Freedom

 Lexie's POV 

"Alexandra Thompson, you have been granted your freedom." Your appeal has been approved. "From this day forward, you are no longer confined to this cell. You are now a free woman," the warden announced, his voice firm but laced with empathy. 

   All I could do was stare at the middle-aged man in disbelief, my mind racing with his words.  

   “What did you just say, Mr Felix?” I asked in shock. I had to make sure I heard him clearly.

 “Congratulations, Miss Lexi. Try as much as possible to stay out of trouble, so you don't come back here. You could lose your senses. Stay safe,” He flashed a smile at me before walking away. 

 Goodness! This was finally happening! I've finally been released from this hell hole after three painful years.

  After what felt like forever, I stood up from the bench as I made my way out of the cold, grey prison walls, feeling the warm sun on my skin for the first time in three years. 

  I took a deep breath, to calm my frazzled nerves. I can't believe what the Warden said a while ago. 

  Freedom! I was free once again!

 It was a word I had almost forgotten. It was something I had thought I would never experience again. I had thought that I'd rot away in that cold prison.

 But here I was, standing outside the prison gates, with a chance to start anew, with a chance to get back at my enemies for everything they have done to me and my mother and reclaim her company.

  I closed my eyes and my mother's smile appeared in my head. A lump formed in my throat as I remembered her warm hugs and soft voice. 

 Tears pricked at the back of my eyes as I whispered. “I’ll clear my name and I'll avenge your death, I promise you, mother,”

 I'm not surprised that none of my family members were here to support me on my first day of freedom. Well, what was I expecting? 

 They wouldn't want to be around a murderer. I thought as I made my way back to my family's residence, unsure of what to expect. 

 Throughout my three years in prison, they never visited me or showed any concern for my well-being. The only person who cared about me was my mother and now she was late.

 I mean why would I kill my mother? Why would I kill the only woman that had shown me nothing but love, like I was the one that exists? 

 The memory of the trail still burned deep within me. I recalled the feeling of helplessness as I stood before the judge, my words falling on deaf ears.

 ‘Guilty of the crime charged' He'd declared, without giving me a chance to defend myself. It was Claudia and my father's doing. I needed no soothsayer to tell me that. 

 My stepmother was an influential personnel in our country. 

 Even my own father testified against me, saying I was responsible for his wife's death. 

 I'll get back at all of them and that's a promise.

 As I got closer to the house, I could hear the sound of laughter and music coming from inside and I creased my brows in confusion, wondering what was going on. Were they trying to welcome me back home?

 'You wish!’ I rolled my eyes.

 I swung the door open and was greeted by the sounds of laughter and music. The space buzzed with chatter, the clattering of glasses, and the pounding of the music. 

 I saw a big banner that read “Rest in peace, bitch .” in big bold letters. The room was decorated with balloons and ribbons and the tables were filled with food and drinks. 

 Rest in peace? Did someone die? But if someone dies, they shouldn't be celebrating. They should be mourning for heaven's sake. There weren't any strangers here. It was just people from Claudia's family.

  Claudia saw me standing there and immediately her expression changed from joy to shock, her hands flying to her mouth.

 “What the hell?” she gasped and I creased my brows in confusion, as I wondered what was going on.

 “How is this possible?” She asked again and I scoffed. “What are you talking about, Claudia?”

 Claudia's voice dripped with venom. “I paid to have you taken care of, Lexie, but those fools messed up,” 

  Her eyes blazed with her hatred for me. So raw! So deep! Just like the one she has for my mother, who was once her best friend. “You are a murderer, Lexie. You deserve to rot in prison,”

 “You what?” I asked again.

 “Are you deaf? I paid those wardens to kill you and here you are standing in front of me,” she hissed in annoyance. “Those fools. They must have sent the wrong body,” she muttered under her breath, but I heard her clearly.

 My eyes expanded in surprise as Claudia's words lingered in the atmosphere. The space started to whirl around me and I sensed as if I'd been hit in the stomach. At that very moment, the reality struck me hard: Claudia had financed my assassination. 

  Wait a minute! If she had paid those wardens to kill me, who released me? My mind was still reeling with shock when my boyfriend, Ethan, rushed forward. 

 “Ethan?” I called and he turned around to meet my gaze. His eyes met mine and for a moment, I saw a flicker of guilt. But it was quickly replaced by shock. “Lexie, I…I thought you were dead,” he stuttered.

 “You are alive?” He asked again, stunned and I shook my head in disbelief. 

 “All of you wanted me dead, huh? You wanted me dead so you could have my mother's company forever, huh?”

 “I hate all of you and I—” I stopped talking when a little girl of about two years rushed towards Ethan's direction, yelling ‘daddy, daddy’.

 My heart sank as I realized that the little girl looks uncannily like him. She has the same eyes as him and I needed no soothsayer to tell me that she was his child, but I just didn't want to jump into conclusions yet.

 “Who is she, Ethan?” I asked, trying to keep my voice steady. 

 “She's my daughter,” he said, his words dropping like a bombshell. Daughter? Did he move on so fast? 

 “You didn't even wait until I was dead.”

 Before I could say something else, a pregnant Margaret made her way towards our direction. She seemed like she was chasing someone and when I saw her coming towards Ethan's direction, I knew that the little girl must be her daughter and that would only mean that—

 “You moved on so quickly. Did you even care about me at all?” I scoffed. “You are no better than my stepmother - selfish , manipulative,”

 It was until now that Margaret noticed my presence in the room. Her stride faltered as she saw me and the next minute, fear flashed in her eyes before she regained her composure. 

 “Lexi, you're…you're alive,” she stammered.

 She turned around to face me with a stunned expression, her shock mirroring her mother's. 

 “What the hell? How are you alive?” She asked as she turned to face her mother. “How is this possible, mother?” She asked, her voice trembling slightly with fear.  

 “Mother, I thought you said you had everything taken care of. How did Lexie escape? How is she still alive?”

 “Incompetent fools! They were supposed to get rid of you, and now, they've gotten rid of someone else!” Claudia hissed, her face twisting into rage.  

 My release must have thwarted whatever plans she had up her sleeves, else she wouldn't be so frustrated.

  If she had paid the wardens to kill me, why did they release me? Who was behind all of these? I needed answers.

 “Wait a minute, mother! Who did we bury?” Margaret asked. “If this bitch is still alive, that means we buried the wrong person,” she said as she gasped. “They sent the wrong corpse, mother,” she cried out. 

 Margaret's eyes widened in panic and horror. “What's going to happen now, mother? Lexi was supposed to be dead. Our plans can't work out now that she's hear,”