Runbound
Prologue
𝘗𝘦𝘰𝘱𝘭𝘦 𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘯𝘬 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘵𝘳𝘶𝘵𝘩
𝘸𝘪𝘯𝘴 𝘪𝘯 𝘢 𝘤𝘰𝘶𝘳𝘵𝘳𝘰𝘰𝘮.
𝘐𝘵 𝘥𝘰𝘦𝘴𝘯'𝘵.
𝘛𝘩𝘦 𝘣𝘦𝘵𝘵𝘦𝘳 𝘭𝘪𝘢𝘳 𝘥𝘰𝘦𝘴.
Elara Vale stood inside the witness box, dressed in black from head to toe. Not because she was mourning. But because black never remembered fingerprints.
The courtroom smelled faintly of old paper and polished wood. Lawyers shuffled through files they had memorized days ago. A ceiling fan groaned overhead, moving warm air from one corner to another as if it had given up trying to make anyone comfortable.
Her fingers rested loosely against the wooden railing. She looked calm, steady and almost bored.
Prosecutor
Miss Vale *he began, adjusting his glasses* you expect this court to believe that you had absolutely nothing to do with Mr. Harrison's death?
Elara Vales
I expect the court to believe the evidence.
𝐶𝑜𝑛𝑓𝑖𝑑𝑒𝑛𝑐𝑒 𝑎𝑙𝑤𝑎𝑦𝑠 𝑠𝑜𝑢𝑛𝑑𝑠 𝑙𝑖𝑘𝑒 𝑎𝑟𝑟𝑜𝑔𝑎𝑛𝑐𝑒 𝑡𝑜 𝑝𝑒𝑜𝑝𝑙𝑒 𝑤ℎ𝑜 𝑑𝑜𝑛'𝑡 ℎ𝑎𝑣𝑒 𝑎𝑛𝑦.
The prosecutor smiled. The kind reserved for people convinced they'd already won.
Prosecutor
You visited the victim's residence the very night he died. *smiles*
Prosecutor
You were the last known person seen entering his house.
Prosecutor
And shortly after...
Prosecutor
...he was found dead.
A moment of silence took over the court.
Elara Vales
The toxicology report.
Elara's voice remained level.
Elara Vales
It states acute fentanyl overdose.
Elara Vales
It also states the drug entered his bloodstream nearly two hours after I left.
She took a pause, her lips curling into the faintest smirk manhood have known.
Elara Vales
I assume you've read your own evidence.
People hate discovering they've been arguing with someone smarter.
Prosecutor
You still don't have an alibi for those two hours.
Prosecutor
*leans forward*
For the first time since entering the courtroom...
Just enough for anyone paying attention to notice. She looked toward the back of the courtroom.
𝑇𝑜𝑤𝑎𝑟𝑑 𝑡ℎ𝑒 𝑚𝑎𝑛 𝑠𝑖𝑡𝑡𝑖𝑛𝑔 𝑤𝑖𝑡ℎ ℎ𝑎𝑛𝑑𝑐𝑢𝑓𝑓𝑠 𝑎𝑟𝑜𝑢𝑛𝑑 ℎ𝑖𝑠 𝑤𝑟𝑖𝑠𝑡s.
The prosecutor followed her gaze.
Prosecutor
...you're saying you weren't alone?
Prosecutor
Who were you with?
The room waited. Even the judge.
Then said the last name she'd ever wanted attached to hers.
𝘍𝘶𝘯𝘯𝘺 𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘢𝘣𝘰𝘶𝘵 𝘢𝘭𝘪𝘣𝘪𝘴.
𝘚𝘰𝘮𝘦𝘵𝘪𝘮𝘦𝘴 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘺 𝘴𝘢𝘷𝘦 𝘺𝘰𝘶𝘳 𝘭𝘪𝘧𝘦.
𝘚𝘰𝘮𝘦𝘵𝘪𝘮𝘦𝘴...
...𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘺 𝘳𝘶𝘪𝘯 𝘪𝘵.
Runbound: Cast
[Don't SKIP THIS CHAPTER. It consists of character's introduction and their profession, which is important for the story.]
Some roads don't lead you home.
Some roads don't let you leave.
Runbound is a story about two people who spend their lives running; from the law, from their pasts, from each other, and from something far more dangerous than either of them realizes.
Every escape comes with a price, every lie leaves a trail, and every choice pulls them closer to a destination they were never meant to reach.
Sometimes, the road chooses you long before you choose it.
⚠ Reader Discretion is Advised
This book contains themes including:
Crime & Criminal Activity
Violence & Blood
Death
Psychological Manipulation
Strong Language
Moral Ambiguity
Dark Romance
Mature Themes
Con
Also, this book is total fiction. A bit fantasy.
© COPYRIGHT
© All Rights Reserved.
This work is an original creation by Aidia.
No part of this story may be copied, translated, reproduced, adapted, or redistributed in any form without the author's permission.
If you find this story published anywhere other than my official account, please report it immediately, except wattpad. As, I have uploaded this book on Wattpad too!
Thank you for respecting the countless hours, effort, and imagination poured into this book.
Another thing, it's a purely morally-grey story, if you're not someone who loves this genre, please drop this story!
Storm-grey eyes that never stayed warm long enough to be trusted. Dark hair, always a little unkempt. A crooked nose that had been broken once and healed wrong, a faint scar cutting through his right eyebrow, and hands rough enough to tell stories without words. He wasn't the kind of man people admired from across the room.
He was the kind they instinctively stepped aside for.
His face was carved with sharp angles, a defined jaw dusted with perpetual stubble, and lips that rarely curved into anything more than a crooked, knowing smirk. But it was his eyes that unsettled people the most.
They were an impossible shade of storm grey, cold as rainclouds moments before they burst, with a thin amber ring circling each pupil. In sunlight, they almost looked silver. In the dark, they looked like they belonged to someone who had seen too much and regretted too little. His scarred knuckles, calloused hands, and unhurried movements completed the picture.
Soft amber eyes that smiled long before she did. Honey-blonde hair she wore differently every other week, as if even her reflection wasn't allowed to know her for too long. Delicate features hid behind an unreadable expression, while the tiny mole beneath her left eye became the only thing people remembered after she disappeared. She moved with effortless confidence, spoke with impossible ease, and wore identities as naturally as clothes.
She never looked like someone you'd run from.That's why everyone walked straight toward her.
Her greatest weapon was never a gun.
It was making people believe she didn't need one.
______________________________
Note: I'm so used to write in long paragraphs that I just tend to write everything in detail. so, I hope that's not a problem! Give your love to the story. 🤏🏻
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