CHAPTER 3

Alicia's POV

I stood before the judge, my legs trembling beneath the stiff fabric of the orange jumpsuit they’d forced me into a week ago. My heart hammered so loudly I was sure the entire room could hear it. “Not guilty,” I whispered, but the words came out stronger than I felt, echoing off the high ceilings. I pleaded it again, clearer this time, my voice cracking only at the end.

The judge’s face remained impassive. My eyes darted across the room, searching for any scrap of mercy. They landed on Killian. He sat in the front row, rigid as stone, his dark eyes burning into me with pure disgust and raw anger. Those same eyes that had once looked at me with love now held only accusation. I couldn’t breathe. How had we come to this? My husband... my everything... staring at me like I was a stranger, like I was the monster they all believed me to be. I wanted to scream across the courtroom, to tell him again that I hadn’t done it. But the chains on my wrists bit into my skin.

The proceedings dragged on in a blur of legal jargon and witness testimonies I’d heard a dozen times. Every piece of evidence they presented felt like a knife twisting deeper, fingerprints that weren’t mine, a timeline that didn’t add up, all of it twisted into a noose around my neck. I kept glancing at Killian, willing him to meet my gaze with even a flicker of doubt. Nothing. Just that stony glare.

Finally, the judge cleared his throat, the sound slicing through the heavy silence. “After careful consideration of all evidence presented,” he intoned, his voice flat and final, “the court finds the defendant, Alicia Belmont, guilty of the murder of Maya Belmont.”

The words hit me like a physical blow. My knees buckled, but the bailiff’s hand on my arm kept me upright. Guilty. The room spun. I looked around wildly, desperate for someone... anyone... to see the truth in my eyes. My gaze snagged on Lea, perched in the row behind Killian. She was smiling brightly, a full, excited grin that lit up her face like she’d won the lottery. Her eyes sparkled with triumph as she leaned forward, whispering something to the woman beside her. She was happy. Thrilled, even. Finally rid of me. Tears burned hot behind my eyelids, spilling over before I could stop them.

The gavel banged once, twice. Court dismissed. Hands gripped my arms, guiding me toward the side door. My feet moved on autopilot, but my mind reeled. My vision blurred at the edges. The world tilted. I felt dizzy, the ground rushing up to meet me as my body finally gave out. Darkness claimed me before I could even cry out.

When I woke, the first thing I noticed was the cold metal cuff biting into my right wrist, chaining me to the hospital bedrail. Sterile white walls pressed in on me, the faint beep of monitors steady in the background. My head throbbed, and my mouth felt like cotton. Before I could piece it together, the door clicked open. A nurse in blue scrubs entered, adjusting the IV line in my arm.

“Easy there,” she said, her voice calm and soothing. “You’re okay. You lost consciousness in the courthouse transport. We brought you here to stabilize you. Just relax, Alicia. You’re under treatment now.”

I blinked up at her, confusion swirling with the remnants of my faint.

“Why… why am I....” My voice broke. The nurse patted my shoulder lightly, checking the chart on her tablet.

The nurse offered a small, professional smile. “We ran some tests while you were out. You’re dehydrated, under immense stress... which is understandable given the circumstances... but you’re also two weeks pregnant.”

"Pregnant!?" I snapped out of my confusion, my eyes widening in shock. My hand instinctively moved toward my stomach, but the cuff stopped me short. The nurse nodded, confirming it again. “Just two weeks. We’ll monitor you closely, but everything looks good so far.”

I didn’t know how to react. Joy flickered briefly.... Killian had always wanted a child, not just him... his entire family. But now? In this nightmare? Tears pricked my eyes again, but this time they weren’t just from despair. Hope bloomed in my chest. If I told him, maybe… maybe he’d see reason. Maybe he’d pull back from the case, demand a retrial, believe me for once. Being a pregnant woman locked up with criminals wasn’t safe. Killian wouldn’t want that kind of environment for his baby. He’d get me out. He had to.

The nurse left me with instructions to rest, but my mind wouldn’t quiet. I spent the entire day staring at the ceiling tiles, tracing patterns in my thoughts. Different scenarios played out like fragile films and I couldn’t wait to finally tell him. Two days later, they discharged me. The hospital released me back into the system, and I was shuffled into a transport van. Back to the cell. The concrete walls closed around me like a tomb. I spent every waking hour in that dim space plotting how to reach him, how to make him listen. I have tried but they didn't let me.

A week blurred by in a haze of cold meals and echoing shouts from other cells. I barely slept, my hand often drifting to my still-flat stomach. Then, one afternoon, the heavy clank of keys jolted me upright. A warden appeared at the bars, his face impassive.

“You’ve got a visitor, Belmont.”

My heart leaped into my throat. For the first time since the arrest, a genuine spark of excitement lit my face. “Who?” I asked, voice breathless as I scrambled to my feet.

“Killian Belmont.”

The name sent a rush through me. Killkan? Finally. I smoothed my jumpsuit as best I could, following the warden down the sterile corridor to the visiting room. My pulse thundered in my ears. This was it. I’d tell him everything. The baby would definitely change things and make him listen to me for once. I was just so certain.

I stepped into the visiting room and my stomach plummeted. Killian wasn’t alone. Lea sat beside him. Her lipstick was a bold red, matching the satisfied gleam in her eyes. Killian sat composed, his tailored suit impeccable, face expressionless like a mask carved from ice. No warmth. No recognition of the man I’d married.

I lowered myself into the chair on my side, the cuff on my wrist clinking against the table. My expression must have shifted to confusion.

Lea spoke first, her voice dripping with mock sweetness.

“Well, well. Look at you, Alicia. How are you holding up to the consequences of your actions?” She tilted her head, that same excited smile from the courtroom playing on her lips. “Prison life treating you kindly?”

I ignored her completely, my eyes locking onto Killian’s. “What are you both doing here?” My voice came out low, pleading, barely above a whisper. I hoped—prayed—for something good, to come out from his mouth.

Killian didn’t answer right away. He glanced at Lea, giving her a slight nod. “Pass it to her.”

Lea’s face beamed as she reached into her designer bag, pulling out a thick manila file. She slid it across the table with a flourish. I stared at it, my heart stuttering with fragile hope. “What is that?” I asked, voice trembling.

Killian finally met my eyes, his gaze flat and unyielding. “That’s the divorce papers.”

The words landed like a slap. My heart sank so fast I felt it physically drop, sweat breaking out across my forehead despite the chill in the room. My body shuddered, a cold fear wrapping around my spine. “What!?” I stuttered, the single word all I could manage.

He leaned forward slightly. “It’s exactly what you deserve, Alicia. I can’t stay married to a criminal who murdered my sister. Maya is gone because of you.”

Lea chipped in,“You should be abandoned for the rest of your life. No one wants a murderer in the family.”

I tried one last time, my voice rising with desperation. “I didn’t do it! I was framed... the evidence was fake, all of it. Please, Killian, you have to believe me. Yes, I and Maya didn't get along but I loved Maya like my sister. I would never—”

He interrupted me sharply, shutting me down with a raised hand. “That’s what you’ve been saying since day one. While all the evidence points straight at you as the killer."

Tears stung my eyes, hot and insistent, but I blinked them back fiercely. I looked down at the papers, the bold letters swimming through my blurred vision. DIVORCE DECREE. My entire world crumbling in black and white.

Lea leaned in closer to the partition, flashing her left hand at me. A glittering diamond ring caught the harsh light, winking mockingly. “Sign the damn papers, Alicia. And don’t think for a second Killian’s going to take you back. We’re engaged now. Getting married soon. It’s time you faced reality.”

My stomach sank even deeper, a wave of nausea rolling through me that had nothing to do with the pregnancy. This was exactly what Lea had always wanted... to steal Killian, to destroy me. She’d framed me, planted the evidence, twisted every truth. I could see it now, clear as the hatred in her eyes.

My hand shook as I reached for the pen they slid through the slot. I signed on the dotted lines, each stroke of the pen sealing my fate. My life was over and that moment, I knew I could never tell him about this baby. I wouldn’t let him be the father to a child while he looked at me with such hatred.

The warden’s voice cut through the tension. “Visiting time’s over.”

Lea snatched the pen and papers back, stuffing them into her bag with a triumphant huff. Killian stood slowly, his tall frame casting a shadow that felt like it swallowed the room. He glared at me through the glass, eyes filled with nothing but pure hatred. His voice was low, almost gentle in its cruelty. “I genuinely hope you rot in that jail for the rest of your life.”