Framed, Then Reborn To Rule With The Harem System.

In & Out The Cell

Chapter 2.

Carson’s POV

The officers led me out of the building and toward the waiting car. This was actually real. My wrists were now aching from the cuffs. I tried to speak as they opened the back door.

“I didn’t do any of those things. You have to listen to me. Those women are lying.”

The male officer shook his head. “Save it for the station. Anything you say right now can make this worse.”

I looked at the other officer. She was a woman supposedly in her mid-thirties. She had sharp eyes and made no expression during my protests. She didn’t even glance at me as she guided me into the seat and shut the door harder than necessary.

The ride to the station was quiet except for the radio station that was on. I kept my eyes on the window, trying to slow my breathing. Every few minutes I started to explain again, but the male officer only repeated the same line.

“Keep quiet until we get there.”

When we arrived, they processed me fast. Too my fingerprints and a photo of me holding that black description cards I’ve only seen in movies. The female officer handled most of it. Her voice stayed flat and cold the entire time.

“Empty your pockets and stand right there. Don’t move.”

I followed every instruction. She never used my name. Just “you” and “the suspect.”

They took me down a hallway and stopped in front of a holding cell. Three other men were already inside. The moment the door opened, all three of them looked up.

The female officer shoved me in and locked it.

“I’m not meant to be here, please. I deserve to write a statement at least.” I said as I looked around the tiny room. There was a weird odour I couldn’t quite place coming from it.

“Enjoy the company,” she said under her breath, just loud enough for me to hear.

I stepped back until my shoulders hit the wall. The men watched me. One of them, a heavy guy with a scar on his cheek, smiled slowly.

“New meat,” he said.

Another one laughed. “Pretty boy too. Look at those clothes.”

I didn’t answer. I kept my eyes on the floor and stayed as far from them as the small cell allowed. Every time one of them shifted closer, my whole body tensed. They made comments and asked questions I refused to answer. Even though I had only spent an hour there, it felt like I’d been in there for months. The men had finally left me alone and were now playing some weird game– They were using knives to jab between their hands. Going slow then fast gradually.

God, I didn’t want to spend my entire life in this place. I started calculating the years a sexual offender would be spending in prison if found guilty.

“One two…maybe at least ten years?”

One of the men turned to me angrily. “What the hell do you think you’re calculating?”

“How long I’d spend here?”

“Well if you don’t keep shut, you might actually die in here.” He said as the rest of them laughed.

God please I can’t end this way. I prayed as I sank to the floor. I don’t know how long I sat there before the door opened again.

The same female officer stood there with a clipboard.

“Roberts. You’re out. Someone posted bail.”

I stepped out quickly. She cuffed me again for the walk upstairs and leaned in close as we moved.

“You got lucky this time,” she said, voice low. “Next time I catch a predator like you, I’ll make sure the paperwork takes a lot longer.”

I didn’t respond. She delivered me to a small meeting room where my father sat across from a man in a suit who I assumed was the commissioner. My father stood the moment he saw me.

“Carson.”

The officer removed the cuffs. My father signed a few papers, spoke quietly with the commissioner, then put a hand on my shoulder and guided me out of the building. Neither of us spoke until we were in his car.

He started the engine but didn’t drive yet.

“They’re dropping the immediate hold,” he said. “But the investigation is still open. Cara and the others are pushing hard and the legal team is already working on it.”

I stared straight ahead. “I didn’t touch any of them.”

“I know what you told me.” He sounded tired. “Just stay home for now. Don’t contact anyone from the office. Don’t post anything. Let the lawyers handle it.”

We drove in silence. When we reached the house, the front lights were on. My stepmother was waiting in the living room the moment we walked in.

She looked at me first, then at my father.

“So it’s true,” she said. “You brought that mess into this house.”

My father set his keys down. “Margaret, not now.”

“Not now?” Her voice rose. “He is accused of trying to harass multiple women at the company your family built, and you want me to stay quiet? Do you understand what people are already saying? An orphan we took in out of kindness, and this is how he repays us?”

I stood there and took it. My father tried to interrupt, but she kept going.

“I warned you years ago that bringing him here would cause problems. Now look. Lilian’s name is going to be dragged through this. The company is going to be dragged through this. All because he couldn’t control himself.”

“I didn’t do it,” I said.

She turned on me. “Of course you would say that. Men like you always do.”

My father raised his voice for the first time. “Enough. He is still my son, and this conversation is over for tonight.”

Margaret stared at him, then at me, and finally shook her head. “I hope you know what you’re protecting.”

She walked out of the room. Her footsteps faded up the stairs.

My father rubbed his face. “Go to your room, Carson. We’ll talk in the morning.”

I went upstairs without another word. My room felt smaller than usual. I sat on the edge of the bed and stared at the floor for a long time. The events of the day kept replaying. Cara’s face. The women standing together. The cuffs. The cell. My stepmother’s voice calling me an orphan who brought shame.

I lay back and closed my eyes, hoping sleep would come fast.

Then I heard a soft chime sounded inside my head.

I opened my eyes.

A translucent blue screen floated in the air above me.

[Harem System initializing…]

[The Host has reached extreme emotional and physical distress to activate .]

[Second chance protocol available.]

[Carson Roberts, do you accept the Harem System?]

I stared at it. My heart started beating faster. I reached out slowly, half expecting my hand to pass through nothing.

The screen stayed solid.

[Awaiting host’s response. Yes / No]

I pulled my hand back. This had to be stress. Hallucination. My mind was probably cracking after everything that happened today.

I turned onto my side, faced the wall, and closed my eyes again.

The screen remained in my vision even with my eyes shut.

I ignored it, forced my breathing to slow, and waited for sleep to take me.

Whatever this was, I told myself it would be gone by morning.