just then, I heard a familiar voice call out my name, "Cielle." A voice I had grown up with.

A voice whose owner chose to betray me.

My neck turned as I hurried my eyes to the direction of the voice.

It was Ashley, in my clothes.

The sight of her did the trick.

It electrified my body and charged my mind with fury.

The hurt and surge of anger caused me to yank my wrists off the cop's grip.

In a split second, I was running towards her, my finger nails aimed for her face, my eyes widened with horror, pain and something I couldn't even name.

With one strike, my nails drew straight red lines on her face and with another, bruises were on her neck.

"You did this, you…. You did this to me!

I lost my baby," I cried out as I continued swinging my arms until the police intervened and held me back.

A wicked grin appeared on my lips as I watched her winced in pain.

I did that.

"You bitch!" She cussed out and tried to launch at me but then he appeared out of nowhere and pulled her back.

Dammit…

I wanted to throw in some more blows.

"She hit me!

Look at my face… that crazy bitch hit me," she whimpered, her hand aching to get a go at me.

" What the fuck?

She's going crazy, keep her away from us." Ethan barked and the grin on my lips disappeared.

Crazy?

Me?

"Officers, please, take her away. The loss of her baby has affected her so much that she has become violent. Lock her up.

We do not feel safe."

My arms dropped to my sides.

It was our baby.

I lost our baby and was in handcuffs, yet he had her in his arms.

"Ethan…." I breathed out as a fresh cold breeze swept over me.

It brought disbelief and a pounding heart ache.

"I lost her Ethan, our baby.

I lost her and… and they're taking me away."

My eyes fell into the temptation and tears started to flow down.

I swiped them off immediately as I refused to believe what was right in front of me.

"They're accusing me of fraud Ethan…. Tell them, tell them to let me go," my voice was now pleading, broken by sobs but my eyes didn't seem to have an effect on any of them.

His face was hardened, masked with disdain. "You lost your baby because of your carelessness Cielle." He said, the indifference in the voice caused my lips to tremble.

"And your crimes," he continued. "You can't keep running away from them forever.

You have to pay the price now."

Crime?

What crime?

The only freaking crime I committed was loving him and trusting my best friend.

I had paid direly for that with the life of my child.

"No!" I snapped, my voice louder than it had ever been.

"You killed my baby, your cheating ass killed my sweet child." I roared as I fell to my knees.

" I will never forgive you, Ethan.

I will make you pay….

You will pay for harming my child, you bastard."

I yelled into my palms as I felt strong arms dragged me up and pushed me out of the building.

My yelling didn't stop until I was thrown into the dark cell.

A cell that smelt like misery and burnt like their betrayal.

The walls were dark, each spot reminding me of their betrayal.

Their lies, their bloody deception. It was all drowning me.

"You have to let me go. I did nothing wrong."

"Believe me... I did nothing wrong.

Believe me!" I screamed into the darkness but got no reply.

The darkness was consuming with each and every second that passed, reminding me of how much of a fool I was, believing people who were bound to destroy me.

I yelled until I lost my voice.

Unable to cry anymore, I sat still. My face pale and dry, my eyes sore from crying, but my lips stayed trembling.

All I wanted was to make them pay.

All I wanted was to hold my child in my arms.

Approaching footsteps made me flinch as I rose and ran to the prison bars.

"Let me out!

Please, I need... I need to get my lawyer."

The response to my plea was chuckling — familiar chuckling. It was more than familiar; it was the chuckling of my enemy, the woman who ruined my life.

"You must be so stupid to think anyone is coming to save you," she grinned as her face came into full view with the hallway bulbs becoming lit.

"Ashley..." I mouthed her name as I took three steps back.

"Surprised to see me?

You're all alone, Cielle. I made sure of that." She chuckled some more as she glared at me, a look of disgust twisting her face.

"Why? I... Why did you do this to me?

What have you done to me?" I swallowed hard as my eyes began to water again.

She was wearing my clothes, she smelt like my perfume, her hair done like mine.

The only difference was that she wasn't me.

She never could be.

"Why?

Because you deserve it, bitch!" she cussed out, the veins in her neck popping.

"You deserve to suffer.

You deserve pain.

I did everything.

I made Ethan fall for me.

I made him frame you for fraud and take over your company.

It was all me."

She seemed pleased with herself, her eyes flickering with satisfaction each time she admitted to an evil she did against me.

"What did you think? Huh?

That you were always going to be the rich heiress who had everything she ever wanted?

No!" she yelled, slamming the bars.

"That's me now. I have taken your place."

Slowly but surely, it dawned on me.

She had always been jealous.

She had always wanted to be in my place.

Married to my husband, wearing my clothes, and running my company.

Finally realizing her obsession only made me chuckle. "You can never be me, Ashley.

You are nothing like me."

She narrowed her eyes as the smirk on her lips disappeared.

"We will see about that."

She pulled out a file from her… no, my bag and threw it to me through the prison bars.

"Those are the divorce papers.

Ethan wants nothing to do with you.

Your willingness to comply will determine just how long you will remain alive."

I flipped through the pages to find Ethan's signature, written in bold red ink.

"You see, you have no one.

You have nothing.

Everything you once had, they're all mine." She hissed as my eyes remained fixed on the paper.

"So make a choice, give up now and sign the divorce papers, or remain stubborn and die a miserable death.

No one would care to know how you ended anyway."

She stated, and I knew my options were clear. I had lost it all.