STEEL CITY

Chapter 18

Daphne stared at the wall in her cell replaying David's words in her head over and over again, she tried making a phone call after she left the visiting area but was denied.

She couldn't even get herself a new lawyer, she knew there was no use because her father would bribe the judge.

The thought of her family made her blood boil and as the days passed the hurt Daphne felt turned to rage she had only one wish as she was locked away in the cell and that was to destroy her entire family.

But she knew it wasn't possible anymore, her family's involvement with her lawyer had completely shattered any chance of her receiving justice.

She hated to admit it but with how things were going she would have to take David's advice but how could she plead guilty to a crime that was committed against her, she was the victim and wasn't supposed to be clad in orange overalls and handcuffs Imogen was.

Her eyes felt heavy as tears threatened to spill from them, all through her stay in prison she hadn't shed a single tear, she tried to be strong and had hope because Mira was on her side.

But now she had no one on her side now, no friend, no family, and no hope. So what was the point of being strong when her entire life was going to end?

Tears spilled from her eyes uncontrollably as she sobbed quietly but not too quietly as very audible sniffles came from her.

She cried throughout the night barely getting any rest that night. She looked dishelved and her frail body made her look more haggard, she continued crying every night until the day of her hearing where she was sentenced to a total of fifteen years imprisonment, ten and five years for the mother and child respectively.

As expected Mr. David Gosling made sure to do a lousy job defending Daphne but she didn't care.

The night before her hearing Daphne promised herself that she would never depend on anyone because everyone she relied on betrayed her. She promised herself that she wouldn't bank on anyone else in the future and from that day she never did.

In court Daphne did all she could to defend herself but as expected all her efforts didn't yield any tangible result.

She also made sure to prepare herself for the worst outcome and when she was declared guilty there wasn't a change in her expression for she had accepted her faith.

The news of Daphne's sentence spread throughout the entire City. Many were glad because their idol Imogen had gotten justice and could finally be with her lover Ethan Sawyer while a few others found Imogen's story suspicious.

Two years after Daphne's sentence Mira was finally allowed to come back home and the first thing she did was visit Daphne.

Mira sat nervously in the visiting area as the warden brought Daphne over. She held her breath as the door opened to reveal a thin and frail Daphne who was also covered in bruises she might have gotten from fights with other inmates.

But what stood out the most was the emotionless gaze in Daphne's eyes.

Daphne sat down and had a slight shift in her emotion as she looked at her best friend, she missed her a lot but wouldn't let Mira know that.

Mira's eyes were instantly filled with tears as she stared at her best friend.

"Daph, I'm so sorry this happened to you, I tried to help but Dad wouldn't let me, he shipped me off to another continent forcefully to stop me. You know I love you so much and that I would never abandon you. I'm sorry I haven't been there for you the same way you have been there for me," Mira said sobbing as she held onto her best friend's hand.

Daphne tried her best to ignore the pain and relief she felt in her heart. A part of her was so relieved that her best friend didn't abandon her but another part of her was still paranoid.

Eventually, she was able to control her emotions and focused on consoling her friend. She rubbed Mira's hand gently as she tried to calm her down.

"I'm fine, it's not your fault and I don't hate you, on the contrary, I missed you a lot, Mira," Daphne said with a small smile.

After Mira had calmed down and stopped crying. When suddenly Daphne's face became serious.

"Mira, Matt is involved in your brother's disappearance, I wanted to tell you the last time we met but you left abruptly", Daphne said and was confused when Mira's expression didn't change.

"I know that, he's in the underworld undergoing interrogations but how do you know?" Mira asked confused.

Daphne then explained everything that happened during her kidnap and Mira was in shock.

"It's been months and Dad still won't let me use the family's connections to get you out this made me realize that I was depending too much on my family. If I wasn't so dependent on them I would have been able to help you, I'm so sorry Daph all this happened because of me. I should have been with you if I was that day like I promised you wouldn't have believed their lie," Mira said getting emotional.

"Like I said it's not your fault, I depended on you too much and you're only human there was only so much you could do, don't beat yourself up," Daphne said.

Mira stared at her friend for a while before forcing out an awkward smile but didn't comment on her friend's statement. They both fell into an awkward silence for some time before Mira spoke.

"Ethan and Imogen can't be harmed because Matt didn't mention them in his confession and Dad won't believe me if I told him, he'll assume I'm avenging you," Mira said.

"But I can talk to Dami..." Mira said but was interrupted by Daphne.

"I need you to contact my grandfather and tell him everything that's happening, if you can then I won't need Damien's help," Daphne said.

Although Daphne had made the decision not to rely on anyone, she was fully aware of the fact that there wasn't much she could do for herself from prison and the only person who could help her was her grandpa.

Her father made sure she wasn't allowed to make calls in prison, so Mira was the first person from the real world she had spoken to in two years.

"Will you do this for me?" Daphne asked her friend.

"Definitely," Mira responded with a small smile.

"Thank you," Daphne said.

After the exchange of a few words Mira left the visiting area and Daphne went back to her cell. She fell asleep and had the same nightmare she'd been having for a year now.

She woke up panting with sweat dripping from her forehead like every other night. She closed her eyes and took deep breaths to calm herself and eventually her breathing became even and she fell asleep.