A WEEK LATER
KATHERINE
Stepping into the prison visiting room, chained and in tatters, Katherine scrunched her face in disgust when she saw her father sitting with someone by his side.
It was his lawyer, and she almost let out a hiss the second she spotted the elderly man.
She'd told her father countless times over the phone not to bring anyone when coming to visit her, but he had done what he deemed right already, and now there was nothing she could do.
Nothing she could say too, except sit opposite them and listen to what they had come to say.
"You can leave me now. I'm fine." She spat out rudely at the officer leading her to her seat, and shoulder sagging, she began to walk towards them.
The second she approached, the two men stood up, and with a smile plastered on her father's face, he walked forward, arms outstretched, wanting to hug her.
"Father, please..." Katherine mumbled, rolling her eyes as he took her in his arms and hugged her tightly.
"Oh... I saw you two days ago, but it feels like an eternity. I miss you, daughter, and I promise I'll get you out of here." He said, sniffing at the same time, and Katherine just scoffed in response.
Would he get her out in no time? She'd been in this slimy dingy station for over a week now if she'd counted right, but there was no progress whatsoever.
The added fact that Damien was still in a coma, and the court couldn't proceed when he was in that state made her case all the more worse.
She had to stay in this place for as long as her victim was in a coma, and until he woke up or was ruled dead, only then would she know her fate.
Letting out a sigh, her eyes closed as her father's arms loosened from her body, Katherine sniffed regretfully as the flashes of that eventful day flashed through her head.
She should have killed the bitch, the second they'd landed on the beach, but no... Instead, what had she done?
Like as if a spell had been on her, she'd continued taunting Madison, swearing and cursing and just pointing her shotgun aimlessly at her.
If she'd killed and dumped her body in the ocean earlier on, Damien would not have caught her at all because she would have been long gone.
But now...
"Come, come have your seat."
Her father's voice cut through her thinking, and slowly Katherine waked to the seat, plopping her ass down and placing her cuffed hands on the table as she faced them squarely.
"Good day Miss Katherine. How are you?" The lawyer asked, his hands outstretched for a shake, but Katherine waved her cuffed wrists at him as if stating the obvious before replying, "I'm not okay, as you can see."
She was barely okay. She was managing to survive in the cell, and she was also running mad already.
Coupled with the increased thinking, lack of sleep, and good food, the migraine she was already suffering from before all these duly increased.
Even as she sat opposite her father and his lawyer, she could barely see them, her vision getting blurred, and she just let out a soft hiss yet again.
"Hmmm... so..." Her father began, but Katherine suddenly cut in by asking, "Anything from Damien yet? Is he still in a coma? Did his mother and sister accept my condolence and apologies?"
There was a brief silence that followed her question, and Katherine watched as her father looked at his lawyer before turning to look at her, and he then cleared his throat.
"Damien is still in a coma, Katherine."
"Oh..." This was the only word that dropped from her lips, and she squeezed her hands tightly.
A flush of regret and fear coursed through her, and for the first time since whenever she began to imagine what would happen if Damien gave up the ghost.
Her lips tightening, she wondered what the court's judgment would be and if she would also be given the death penalty or life imprisonment verdict. No!
The thought of even serving any punishment sent waves of fear coursing through her, and Katherine gritted her jaw lightly, opening and closing her eyes, while she stared at her father, who was still talking.
"...What you did... I don't even know what to say now, Katherine, but then his mother refused to talk to me. I've only got messages we would see in court, and...."
"And what?" Katherine asked slightly, brows furrowed as she looked at him, dread filling her entire being as she waited for him to speak out.
"The thought of court scares me, Katherine. I don't know what to say, and even though I'll try my best to get you out, if Damien should die and...."
"What do you mean? What would become of me, father?" She cut in, her shoulders curved, and rubbing at her face; she continued, "Or wait. Maybe I get you, and I do have an idea what might become of me, but surely you can do something, father, right? I mean with some money and...." She paused, chuckling bitterly as she finished with a sullen wink, "You can bribe the judge or something. You always taught me that money could solve any problem in the world, right, so solve this too."
"It's more than just paying some money and closing the case, Miss. it's much more than that." The lawyer interjected, cutting Katherine off her speech, and she shot him a dark look, her face scrunching up again in disgust.
"What do you mean?" She asked, and just before the lawyer could continue, she saw her father stretch out his hands towards hers across from the table as he squeezed gently.
The lawyer brought out two files, and opening one, he began to tell her all about the punishments she could face if Damien eventually took his last breath and if Madison, the person she'd abducted, chose to press serious charges against her.
As he spoke, the mention of Madison's name had Katherine feeling sick to her stomach.
She was supposed to be in the situation that Damien was in, and if he hadn't stepped in front of her, maybe she would have been dead and buried six feet in the ground.
As different thoughts swirled through her, Katherine felt a sharp, splitting pain in her head, and she gasped.
"What is the matter, Katherine?" She heard her father ask, but she couldn't say a thing as she brought her chained wrists to her forehead, rubbing heavily.
"Miss Katherine? Are you listening?"
"I keep seeing that bitch in my dreams. I can't even sleep well, and now she's trying to haunt me still? I can even see her now, and she fills my head in ways I don't want. I... I..."
"Miss Katherine?"
"Daughter? What are you saying? What is happening?"
Katherine tuned out the voices of her father and his lawyer. Instead, she started to stare straight ahead at the wall, her head pounding simultaneously.
"Katherine!"
"She keeps..." Katherine's voice slurred at the end as another sharp pain shot through her skull.
"Ouch!" She screamed and forcefully hit her head on the table.
"Katherine, stop!" Her father screamed, his hands going to her shoulders, but she shrugged him off as she trashed and hit her head on the table like she couldn't feel any pain.
She was channeling all her anger on the table, and in her head, the table was pictured as Madison.
She had to get rid of it. She had too...
"You're hurting yourself, Katherine. You're bruising your head and look at your wrists. You're tearing at your skin. Katherine, stop." Her father called out again, and this time Katherine could hear the lawyer calling for the officers stationed nearby.
Soon, she felt some strong hands on her shoulders, and she tried to fight the hold-off but they were much stronger than she was.
As the officers lifted her, she could hear one of them asking questions, with her father replying.
"What's happening?"
"I think she's having a scare or something. We need to take her to the hospital. She keeps complaining about seeing someone in her dreams, and she also said she doesn't sleep at night."
"I'm sorry, but she can't leave the station's premises. She's under observation and under strict watch for the crimes committed. It's better if she stayed here and wait for the doctor to arrive, if you have a personal one, or she could get treated and checked at the station's medical center."
"She's under observation and strict watch for the crimes committed.' This particular statement kept ringing in Katherine's head as her father and the officers argued defiantly in the room.
She could feel her anger rising, and her head continued to pound incessantly while she squeezed her face in pain. So much for staying here, and waiting patiently for her father to arrive and find a way to get her out.
She was being charged with first-degree murder (since she'd intentionally planned on killing Madison, but the bullet had pierced through Damien's chest instead). Just like the lawyer had said, the chances of her coming out of this alive were slim and...
"No... you're wrong, and you're a liar! Just take me away from this place. I want to go home!" Katherine yelled, pushing back her chair and kicking her feet about wildly.
"You have to calm down."
"I want to leave this place. My whole head hurts, and you're..." Before she could finish her words, the cops grabbed her shoulders again, dragging her up to her feet as they began to take her away.
"The session is over. You can come another time, Mr. Scott."
"Leave me!" Katherine yelled, turning back to face her father, who just stood, hands in his pocket as he stared back dejectedly.
'I'm sorry, Katherine. I'll try my best....' He mouthed, and since she could read lips, she knew just exactly what she said but even with his assuring words, she kept on fighting the cops as they dragged her away to her cell.
She hated them all and how they treated her, and now she just wanted to cry and scream, but they wouldn't listen to her no matter what. Damn!
She hated this city! She hated this place! She hated every fucking thing! She even hated herself!
.......
Thanks for reading. 💕