Chapter 3 A DEAL TO REMEMBER
Evelyn's POV
~3Month Later~
The sound of metal slamming shut had become the soundtrack of my life.
Every morning . Every night.
Every second in between.
Three months in prison and I still woke up confused for half a second, thinking I was back in my dorm room or getting ready for class. Then reality would hit me all over again.
Concrete walls. Steel bars
And the smell of bleach, sweat, and something rotten buried that filled this hell hole.
Prison had a way of stripping you down until you barely recognized yourself.
The girl who used to captain cheer routines and stress over exams was gone. In her place was inmate 44291.Not Evelyn Jonas 44291. Here your name don’t matter.
I sat on the edge of my bunk silently, staring at the bruises fading along my knuckles. The prison uniform hung loosely on my body now. I barely ate anymore.
The nightmares made sure of that. Every night the same dream haunted me.Every night I saw Dylan. Blood everywhere.
His body on the bed. My hands covered in red. And every single time I woke up gasping, I still couldn’t remember what happened that night.
Not one piece of it.
“Move.”
The harsh voice snapped me from my thoughts.
I stood immediately as one of the guards walked past my cell. In prison, hesitation or staring got noticed. And getting noticed usually ended badly.
The first month had taught me that quickly. I got beaten up really badly. Girls here smelled weakness like blood in water.
At first they recognized me from the news.
The Hockey Star Killer. That’s what the media called me now.
Some inmates hated me for it. Others were fascinated.
Neither was pleasing to me..
I learned to keep my head down, my mouth shut, and my emotions buried so deep they hurt. Still, prison found ways to break you anyway.
The cafeteria was loud as usual later that afternoon. Trays slammed against tables while arguments echoed off the walls.
I kept my eyes lowered as I carried my food toward the corner I usually sat in alone.
Then someone kicked the back of my knee.
Hard.
I stumbled forward, my tray crashing onto the floor as laughter erupted around me.
“There she is,” a woman mocked from behind me. “The psycho cheerleader.”
I clenched my jaw tightly.
Don’t react
That was my rule number one.
“She says she doesn’t remember killing him,” another inmate laughed. “Crazy bitch probably carved him up for fun.”
My chest tightened instantly.
I grabbed the edge of the table, forcing myself to breathe.
Don’t react. Don’t react.
But Dylan’s face flashed in my mind again and suddenly I couldn’t hear anything except the sound of my own heartbeat.
“I didn’t kill him,” I whispered before I could stop myself.
The laughter died for a second.
Then suddenly it became louder.
Those mocking cruel sound.
One of the women stepped closer, towering over me. “What was that?”
I swallowed hard, backing away slightly.
“I said I didn’t kill him.”
The slap came so fast my head snapped sideways.
Pain exploded across my cheek.
“Nobody cares,” she hissed.
Silence filled the cafeteria for a moment.
Nobody moved. Nobody helped.
Because this was prison, innocence meant absolutely nothing.
“Jonas! Visitor!”
The female correctional officer’s voice echoed through the block, rough enough to make me flinch awake from the hot slap I just received..
I slowly pushed myself off the thin prison mattress, my body aching from the fall. The officer unlocked the bars before snapping cold handcuffs around my wrists.
“Move.”
I frowned slightly. Nobody visited me.
Not in the past two month. Not after the trial.
Not after the world decided I was a murderer.
So who the hell would come see me now?
The walk to the visitation room felt longer than usual. My stomach twisted tighter with every step until the officer finally stopped in front of the glass room and uncuffed one of my wrists.
I froze.
A man sat calmly on the other side of the table, dressed in an expensive black suit that probably cost more than my entire college tuition. Dark hair. Sharp jawline. Cold eyes that watched me like he already knew everything about me.
But I had never seen him before in my life.
“You have ten minutes,” the officer muttered before walking away.
“look who we have here the world super star killer.” He said with a cold smirk on his face.
I stayed standing for a second. “Who are you?”
The stranger leaned back lazily in his chair. “Sit down, we don’t have much time Evelyn..”
The fact that he knew my name immediately put me on edge.
“I asked who you are.”
A faint smile tugged at the corner of his mouth. “Since you love formalities so much then have it. Am Adrian Rossi.”
I looked at him confused.
Who was he and why didn’t he want to see me?
“What do you want from me?” I asked carefully as I sat across from him.
For a moment he just studied me silently. Like he was examining something on my face. Or see how far prison life has broken me.
I swallowed hard
“You look different from the fragile girl on television,” he said calmly.
“Prison has a way of toughing you up.”
His lips twitched slightly, almost amused.
I hated that.
“I can get you out of here.” He said his eyes on me coldly.
The words came so casually that I almost laughed.
Instead, I stared at him.
“What?”
“I can get your conviction erased. Your identity buried. Your life back on track.”
My chest tightened instantly.
Who is he ? Was he messing with me ?.
“I don’t have time for this, if you’re hear to mess with me please leave.” I said standing up.
“Sit down!” He said his voice deep and I turned to look at him”Don’t make me ask again take your sit.” He said
I obeyed
“I expected you to be smart by now Evelyn.”
I looked at him searching to see if he was messing with me.. but the look in his eye said otherwise
I crossed my arms slowly. “There’s always a catch.”
Adrian leaned forward slightly, resting his elbows against the table.”that’s more like it.”
A beat of silence passed.
Then he spoke
“Am a lawyer for one of the biggest firm in Italy and I need someone to go undercover for a job for my firm ,” he said. “Someone nobody would suspect. Someone desperate enough to do exactly what they’re told.”
A chill crawled up my spine.
“And you picked me.”
“picked a woman with nothing left to lose.”
I clenched my jaw. “I’m not killing anybody for you. If that’s why you came you’ve got the wrong person.”
His expression didn’t change. His eyes held mine.
“I’m not asking you to kill anyone.”
“Then what do you want?”
“You’ll know when the time comes.”
The answer made my skin crawl.
I stared at him for a long moment, trying to figure out if this was real or some sick joke.
“You don’t even know me.”
“No,” he said quietly. “But I know you don’t want to spend the rest of your life rotten in prison..”
My eyes stared on him as his gaze held mine.
“That is too pitiful for punishment for you when you deserve something..”his words strailed off
That was the first time anyone had said those words to me in month. That I was pitiful .
He slid a folder across the table toward me.
Inside were documents. New identification papers. Bank information. Passport applications.
A new life.
“You’re serious,” I whispered.
“I don’t waste my time, Evelyn.”
I looked back up at him carefully. “And if I say no?”
His eyes darkened slightly.
“Then you stay here until this place buries you.”
Silence stretched between us.
I hated how badly I wanted to believe him.
Freedom.
After three months of cages, screams, concrete walls, and nightmares… freedom sounded almost unreal.
But I wouldn’t trade it for fifty years in here
“What exactly would I have to do?” I asked slowly.
Adrian stood from his chair, buttoning his suit jacket.
“When the time comes, I will let you know but first you need to sign the agreement.”
Something about the way he said it made unease settle deep into my stomach.
“You’ll get instructions later,” he continued. “For now, all you need to decide is whether you want to remain Evelyn Jonas… or become someone else entirely.”
Then he placed a pen beside the papers.
As I stared down at the door way to freedom… from a stranger I knew nothing about.
