Chapter 101

At the company's break area, Madeleine held a cup of soy milk, nervously clutching her phone. Please be okay... Ava, hang in there. In Madeleine's eyes, Ava was the type of woman who'd bloom even in the dirtiest mud. She was tough as nails. Back in prison, Ava had shared that she lost a child once because she didn't know the man she was with was already married. She got pregnant, and when she found out the truth, she confronted him for money, claiming if he didn't pay up, she'd get rid of the baby. Truth was, she'd already had the abortion. It was just to get back at that jerk. But things spiraled. The man, with his wife, ended up having Ava thrown in prison for blackmail. The whole thing was absurd. Ava had always said, "Men? Not one of them's trustworthy." After her release, she swore she'd use men as stepping stones, climb up by any means. But now, somehow, she'd been tricked again. Madeleine had watched her get beaten and couldn't even step in to help. A man like that... even worse