CHAPTER 231

Julia’s POV

The walls of my cell felt like they were closing in on me, pressing against my sanity. The plain gray cement, the steel bars, the incessant drone of fluorescent lights—they all blended into a maddening blur. I paced the tiny space like a caged animal, trying to keep the panic at bay.

My mind raced with thoughts of how it all had gone so wrong. I had worked so hard, put so much effort into everything, and now I was here, in this godforsaken place, with nothing but my own fury and regret for company.

“Aarrrggghhh!” I would sometimes scream out of frustration, banging my fists on the wall. But no one would even bother to come because the prison guards and police officers already knew that I wasn’t ill or in danger.

The boredom sometimes drove me to the edge. I’d sit on the hard cot, staring at the same patch of wall, my thoughts circling in an endless loop.

This is just temporary, I often reminded myself. The trial’s just around the corner.

I tried to cling to the hope th