Chapter 97: Chapter 97

Chapter 97 Release Me for I Am Not Guilty

The prison was dark and damp. It allowed minimal rays of westward-slanting sunlight to shine through a small square window on the wall, bringing a faint glimmer of light to Lanny's prison and her life as well.

She had spent the most torturous week of her life in prison, spending her days facing the old, dark gray walls, analyzing the rough texture of the concrete walls. The rough fabric of her prison uniform, made of synthetic fiber, rubbed harshly against her delicate skin and irritated it. The harsh reality made her chest tight and her eyes red and puffy from all the crying.

She had always been the apple of her parent's eye, and she had always been privileged to live an enviable life, but things weren't looking great right now. Her parents had betrayed her, her ex-husband and sister had set her up and had her thrown in prison, and her life was crumbling down. She couldn't figure out what had gone wrong. In her twisted mind, she had done no wrong. A week ago, she was pushed off the cliff by her own sister, Bella, and had it not been for that pine tree, she would have fallen to her tragic death.

Fast forward a week later, she was being framed as a criminal who tried to hurt Bella? Uh-uh, that was not fair. Over the course of the week, she replayed the incident over and over in her mind, and in each recollection, she unconsciously tampered with the facts, without realizing it herself. In the final version, she was an uncompromising victim, a good sister who cared for and loved Bella, she was a noble soul who was strong and unyielding even when betrayed by her own flesh and blood and falsely accused.

She walked to the prison door with tears welled up in her eyes, her voice choking, and called out, "I'm not guilty, let me out of here! Please, officer, help me!"

"I know, I know, you're innocent. You don't have to say that again. You've said it at least a hundred times since you came in!" the guard on patrol duty shouted at her. The guard was half a century old with saggy reddish skin who had probably been working in the prison for almost half of his life span and had had hundreds of inmates affirm their innocence to him. And, of course, it was no exaggeration to say that more than 99.9% of them were guilty.

However, the deluded Lanny took the middle-aged guard's perfunctory statement as ironclad proof of her innocence, and with renewed hope in her heart, she shook the iron door with force and shouted with much conviction, "Officer, thank you for believing me. Now, please let me out, I need to find my lawyer."

"Buahaha! Miss, you spend too much time daydreaming!" the guard muttered in a low voice, walking past Lanny's cell and heading to the next area for inspection.

"Stop, you stinky old man, let me out of here!" Lanny bellowed, pissed. But her plea went unanswered, and she stomped her foot in anger, "Just you wait, old stinky man, one day, I shall get out of here and then I'll stomp on your ugly face and thick skull so hard!"

Just as Lanny was about to give up on the idea to ask for help and go back to lying on her hard bed and resume the activity of counting the number of mold spots on the ceiling, a young man in a prison guard's uniform came up to her and said, "Lanny White, there are people here to see you."

Hearing this news, Lanny felt her heart leaping out of her chest. Visitors? Could it be her saviors? A hint of triumph appeared on her face, 'Someone must have come to my rescue. Hmph, I knew the law wouldn't wrong a good person.'

The young guard unlocked the cell door and led Lanny through the long, dim corridor to the visiting room. The visiting room was separated into two areas by a piece of thick, fully tempered glass. The left side being the prisoner's area and the right side being the visitor's area. On the bench on the right area, sat the Whites, waiting anxiously. Mrs. White was fidgeting with her bracelet, nervous. Different from the usual appearance of a noblewoman, her face was not powdered, the wrinkles on the corners of the eyes now fully visible. It was as if she had aged five years in the span of a few days.

Next to her, sat Mr. White. Wrapped tightly around his head was a thick bandage, his face was thin, pale, grim, his thin lips pursed into a line, his eyes sunken deep into their sockets. He looked like a dead man walking. They had come to see Lanny after having heard the news from Edward. As expected, they had begged him to let them see their beloved daughter.

Upon seeing Lanny with handcuffs on her wrists, the elderly couple rushed to greet her, tapping on the glass frantically.

"Don't tap on the glass, just talk through the phone," the prison guard next to them said in an authoritative tone.

"Oh, got it. Sorry, we didn't know," Mrs. White said apologetically.

They quickly sat down and Mr. White picked up the phone to talk to his daughter, the same daughter who had assaulted him just a few days ago.

"Lanny, honey, you look absolutely terrible. What have they done to you? We know you're suffering in here but hang tight, everything's going to be fine," Mr. White was sentimental after seeing his daughter.

"Dad, cut this nonsense and get me out of here. I'm I-N-N-O-C-E-N-T," Lanny said impatiently. She didn't even greet her parents nor cared about the wound on her father's head, which she had inflicted. How callous of her!

Mr. White was furious at Lanny's attitude, but he controlled his emotions. He knew that Lanny was guilty for he knew his eldest daughter too well. But at the same time, they would rather detain her at home than let her rot in this old, damp cell.

"Listen, child, Bella has agreed to drop the charges against you. Your mother and I are here to take you home now," he explained.

"Thank the Goddess! Now, that's the way things are supposed to be. I shouldn't be here. I'm innocent!" Lanny hung up the phone and turned her head to the young prison guard beside her and raising an eyebrow, she said, "Young man, I'll be out of prison soon. Can you please deliver a message for me? Be sure to tell that old fart that I'll be paying him back for the way he treated me! And twice as much!"

"Do I look like your errand boy, Miss? It's none of my business," the young prison guard simply replied, his tone dry.

Lanny let out a grunt but said nothing in return. She was just relieved that she would be out of there in a few minutes. After the Whites paid her bail, Lanny was released from prison. On the way out, Lanny was so excited that she hummed a soothing tune. She felt her body as light as a feather.

The moment Lanny stepped out of the prison block, the strong sunlight stung her eyes. She hadn't seen the sun in a whole week, and her eyes needed time to adjust to the bright lighting. She blinked a few times and continued striding forward. Mrs. White tugged tightly on her daughter's hand; afraid she would run away.

"Okay, mission complete. Let's go our separate ways," Lanny had the audacity to say to her parents.

"No, honey, that won't do. We won't let you go anywhere on your own. You must be with us at all times," Mr. White replied sternly.