Six months later, Dean was still fighting in court, insisting he was innocent and ignoring his lawyer Robert's advice to take a plea deal. His divorce from Laura and the custody battle for Laila were quickly settled because of the charges against him. Finally, at the last hearing, "gavel bang, gavel bang, gavel bang," the judge read out the final decision.
"The defendant is found guilty of embezzling company money totaling $786,248.20, supported by evidence. The defendant will be sentenced to 5 years in prison and a fine of $786,248.20 plus $150,000 in legal fees."
"Gavel bang, gavel bang, gavel bang." Dean, hearing the judge's decision, hung his head. His hands clenched into fists. He looked toward the audience but didn't see his ex-wife there, because his heart desperately wanted to see his daughter. Police immediately led a weak Dean, still clenching his fists, out of the courtroom.
"Only five years, Dean, be patient. Five years isn't long. Wait for me, Laila, Daddy will definitely come home," Dean thought to himself, trying to convince himself and shake off his sadness.
*****
Time went on. A month had passed since the verdict. Dean huddled in his cell, his head down.
Suddenly, "beep," the sound of the cell block door opening. A moment later, "click," "creak," "clink," his cell door opened. A prison guard brought a young man into Dean's cell.
The young man stared sharply at Dean, who was sitting in the corner near the door. "Thud," "click," "creak," the guard closed the door again. Dean saw the shirtless young man, skinny but covered in blue tattoos, a sign of a repeat offender. Dean knew the guy had been in and out of jail many times.
The young man sat next to Dean and turned, offering him a cigarette.
"Sorry, I don't smoke," Dean said.
"Okay, okay," the young man replied.
"Why were you arrested?" Dean asked.
"Just usual stuff, killed someone, hehe. My name's Zack. Who are you?" Zack asked.
"Dean," Dean replied simply.
"Oh, so it's you. How long is your sentence?" Zack asked.
"5 years. What do you mean 'it's you'?" Dean asked, a bit confused.
"Nah, before I came in, I got a job, just to earn extra money for cigarettes and weed," Zack said cassualy.
"A job? What kind of job?" Dean asked, puzzled.
"This."
"Stab!" Suddenly, a knife plunged into Dean's side. "Aaah!" Dean, in pain, immediately slumped sideways, holding his bleeding, stabbed waist.
"Wh-why did you stab me?" Dean asked.
"I told you I had a job. I was ordered to get rid of someone named Dean who matches your description. So, sorry, I don't have any problem with you. At most, if the guards find out, I'll add a year or two here, I'm chill," Zack said, standing over Dean, holding the small, bloody knife.
"Help... help... there's a killer in here!" Dean screamed.
"Oh, you can scream all you want, it's useless. The guards here are all deaf. You better keep quiet," Zacky said, crouching down and covering Dean's mouth.
"Ugh... ugh... guh," Dean tried to speak with his mouth covered.
"Oh, you're asking who sent me? Okay, I'll tell you. He's my senior. His name is Mark. Do you know him?" Zack asked.
Dean's face immediately turned red, all the veins in his head popped out, his eyes wide, staring sharply at Zack when Zack mentioned Mark's name.
"Hey, don't glare at me, relax, dude. But seeing your reaction, I guess I got the right guy. Alright, don't hold a grudge against me, and if you become a ghost, don't haunt me, okay? I'm just doing my job, no hard feelings, I swear, bye."
Zack immediately slit Dean's throat, causing Dean immense pain. Fresh blood poured out like a slaughtered cow, soaking the cell floor. Dean's eyes rolled back, and his consciousness slowly faded.
"So this is how it ends. I'm killed in prison. Mark holds a grudge against me for hurting Laura, hahaha... I'll never see Laila... I want to see Laila grow up... Laila... Laila... Daddy misses you," Dean screamed in his head before his consciousness disappeared.
*****
But suddenly, Dean felt no pain in his neck or waist. He opened his eyes and saw Zack standing still, wiping his hands, frozen in place. He looked around. Color seemed to drain from his vision, making everything appear black and white, including Zack standing in front of him.
"What is this?" Dean asked.
He immediately stood up and looked down. He gasped, seeing himself still lying in a pool of blood, also in black and white. He looked at his own hands.
"Am I dead?" Dean asked.
"Hello, hello... relax, you're not dead yet... but you will die, so the question is, do you want revenge?" someone asked from behind Dean.
Dean immediately turned around. Behind him was a very skinny man wearing a tuxedo, carrying a cane, and wearing a tall top hat. His face looked terrifying with a long, crooked nose, large round eyes, and a wide smile.
"Wh-who are you?" Dean asked, scared.
"Hmm, before you ask, please answer my previous question first: do you want revenge?" the man asked.
"Revenge on whom? Alex?" Dean asked.
"Hmm, almost. You don't seem to know what happened, do you? Like where that debt came from, why your wife divorced you just because of that, why your secretary betrayed you, and why your wife's brother sent that man to kill you?" the man asked, leaning his horrifying face close to Dean's.
"Wh-what do you mean? Alex, yes, he framed me and worked with my secretary. That's all, right?" Dean asked.
"You don't suspect your wife at all?" the man asked.
"Huh... she's also a victim. She divorced me because she couldn't stand all the debt collectors coming," Dean replied.
"Tsk, tsk, tsk... this is what happens when you're blind and can't see because of love. I do admit your wife is beautiful. Alright, to make it quick, I'll just show you," the man said.
"Click," the man snapped his fingers, and "whoosh," a red hologram screen appeared in front of Dean's face. Dean's eyes immediately widened as he saw his wife, Laura, eating with Alex at a fancy restaurant.
"Hey, what is this?" Dean asked.
"Oh, this is live. Just imagine you're watching a live stream. Just watch for a bit and use these headphones for the sound,"
"Click," two headphones immediately appeared on Dean's ears so he could hear the conversation on the screen.
"Cheers!" Laura and Alex clinked their wine glasses together.
"By now, he should be dead in his cell, right?" Alex said, looking at his watch.
"Yes, my brother told his friend to go in there and finish him off," Laura replied.
"You're crazy too, betraying your husband like that," Alex said, taking a drink.
"It's all for you, babe," Laura said, smiling intimately at Alex.
"Hahaha, the plan from five years ago is finally happening. Starting from Laila's birth, telling your family to use their connections to get into debt, and framing him for embezzlement at the office. Now his position belongs to me, and it's all thanks to you, babe," Alex said.
"Yeah, it's been so long. I had to keep serving him, even at night. It was really tiring. But luckily, until the end, he never realized that Laila is your child and not his," Laura said.
"Good thing, right? If he realized, we could have been found out too soon, and he could have known that we've been together since two years before Laila was born," Alex said.
"Don't worry, babe, he's stupid. He didn't even realize he was infertile and didn't realize I had him checked," Laura said.
"Well, now we just wait for news from your brother. The sooner he's out of this world, the better," Alex replied.
"Then what about his secretary? Are you still with her?" Laura asked grumpily.
"Oh, don't be jealous. I already told you, I only used her to get those documents. I just didn't expect Dean to ask his secretary to report to the police. It was close! Luckily, I acted fast by taking her sick mother hostage at a hospital I know and threatening her to serve me," Alex answered.
"Then how is she? You didn't fall for her, did you?" Laura asked.
"Of course not! She just gave me her body to serve me, and I just exploited her weakness. My goal was to make sure she didn't do anything funny and leak our plan, not because I had a crush on her or because she's sexy or anything like that. It's all for our plan," Alex replied.
"Thank goodness. If so, when are we getting married?" Laura asked.
"As soon as possible, babe. As soon as we get news that he's no longer in this world, we'll get married right away. I want to be with my child too, you know," Alex replied.
"Hehe, I love you, babe," Laura replied.
"Me too, I love you," Alex replied.
Both of them clinked glasses again and continued eating. After that,
"Oh, have you registered with the doctor?" Alex asked.
"Yes, can you come with me tomorrow to check on my pregnancy?" Laura asked.
"Of course, babe, I'll go with you to the doctor, for our second child, hahaha," Alex replied.
"Pop," the hologram screen in front of Dean burst like a balloon. The man looked at Dean, who was frozen in place, tears streaming down his face, mouth agape, but his face as red as a tomato. His brain tried to process everything he just saw. Then,
"Aaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaah!" Dean screamed as loud as he could.
"Whoa, I like your spirit! So, you can answer my question now, right? Do you want revenge?" the man asked.
Dean was silent. He fell to his knees, clutching his head. Memories of himself with his daughter, his only treasure, shattered like a broken mirror, scattering everywhere. But something cold and dark filled his heart as his anger crystallized. With an empty stare, Dean turned to look at the man, who was leaning his face close, smiling, and looking at him.
"I want revenge... I want to kill them one by one," Dean said.
"Perfect, I accept your answer. Next question: do you want to act alone, or instantly, in other words, do you want me to act? If you choose 'instantly,' I will act right now, and revenge will be carried out immediately. How about that?" the man asked.
"Right now?" Dean asked.
"Yep, right now. I suggest you choose 'instantly' because you can't get out of here quickly, can you?" the man said, trying to persuade Dean.
Dean was silent, his teeth clenched, his rage overflowing. He desperately wanted to get revenge on Laura, Alex, and everyone who hurt him as quickly as possible. He turned to look at the man.
"Do it now, and show me," Dean said.
"Hohoho, alright, with pleasure!" "Click," the man snapped his fingers again, and "whoosh," the hologram screen reappeared in front of Dean's face, along with the headphones on his ears.