Chapter 6: The Trial

Arden pov

The velvet-lined box snapped shut with a sharp crack that echoed off the high ceiling of my bedroom.

"You planted that," I said, my voice barely above a breath as I stared at Octavia. "You put it there."

"It doesn't matter who put it where, Arden," Octavia said, stepping closer. The faint scent of her heavy jasmine perfume filled the space between us, making my stomach turn. "What matters is where it was found."

"I never touched it!" I took a step forward, reaching for the box, but Corvin moved faster.

His large, calloused hand clamped around my upper arm, his fingers digging into my skin through my sweater. I pulled back, twisting my wrist to break his grip, but he didn't budge.

"Let go of me!" I snapped, raising my left hand to push him away.

Before my arm could extend, Octavia’s right hand flew across the space between us.

The back of her hand struck my left cheek. The force knocked my head sideways, the metallic taste of blood bursting across my tongue as my inner cheek split against my teeth. I stumbled back, my heel catching on the edge of the rug, but Corvin’s grip kept me upright.

"You speak when you are spoken to, you little disgrace," Octavia hissed, her face inches from mine. Her usual mask of calm elegance was gone, replaced by an ugly, tight-lipped sneer. "You think you can bring an unsanctioned bastard into this family? You think you can ruin everything we've built for Celeste?"

"I haven't ruined anything!" I spat, wiping a trickle of warm blood from the corner of my mouth with my free hand. "You're framing me!"

Celeste stepped around her mother, her low heels clicking against the floor. She didn't look angry; she looked amused. She crossed her arms, tilting her head as she took in my split lip and my trembling legs.

"Look at you," Celeste said, her voice light. "Always playing the victim. You really thought you were smart, didn't you? Hiding in the basement, mixing your little potions, pretending you were better than us."

"I worked," I said, glaring at her through the dark hair falling over my eyes. "I gave Father three patents. I saved Marcellis Biotech's quarterly trial."

"And no one cares," Celeste replied softly. She stepped right up to me, raising one hand.

Without warning, her palm slammed hard against my chest, shoving me backward with all her weight.

My spine hit the plaster wall behind me with a heavy thud. The breath rushed out of my lungs in a sharp gasp. Pain radiated down my back, but before I could catch my breath, Octavia was there.

Octavia grabbed a handful of my hair, yanking my head back until my throat was completely exposed. "Where is the rest of the research, Arden? The notes on bloodline suppression. Did you sell them already?"

"I didn't sell anything!" I choked out, my fingers clawing at her wrist to relieve the pressure on my scalp.

"Liar," Octavia said.

She let go of my hair and drove her closed fist straight into my ribs.

The air left my body completely. A sharp, burning pain flared across my left side, so intense that my knees buckled instantly. I would have collapsed onto the floor, but Corvin hauled me up by my shoulder, dragging me forward. I twisted desperately, trying to wrench my arm out of his socket, but my movement only made his grip tighten until I felt my bones groan under the pressure.

"Take her down," Octavia ordered, turning toward the bedroom door. "Darius is waiting in the main hall."

Corvin didn't drag me gently. He yanked me out into the carpeted hallway, my socks sliding uselessly across the runner as I tried to get my feet under me. Celeste followed closely behind, twirling the heavy iron bedroom key around her index finger.

We reached the top of the grand marble staircase that led down into the main foyer. Standing at the bottom of the stairs was my father.

Darius stood with his hands resting calmly behind his back.

"Father!" I cried out, my voice raspy as Corvin forced me down the first three steps. "Father, please! They put the Relic in my room! Look at me!"

Darius didn't move an inch. He didn't look at my face. His eyes remained fixed on the framed portrait hanging on the wall behind us.

"Father!" I begged, struggling harder against Corvin's grip. "They struck me! Look at my lip! Look at what they're doing!"

"Silence her, Corvin," Darius said, his voice flat, carrying easily across the high-ceilinged room. He didn't even blink. "The enforcement guards are entering the courtyard."

"Darius, you can't let them do this!" I screamed, pulling against Corvin with everything I had left. "I am your daughter!"

"You ceased being my daughter the moment you stole from this house," Darius said, his voice entirely dead. He finally shifted his eyes toward me, but there was no recognition in them. "You are an employee who committed treason against the estate. Nothing more."

The heavy double front doors of the estate swung open with a deep groan.

Six guards from the Supernatural Enforcement Council marched into the room, their heavy tactical boots leaving wet, muddy tracks across the polished white marble floor. They wore black body armor stamped with the crest of the High Council, and heavy silver-plated batons hung from their belts.

At the head of the squad was Commander Vane, a broad-shouldered man with graying hair and cold, pale eyes.

"Darius Marcellis," Vane said, his voice cutting through the quiet room. "We received your high-priority alert regarding a breach of the Lycan Council peace agreement."

"Thank you for your prompt arrival, Commander," Darius said, stepping forward and extending a hand. "As I reported, an internal audit revealed a major theft from our secondary vault."

Octavia walked down the stairs, her movements slow and poised. She carried the velvet box open in her hands, presenting the glowing moonstone to the commander.

"We recovered the Relic just minutes ago," Octavia said, her voice trembling slightly with what looked like genuine heartbreak. She pointed a delicate finger at me as Corvin held me at the bottom of the stairs. "It was hidden in Arden's quarters, packed in a travel bag. She was attempting to flee the estate."

Commander Vane turned his cold eyes on me. He walked over, his heavy boots coming to a stop a foot away. He looked at my split lip, my torn clothes, and the dark bruises already forming on my wrist where Corvin had held me.

"She appears to have resisted," Vane noted, his tone strictly professional.

"She became violent when confronted," Celeste spoke up from the stairs, her voice soft and full of sorrow. "She hit my mother. She tried to destroy the diagnostic files in her lab before we could stop her."

"That's a lie!" I shouted, turning my head to face Vane. "They attacked me in my room! They forged the security logs! Check the basement cameras"

"The basement cameras were disabled from your terminal at one in the morning, Arden," Octavia interrupted smoothly. She pulled a folded sheet of paper from her pocket and handed it to Vane. "Here is the digital log report signed by our network administrator."

Vane scanned the paper quickly, then nodded to the two guards standing behind him. "Restrain her."

The two enforcement guards stepped forward. One of them grabbed my right wrist, forcing my arm behind my back with a sharp jerk that made my shoulder pop. The other guard grabbed my left arm, pulling it back to meet the first.

Metal handcuffs snapped tight around my wrists—heavy, cold silver cuffs designed to suppress supernatural energy. The moment the silver touched my skin, a wave of nauseating weakness washed over me. My vision flickered black at the edges, my knees buckling completely.

The guards held me up by my arms, keeping me upright like a broken doll.

"Take her to the holding cells at the central courthouse," Vane ordered. "The emergency hearing will take place at dawn."

Darius walked toward the door, not even glancing at me as he passed. "See that the council is informed that Marcellis Biotech fully supports the maximum penalty for artifact theft."

"Father!" I gasped, the cold silver draining the strength from my lungs. "Father, please!"

He walked out without turning around.

Octavia and Celeste stood side by side near the bottom of the stairs, watching the guards drag me toward the open doors. Celeste raised a hand and gave a small, mocking wave, a wide smile spreading across her face.

The heavy rain hit my face the moment they pulled me out onto the stone driveway. Cold water soaked through my clothes instantly, washing the blood from my lip down my chin. They shoved me into the back of the black enforcement van, slamming the heavy iron doors shut behind me.

I sat on the hard metal bench, my hands bound tightly behind my back, shivering as the engine roared to life.

I pressed my back against the wall of the van and pulled my knees up as high as the silver cuffs allowed, trying to protect my stomach from the violent jolting of the vehicle.

The baby.

I closed my eyes, breathing slowly through my nose to calm the violent waves of nausea rolling through my stomach. The silver cuffs were burning my skin, sending cold spikes of pain through my wrists, but deep in my core, I could still feel a small, faint warmth—a stubborn little spark that refused to go out.

They thought they had destroyed me. They thought they had buried me.

I will survive this, I promised myself, pressing my forehead against the cold metal wall of the van as we sped through the dark, rainy streets of Blackthorne City. For you, I will survive.

*****

I was kept in a small, windowless holding cell for four hours. No one brought water. No one checked my bruised ribs or my split lip. The cold silver cuffs remained locked around my wrists, leeching my energy until my skin felt icy to the touch.

When the heavy iron door finally opened, two guards pulled me up by my shoulders and marched me down a long, narrow hallway into Courtroom 4.

The room was vast, circular, and almost entirely empty. High wooden benches rose in tiers toward the ceiling, but only a few seats were occupied.

Darius sat on the far right in a tailored black coat, flanked by two of Marcellis Biotech's senior lawyers. Octavia and Celeste sat behind him, quiet and composed. On the far left sat three representatives from the Lycan Council, dressed in traditional dark blue robes.

High above us, behind a curved mahogany bench, sat Judge Vance—an elderly man with sharp, hawkish features and pale eyes that showed no warmth.

I was forced to stand at a small wooden desk in the center of the floor. My hands were still cuffed behind me, my hair damp and matted against my neck.

"The court is in session," the bailiff announced, his voice booming in the empty room. "Case number 884: The City Council versus Arden Marcellis. Charges include grand theft of a high-tier supernatural artifact, treason against a registered noble family, and physical assault."

Judge Vance adjusted his glasses and looked down at the stack of papers in front of him.

"We have reviewed the digital security logs, the physical evidence recovered from the defendant's quarters, and the signed statements from head of security Corvin Aldric and Lady Octavia Marcellis," Vance said, his voice dry and rhythmic. "The evidence is overwhelming."

"Your Honor," I rasped out, stepping forward until the guard beside me placed a heavy hand on my shoulder, pinning me in place. "I was framed. I never entered the vault. The security logs were altered."

"Silence," Vance said without looking up. "You have no legal representation present, nor has any noble house filed a petition on your behalf."

"My father is sitting right there!" I yelled, turning my head toward Darius. "Tell them! Tell them about my research! Tell them I was in my lab all night!"

Darius didn't look at me. He leaned over and whispered something to his lawyer, completely ignoring my voice.

"The defendant will refrain from outbursts," Vance warned, signing the bottom of a heavy parchment document with a black pen. "In light of the stolen artifact's high value and its connection to the Lycan Council peace treaty, the Marcellis family has requested the maximum sentence to demonstrate their commitment to justice."

My heart hammered against my ribs. "No... please."

"Arden Marcellis," Judge Vance said, finally lifting his eyes to meet mine. "You are hereby stripped of your family name, your academic credentials, and all rights granted to registered citizens of Blackthorne City."

The words hit me like a punch, knocking the remaining air from my chest.

"You are sentenced to seven years at the Irongate Supernatural Correctional Facility," Vance continued, his voice completely unbothered by the weight of what he was saying. "Your sentence begins immediately. The court is adjourned."