This chapter is dedicated to lorrainesinge. Thanks for your support XD

25 – Turning Tables

Rena's POV 

Walking back to my cell with the guard escort, I have to admit that Kade had been right about his prediction that night when we rescued Patrice from his home and I threatened to expose him to the world. Marcus has exploited any opportunity to trip me up and having him and the Parks against me was the start of my demise. Ultimately, I was bound to end up behind bars again and my son at his grandfather's mercy.

The guard opens the door and with an inviting swoop of his arm, ushers me inside. I cringe at the loud slam behind me and the turning of the key. The girl I had the fight with is still around, stretched out mighty comfortable on one of the cods. The conversations fall quiet when she glares at me with lazy eyes.

"Get in that corner over there, Barbie, or I whoop your ass again. The beds are taken."

I curl my fists to tight balls but remain quiet. Provoking her will get me nowhere and Marcus is probably just waiting for another fight. He might not even interfere again until I am ready to be taken to the hospital.

With a low sigh, I squat done in the corner until my knees burn. The floor looks filthy and I would prefer not to sit down but won't be able to stay in this position all night. The foul smell from the toilet is drifting my way and of all the spots in the cell, this may be the worst. Somehow, I cannot shake the feeling that the girl is a regular and chose this corner on purpose.

When my legs get numb and I wobble, my limits are reached. I stand up and stretch, ready to embrace the idea of getting as comfortable as possible on the dirty floor when the cell door opens and another inmate joins our midst. I gasp when I realize it is Chantal.

Her chin is held up high and the aura of wealth and comfort sticks to her despite the orange jumpsuit. She looks out of place with her perfectly shaped eyebrows, the manicured fingernails and the glossy, straight hair so contrary to some of the messier hairstyles of the others, including myself.

Her eyes scan the cell and land on me with a frown. "Rena, what are you doing here?"

I give her a crooked smile. "I was just about to ask you the same thing."

Like in a trance, she lowers herself onto the bed next to the cell door. "Marcus had me arrested." Her voice oozes with bitterness. "For domestic assault of all things. Can you believe it?"

If the matter wasn't that serious, I would have started laughing. Mr. Abuser got his wife locked up for allegedly kicking his ass. Though I feel awful for Chantal, I secretly hope she got him good.

She motions me to come over, yet when I take a step forward, a low hiss stops me.

"Barbie stays where she is but you're welcome to join her." Fight girl scols at Chantal with a frown.

Chantal's body straightens and her facial expression turns into an ugly grimace. "Back off, bitch, or I knock those rotten teeth out."

It is a side of her that I have never seen before though Patrice told me once that both her mother and Marcus grew up in a rough neighborhood on the south side of Chicago. Apparently, she knows how to stand her ground.

She and the girl glare at each other before the troublemaker admits defeat by turning her back on Chantal. I take that as a sign of approval to leave my spot in the corner.

Slumping next to Chantal on the cot, I give her a small smile. "Thanks." When she doesn't respond, I press ahead to satisfy my curiosity. "So, what happened?"

She sighs. "When Marcus got home, I confronted him because I had found out that he had cheated again with this paralegal skank from his office. He was already in a foul mood and I should have just let it go, but I didn't. Things escalated and when he was about to take a swing at me, Lamar intervened. He yelled at him to stop hurting me."

I shudder at the thought of her little five year old standing up to his father. Knowing Marcus, this didn't go down well.

Her eyes sparkle with tears as she continues. "Marcus was beside himself, shouting at me that I was turning his kids against him. I opened up my smart mouth and told him that they didn't need any help – he was doing a really good job himself. He didn't like my attitude but instead of taking it out on me, he decided to go after Lamar."

Her voice breaks at the memory and I stroke her back to calm her. This must have been such a horrible scenario having Lamar in the middle of one of her fights with Marcus.

"He got Alyssa's riding whip and started to give him a spanking." Tears trickle down her cheeks. "Lamar was crying so loud, screaming for my help, and I totally lost it. The wine bottle was still on the counter and I hit it over Marcus's head, so he would stop."

I suck in a deep breath – the assault charge would probably stick. "Did he lose consciousness?"

She nods, her eyes staring at me with a vacant expression. "Just for a moment. There was a lot of blood so I called our doctor. He, in turn, rang the cops, and when they came, Marcus told them that I hit him and he wanted to press charges."

This is truly a screwed up situation. Marcus had it coming for a long time and I am sure that the blood he shed tonight is nothing in comparison to the pain his wife has suffered at his hands over the years. Yet, he is still the Deputy District Attorney and his friends will have a field day with her.

"I'm so sorry, Chantal. What are you gonna do?"

She wipes the tears off with the back of her hand, sniffling. "I don't know. Marcus won't give me money for a lawyer and I'll have to get a public defender. Hopefully, I'll be able to make bail, but the cop at the intake desk told me that he'll get a protection order against me. I won't be able to go home while the criminal charge is pending."

That is so unfair. "What about the kids? Maybe you could all go back to the shelter."

She snorts bitterly. "No judge will grant me custody under those circumstances. The kids will stay put and God only knows what he'll do to them to punish me. He knows they've always been my weak spot."

I can totally relate – so far, I have broken the law more than once to keep my son safe from harm.

"What about your little one?" she asks. "Is he with your dad while you're in here?"

"Yeah." I play with my cuticles. "Noah's fine."

She squeezes my hand. "So what did you do? Violate your probation?"

I glance at her. "Contempt of court. Brent's parents won temporary custody and I couldn't stomach Noah living with them and being abused by his grandfather, so I refused to turn him over. While I was in here, your husband pinned an assault charge on me and now I'm facing a probation violation."

Her gaze wanders in the distance. "That sucks. Marcus is good at that. He always gets what he wants. How much time are you looking at?"

A cold chill washes over me. "Ten years." My voice trembles and I hardly manage to get the words out.

"Oh, Rena. What are you going to do?" Her eyes are full of pity. "Seems like we are both screwed."

Our future outlooks are less than rosy. "If I'm in prison, the judge will likely place Noah with the Parks on a permanent basis. It doesn't look good. I can't even prove that Ryan is an abusive asshole and his wife is keeping her mouth shut." The rising tears make it difficult for me to breathe. Now I regret alienating Charlotte so much – she might have helped me if I had been just a bit nicer and had not always given her such a hard time. "I swear it'll kill me knowing that my son is with them – being beaten – and I'll be locked up, unable to do anything about it."

She nods. "That's the worst feeling." She gives me an encouraging hand squeeze. "But maybe your father can hide him long enough for things to work out. You can ask for a trial on the new charge and if you're found not guilty, the probation violation goes away."

My smile is feeble at best, that's not how probation violations work. The mere fact that I caught a new case could be enough and the burden for the state is much lower. "Yeah, we'll see. For now, Noah is safe. There's no way they'll ever find him."

"That's good. Once I get out of here, you'll have to tell me how to do it, so I can take Alyssa and Lamar and run."

I pucker my lips. "It's really not that hard. The key is to stay totally off the radar. You can't use your bank or credit cards, no car rental or anything else that keeps an electronic record."

She stares at me with admiration. "Wow, how do you know that?"

I shrug. "My dad's a cop so he knows a lot, plus–" I lean closer to make sure no one can overhear us. "–we have other sources in law enforcement. You can only fight people like Ryan Parks with their own weapons."

She grins. "True. I'm sure he's mad as hell that you're hiding your son from him and he's unable to find him."

That is one of the few things that keeps me going. "Yeah, he's furious. You should have seen his face the last time his trail went cold. He was ready to explode."

She snickers. "That must have been a sight. It would be great to do this to Marcus."

I couldn't agree more. "You just have to be willing to sever all ties. Move to a new state where people don't know you and where Marcus doesn't have any pull."

There is a flicker of doubt on her face. "I don't know. Marcus is from a big family and he's well connected. It would be hard to just disappear without a trace."

She must have someone she could turn to.

"How about your own family? Is there anyone who could help you?"

She shakes her head. "My parents are both dead and my brother and Marcus are very close." A quizzical look is tossed my way. "How about you? Other than your dad, do you have any family left?"

My heart swells when I think of my grandparents in Michigan - they have always been an important part of my life. "Yeah, my grandma and grandpa live up on Mackinaw Island."

"Oh." Chantal purses her lips. "It's really remote up there."

I grin. "Yes, very remote. Especially when you have a summer cabin far away from civilization."

She lowers her gaze. "I envy you. It would be the perfect place to hide someone."

For a second, I squint at her, not liking the trembling in her voice. Her body language has changed from one sentence to the next – she is staring at me now with big eyes while rising to her feet, slowly backing away.

"I'm sorry, Rena," she whispers. "They made me do it. They said I'll never see my kids again if I don't help them."

Her words do not sink in, the truth too horrible to comprehend. She is the mother of my best friend, an abused woman who knows exactly what I have been through and what is at stake. There is no way she will ever betray me.

By now, she has reached the door and pounds against it. "Open up. I got the information you're looking for."

The key turns in the look and the door opens with a low screech. Sam, Ryan and Detective Briar appear on the threshold, the latter two with wide grins on their faces. The triumph in Ryan's face finally allows the ugly truth to hit me full force – Chantal was planted in the cell to snitch on me. How could she have ever agreed to that?

"You bitch." I leap forward, but Sam blocks my way.

"Settle down," he hisses under his breath. "One assault charge is enough for one day."

Tears pool my eyes. "She tricked me."

His eyes scorch with anger and my gaze automatically travels to his hands to ascertain he won't strike me.

"I told you not to trust anyone," he says.

The words are spoken so low that I can barely hear him. I glance at the door, but Ryan and Briar are already gone, together with that traitor Chantal.

"Now gimme a phone number, so I can warn your dad."

I will not give him an opportunity to burn me, too. "What makes you think I trust you of all people after what just happened?" My voice is equally low, but everyone in the cell still stares at us.

He leans in, his breath grazing my ear. "Because I'm the only one who can still save your son."

So Ryan has won a strategic victory by planting Chantal in the cell and all seems lost for little Noah. What are your thoughts? Should Rena trust Sam or tell him to get lost?

I hope you liked this chapter and I would be thrilled if you could comment. Please don't forget the voting star if the chapter deserved it.

Next, we will visit Charlotte and Tivon in the hospital to find out if they can wiggle themselves out of the situation with Alex. Thanks for reading and I hope to see you again for the next instalment.