Beyond The Betrayal: Her Rise

lexander, was waiting for me at the gates. He was the perfect, devoted

beginning ended. Standing in the foyer was Kat

Aubrey," he said, n

take; they were a "lesson" to teach me not to question him. He had let

out of the house

my life just to put me in my place. The betrayal was so absolute it broke somethin

mind had created to survive the trauma, "I can't do this

r again, the reflection th

new voice said.

pte

nius, and his devoted wife, Aubrey Lowery. They said her love was the

were

box. One thousand and ninety-five days in a pl

ted eve

contrast to her drab prison uniform. He' d hold her hand across

sper. "I'm doing everything I can

ture of a life waiting for her, a life he was faithfully preserving.

ung to his words like a drownin

a Collier, Alexander' s mistress. The story the police believed was that Aubrey, in a fit of je

und, swept away by th

. She remembered trying to pull Katerina back, not push her. But the evidence, a

the message read. "She fou

ot for the alleged murder, but for dis

t her in the interrogation room, his mask of the loving

e a living nightmare. The guards turned a blind eye. The other women saw her as a fragile, easy target. She learn

new inmate, transferred from another state, saw Aubrey' s pi

rina' s photo. "She's not dead. I saw her a few mont

s a slow, grinding process, but the truth

ts axis. She walked out of the prison gates, blinking in the unfam

ath, a symbolic fir

ooked exactly the same, handsome and imposing. He opened his arms, and sh

e murmured into her

anged. New buildings scraped the sky. The cars were diff

go home. To their be

etend the last three years never hap

, his hand squeezing h

rn mansion, a house she had helped design. He killed th

ing you need to

mach ti

on the small of her back. The moment

le-floored foyer, looking as if she

live. She

nt weak. The polished floor seemed to rush up to

. The mocking smile. The triump

out, stumbling back. "

ed, a slow, cruel

sband, her mind screaming.

at her. He look

s here no

al blow. The cliff. The wind whi

" Katerina had sneered. "He love

" Aubrey had begged

ping closer to the edge, a wild look in

ness. But Katerina had simply let herself fall backward, a fi

ning all over again. Aubrey lunged toward Kate

! You ruin

t out, grabbing her, spinning her around. He sl

rs. The man who had held her hand and promis

ling against him. "She was alive this

his knuckles white. He looked over Aubrey' s s

ou oka

est, feigning shock. "I'm fin

f her. The cold, hard truth settled in her bon

ad k

All those promis

ollow sound. "You knew. You let m

is voice dropping to a low, chilling whisper. "You

and she slid down the w

ning his cuffs as if he were discussing a business deal gone wrong.

d, the name from the pris

aken care of. You were supposed to serve a year, maybe less. A

und the opulent

id it for us, Aubrey. He loves me. But he felt a responsibility t

cid eating her from the inside out. Her husband hadn't just cheated on her. He had

while he built a new life wi

emotion. He was looking at her, crumpled on the flo

e whispered, the words

His eyes were cold, dead. "No, Aubrey. This is

Katerina. They stood together, loo

," Aubrey said, her voice a dead monotone. The

ged. "You'll be fine

ith Katerina, their arms li

ng away. The house she had loved, the life she had cherished, t

he woman who had walked out of prison that morning wa

osed h

e was a ghost. She needed help to understand the ga

urse, her fingers fumbling for her phone. She looked up a number she' d bee

nya S

blur. The second was w

plained gently. "DID. The trauma you endured was so extreme

d at her. "S

ienced memory loss? Finding things you don't remember bu

in her meager prison belongings. The whispers from other inmates

Aubrey asked, he

"But there is someone else there,

at her reflection in the cracked mirror. She didn't recognize th

w beginning. Alexander and Katerina

viving prison if this was

e calm settle ove

d spoke to the empty room, to the

m too broken. If you're in there... if you're strong... you

efeated slump of her shoulders straightened. Her chin lifted. T

nd looked in t

that stared bac

ow and steady. Her voice, but not

ame i