Chapter 4 The price of freedom

The price of freedom.

Evelyn's POV

I stared down at the contract lying between us, reading the same paragraph for the third time without absorbing a single word. 

The legal language was complicated enough to make my head ache, but the message behind it was simple. 

Once I signed, I would be bound to Adrian's arrangement until he decided otherwise.

“You expect me to sign an agreement without telling me what I'm actually agreeing to?” I lifted my eyes from the papers and met his calm stare. 

“I've already told you what you need to know.” Adrian leaned back in his chair, completely unfazed by my question. 

“No, you told me you need someone to go undercover for your firm. That's not an explanation.” I tapped the contract with my finger. 

“What exactly am I going undercover for? Who am I supposed to work with? Where am I going? And what happens if I refuse to do whatever you eventually ask?” The questions kept escaping me.

“You were given a choice, Evelyn. You can stay in prison or accept my offer.” His expression remained unchanged. 

“Why should I trust you?” I scoffed and pushed the contract slightly away from me.

“You shouldn't.” His blunt response caught me off guard.

“You don't know me, and I don't expect you to trust me. But you know what happens if I walk away.” Adrian leaned forward, resting his forearms against the table. 

My gaze dropped to the papers again, and my heart sank deeply into my stomach.

Fifty years to life!

The number immediately brought back the courtroom, the judge's expression, the guards dragging me away while I screamed that I was innocent. 

I remembered the prison walls, the women who had beaten me, the sleepless nights and the certainty that I would grow old behind bars for a crime I couldn't remember committing.

“And if I sign this, is there a way out?” I swallowed and looked back at him. 

“Not until the agreement is fulfilled.” He smirked. 

“And if I decide halfway through that I don't want to continue?” I clenched my fist by my side. 

“Then you'll have to live with that decision.” Adrian's gaze hardened slightly. 

“You make freedom sound very expensive.” A bitter laugh escaped me. 

“Well, I do not think you have a choice.” He scoffed with his eyes narrowed at me. 

For several seconds, neither of us spoke. I looked at the contract again, then at the folder containing the documents Adrian had promised would give me a new identity. 

Everything I had ever known was gone already. 

My parents had abandoned me, Nina had disappeared, my education was over and the world had decided I was a murderer.

What exactly was I protecting by refusing?

I picked up the pen, and Adrian watched silently as I signed my name at the bottom of the final page.

“There!” My hand trembled slightly as I pushed the papers back toward him.

“I hope I don't regret this.” I muttered and all of a sudden, Adrian let out a stiffed laugh. 

“It's too early to make that decision.” He collected the contract and glanced briefly at my signature before closing the folder.

I expected him to explain what happened next, but instead he reached for his phone and made a call.

“It's done,” he said after someone answered.

“Proceed.” He ordered.

“I want everything ready before tonight. No mistakes.” He listened for a few seconds before continuing, and I frowned.

There was something about his tone that made me uneasy. 

It wasn't the voice of a lawyer discussing a client's case. There was no negotiation, no discussion of legal procedures and no mention of a courtroom.

It sounded like a command. 

Adrian ended the call and slipped his phone back into his pocket.

“Who was that?” I asked.

“Someone handling your release.” He breathed. 

“Already?” My eyes widened.

“Yes.” I stared at him.

“But how?” My curiosity got the best of me. 

“You don't need to concern yourself with that.” He stood and adjusted the sleeve of his suit.

“You said you were a lawyer. I thought lawyers needed more than a phone call to get someone serving a life sentence released.” I watched him suspiciously. 

“Some lawyers have better connections than others.” A faint smile touched his lips. 

I opened my mouth to argue, but the visitation room door opened before I could say anything.

“Jonas, get up. You're being transferred.”

My heart skipped. A correctional officer stepped inside and looked directly at me. 

“Transferred where?” I panicked. 

“You will be informed outside.” The officer checked the papers in her hand.

I looked at Adrian, expecting some explanation, but he only gestured toward the door.

“Go.” His fingers twitched.

I stood slowly, still trying to understand what was happening. The officer secured the handcuffs around my wrists and led me out of the room.

I turned my head once before the door closed behind me, and Adrian was still sitting at the table, watching me with an unexplained emotion pouring out of his eyes.

He looked far too calm for a man who had just arranged the release of a convicted murderer within hours.

The next few hours passed in a blur.

I was taken through several offices and asked to sign documents I barely understood. 

Nobody explained why the process was moving so quickly, and every time I asked a question, I received the same vague response.

Eventually, one of the officials handed me a release document.

“I'm being released?” I stared at it for several seconds before looking up.

“Yes!” He simply answered.

I almost laughed because the words sounded ridiculous.

Three months ago, I had been sentenced to fifty years to life. Now I was standing in a government office holding a document that said I was free.

“How?” The words came out as a whisper.

“The order has already been processed.” The official avoided my eyes. 

“By who?” My frown deepened.

He simply gathered the remaining documents from the desk, and that was when I understood something I hadn't wanted to admit.

Adrian hadn't been exaggerating about his connections. Whatever influence he had, it went far beyond anything I understood.

When I finally stepped outside, the cold air hit my face, and I stopped walking.

For the first time in months, there were no bars in front of me, no guards watching my every movement, and no concrete walls closing around me.

I was free….

The relief should have been overwhelming, but instead I felt strangely numb as tears gathered in my eyes. 

A black car waited near the entrance, and Adrian stood beside it with his hands tucked into the pockets of his trousers.

“You really did it.” I walked toward him slowly.

“I told you I would.” He glanced at me with a thin smile, and I stopped in front of him, studying his face.

“Why?” That was one question I couldn't let go of.

“Why what?” His eyebrows drew together slightly. 

“Why are you doing this for me?” I asked but he said nothing.

“You really want to know?” Adrian's eyes suddenly grew dark.