Risen To The Top

CHAPTER 4

Alex came back to consciousness with a thudding headache, eyes closed against the dull pain.

The back of his skull throbbed causing him unexplainable pain; he bit out a curse and moved his hand to inspect the damage , except that it didn't move, he couldn't move his arms, Something was restraining his arms. His legs too were immobilized, they had been tied tightly, he had noticed just now as he tried to get up

A steady dripping echoed all around him, but it seemed to come from a single source.

A runny tap, or a leak in the roof.

How long had he been out cold? He felt bruised all over his body. His lips were parched and hunger growls in his stomach. 

He cracked open his eyes to see better and perceive how deep in shit he was.

The blackness continued to engulf him. A tremor of panic vibrated in his core.

He could hear a loud sound coming from outside, it was the sound of other vehicles.

Everything was coming back to him, the dark events of the last two weeks. He could remember everything vividly… he could remember everything starting from two weeks ago after he hit Bruce.

He had hit Bruce hard, knocking him out cold in front of everyone at the hotel's restaurant where Bruce had intended to propose. Everything he did was captured on the live video and seen by the thousands of people watching, they had seen his violent reaction but only he and Sarah knew the reason for his violent outburst.

Immediately he knocked Bruce out, he had been pinned violently to the ground by the security around.

After beating the living shit out of him the security guards had dragged his half dead body and locked him up in their waiting room.

He had been left alone in the waiting room, the four walls enclosing on him, suffocating him, reminding him of his constant pain, the pain of watching the only woman he had ever loved happy with another man.

He has been left alone and he couldn't help but reflect on all the memories he had of her, he had no other family. He had lived his life for her, and he wasn't ready to lose, he was going to fight for her love no matter the cost.

He had been left in the security guards waiting cell till almost three a.m when the police came and after a brief discussion with the hotel's security he was handed over to the police, he was taken to a police cell where he spent the night.

He had no family member who could be worried about his disappearance, Sarah was the only person he had.

The night was the longest night he had ever had, he kept on slipping in and out of consciousness, having short dreams about Sarah, she was all he could think of, she was his everything. The thought that she could be with Bruce now made his chest tighten, he had stopped crying already but the pain was only worse.

He hoped he could get released tomorrow so he could see Sarah, even if it was going to be the last time he would see her.

The next morning, Alex was woken by a loud clanking sound on the iron bar of the cell. He had not slept all through the night, he had just closed his eyes hoping to ease the pain.

A police officer was staring at him queerly as he peered through a piece of paper he was holding, he looked like he was trying to be sure of the identity, the man opened the door and dragged him by his cuffs to another room where he saw two other men, they were both dressed in black suits with dark expressions on their faces.

The police officer dropped him at the corner of the room where he quickly curled into a ball, ignoring the men who talked in hush tones and whispers.

After a while, a different police officer came and  led Alex to a black police van waiting outside the police station. Alex wasn't aware of anything, he was starving, cold, tired, heartbroken and his whole body still aches badly from the beating he had received the previous night.

He was taken to a bigger prison in another state, while on the van he had eavesdropped on the police officers conversation and he had heard that Bruce's situation was quite serious,he had suffered a concussion, and they had taken him for quick surgery.

Everything around Alex was new, he had never been to prison before, he got several bad looks from the wardens and other prisoners.

Compared to the other prisoners, he was frail and lanky, his hair was short, he stuttered when he talked, his face was swollen from the constant beatings, his color was pale and he was timid.

He was an easy target for everyone.

After two weeks of hell in the prison, his trial was finally set.

Alex was given a cleaner pair of uniform, he was put in handcuffs, his legs were also cuffed as he was led to his trial. He didn't know about anything going on, he heard that the court had hired a lawyer for him.

When he got to court, he was dragged into the waiting court.

His charges were read out and he found out that he was charged for, aggravated assault, sexual assault, domestic violence and alleged theft. His lawyer didn't do anything to discharge the claims.

The witnesses were called forward, Alex watched in awe as his colleagues came to testify against him,they all testified to finding stolen company goods in his office. His landlord came to testify against him, he testified that he always heard when Alex beat up his fiance Sarah and whenever he attempted to call the police Alex always threatened to kill him. The security guards also came to testify against him, their testimony couldn't even be discharged because thousands of people saw him assault Bruce on the live video, when the last witness was called Alex found himself crying again silently, he had been silent throughout the trial but his heart ached badly.

Sarah testified to being a victim of domestic violence under Alex, she testified to being the victim of several threats and assault from Alex.

Tears rolled down Alex's cheek as he kept on trying to catch her eye but she never looked at him, when she was done she quickly got off the podium and walked back to where she came from, avoiding eye contact with him.

With all evidence stacked against him, his trial was quickly wrapped up, and he was sentenced to twenty years in prison.

He was led out in shackles and put in a different van.

He knew the Connery family were behind everything, he was working for their company before everything had happened and he knew what they were capable of.

After sometime, the van stopped moving and the door opened again, two men quickly got in and shut the door, tying Alex's mouth with a thick cloth they beat the hell out of him again. Apparently the judge had changed his mind, had pity on him and given him twenty years instead of the planned forty years in prison, the Connery family were not happy with the decision so they had sent men to hijack the van and beat the living crap out of him.