Page 86 of Say You're Mine

Alexandra nods, a ghost of a smile playing at her lips. "Good. Then let's get to work."

The next few hours are a whirlwind of legal strategy and careful maneuvering. Alexandra is brilliant, picking apart the prosecution's case with surgical precision, finding loopholes and weaknesses I never would have spotted.

But even as we work, even as hope begins to kindle in my chest, I can't shake the feeling that we're being watched. That somewhere, somehow, Elaine is pulling strings, orchestrating events from the shadows.

As Alexandra packs up to leave, promising to return tomorrow with more information, I catch her arm. "Wait," I say, my voice low and urgent. "I need you to get a message to Cara. Please. Just... tell her I love her. Tell her to stay strong."

Alexandra hesitates, then nods. "I'll do what I can," she says softly. "But June... be careful. The walls have ears here. And some secrets are better left unspoken."

With that cryptic warning, she's gone, leaving me alone with my thoughts and the growing certainty that this is far from over.

Back in my cell, I lie on my bunk, staring at the ceiling, my mind racing. Could Alexandra be trusted? Was she really here to help, or was this all part of some larger, more insidious plan?

And Cara... God, Cara. The ache of missing her is a physical thing, a hollowness in my chest that threatens to consume me. I close my eyes, conjuring her image, trying to remember every detail of her face, her smile, the way her body fits so perfectly against mine.

In the darkness behind my eyelids, I see her. But it's not the Cara of my memories, soft and warm and full of love. This Cara is different – harder, fiercer, her eyes blazing with a determination that takes my breath away.

"Hold on, June," she whispers, her voice echoing in my mind. "I'm coming for you. We're coming for you."

My eyes snap open, my heart pounding. It felt so real, so vivid. Almost like...

No. It couldn't be. Could it?

I sit up, scanning my cell with new eyes. Is it possible? Could Cara have found a way to reach me, even here?

The thought sends a thrill through me, equal parts hope and terror. If she's managed to penetrate this place, to slip past Elaine's defenses... then she's in more danger than ever.

But she's also closer than ever to setting me free.

I lie back down, my mind whirling with possibilities. Whatever's coming, whatever plan is in motion, I need to be ready. I need to be strong.

For Cara. For our child. For the future we're fighting so desperately to claim.

As I drift off to sleep, one thought echoes in my mind, a mantra, a promise, a battle cry:

I will endure this. I will fight, with every last shred of my will, every last ounce of my strength. For Cara, for our baby, for the future we dream of building together, I'll walk through fire. I'll stare into the abyss until it blinks. I'll take on the devil himself and spit in his fucking eye.

Elaine may have caged my body, may have stripped me of my freedom and my dignity. But she can never cage my spirit, can never break the unbreakable bond that tethers my soul to Cara's.

That spirit, forged in the fires of our love, tempered by pain and sacrifice and the unshakable knowledge that we are meant to be, will be my guiding light. My north star in this sea of darkness and despair.

I will find my way back to them. To the woman who holds my heart, to the child who embodies our hope and our defiance. I'll crawl through glass, through blood and bone and the very bowels of hell if that's what it takes.

They are mine. My family, my salvation, my every reason for drawing breath. And not Elaine, not Faulkner's ghost, not all the demons in this godforsaken world will keep me from them.

Afterall I am a killer.

And daddy's coming home.

Chapter twenty-six

Cara

The baby kicks, a sharp jab just beneath my ribs that steals my breath. I press a hand to my swollen belly, feeling the life within me - the piece of June I carry always. It's a reminder, visceral and undeniable, of what I'm fighting for.

"Easy, little one," I murmur, my voice rough from lack of sleep. "Mama's working."

The clock on the wall ticks relentlessly, each second an eternity as I pour over the documents spread before me. Financial records, medical reports, whispered rumors committed to paper - the threads of Elaine's web, waiting to be unraveled.

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