Chapter Three

Two Months Later

"Jeepers!" Daphne exclaimed after she shorted her tenth line of cocaine.

Hearing her say that never got old for the Warden. It was the cutest expression coming from her. Daphne knew what to do next as she walked to the Warden's desk, pulled down her pants and underwear and leaned over his desk. The Warden walked behind her and began to rub her ass. She heard him breathe heavily, and she smiled.

"I'm so glad you still love my ass," Daphne said quickly.

"You bet I do," the Warden replied breathlessly.

"So why don't you just fuck me?"

Although Daphne was as high as a kite, it didn't stop the Warden from being shocked when she asked that question.

"What?" he asked.

"Why don't you just fuck me?" she repeated quickly. "When you had me in solitary, you just came by and washed me. You could have fucked me then,"

"I don't rape women, Daphne," the Warden said. "It's never sexy when a woman says no and don't. Plus, there's all that crying and them trying to fight you off. It's more trouble than it's worth. When it comes to you, I want you to want me,"

Even in her current state, Daphne found that confusing.

"But you feel me up all the time," she said quickly.

"I feel you up, but I don't penetrate you," the Warden said. "There's a difference,"

"Oh,"

The Warden lifted Daphne's shirt and began to touch her back. Then something else came to mind.

"Why haven't Fred and my lawyer come to see me?" Daphne asked quickly. "It's been two months. Where are they?"

"I don't know where they are," the Warden responded honestly.

"Are they going to come back? Have they been in touch with you?"

Although the Warden was annoyed that she was bringing up Fred, he was amazed that his plan had worked as well as it did.

"No, I haven't heard from them," the Warden said, amazed that he wasn't lying.

"Oh," Daphne said. "Then keep feeling me up. I like how your hands feel,"

The Warden couldn't help but laugh as he thought Daphne was adorable when she was high.

XXXXX

After the Warden had his usual fun with her, Charlie escorted Daphne to the mess hall for lunch. Although she was high, she noticed the sad look on Charlie's face and felt concerned.

"So, what's up with you?" Daphne asked quickly. "You look sad,"

"I don't want to talk about it," Charlie replied.

"Oh, come on," she persisted. "You should talk to someone,"

Daphne was the last person he wanted to talk to, but it was apparent she wouldn't shut up until he did.

"If you must know, one of the guards died last night," he replied. "He had a heart attack,"

"I'm sorry to hear that," Daphne said quickly.

"Oh, bullshit," he said, annoyed. "Even if you weren't high, you would never mean that,"

That hurt Daphne.

"I do mean it," she said.

Charlie sighed, annoyed, as they approached the mess hall doors.

"Just go in there and eat your lunch," he said curtly. "Then I'll take you into the yard,"

"Fine," Daphne said quickly and annoyed.

Daphne walked away from Charlie into the empty hall to her usual table, where her lunch was waiting for her. She sat down and was about to eat salad when she noticed something. Something different that wasn't part of her lunch before. A small drop of red liquid. Then, another drop appeared. Followed by another and another. Daphne realised that the liquid was blood coming from her nose. Then, her nose began to bleed out. It was practically gushing, and Daphne screamed in fear.

"Oh, my God!" she shouted.

Charlie looked at Daphne, surprised, and saw how much her nose was bleeding. Daphne picked up a napkin to stop the bleeding, but it couldn't be stopped. It just kept on bleeding and bleeding. Then, she began to feel light-headed.

"Help me!" she whimpered.

Daphne fell forward on her table as Charlie ran to her table. He grabbed her shoulders and lifted her back to see how scared she was.

"Please help me!" she begged. "I don't want to die in here! I don't want to die!"

"You're not going to die," Charlie said.

He pulled her chair out. Then he placed his left hand under her legs and his right under her shoulders. Charlie lifted her and carried her out of the mess hall.

"I don't want to die!" Daphne cried. "I don't want to die!"

As Charlie carried her through the halls and listened to how scared she was as she begged for her life, he realised that Daphne was a real person and not just some prisoner. The Warden had forced her to become a cocaine addict, and he had been one of the people who helped in that process. He remembered how he laughed at her with the other guards, and as he approached the infirmary, Charlie realised that he couldn't laugh at Daphne anymore.

XXXXX

It was hours later, in late afternoon, when the Doctor met with the Warden in his office. The Doctor was a man in his early fifties with grey hair and brown eyes. Charlie was there, too. Then, tension was beyond palpable as they all worried about Daphne from different perspectives.

"What's going on with Daphne?" the Warden asked. "Is she going to be okay?"

"She will be, but not if she stays here," the Doctor replied.

"What?" the Warden asked sharply.

It was no secret that the Warden had strong feelings towards Daphne, but the Doctor had to stand his ground. Charlie couldn't believe what the Doctor had said because he knew the Warden better than he did.

"Miss Blake has done too much cocaine, and she needs to be placed in rehab," the Doctor said. "There's no way around it, and it would be dangerous for her to do cocaine again,"

"No!" the Warden shouted. "She's not leaving this prison! She's my bitch, and she's staying here!"

"Then what do you suggest if you don't want her to leave?" the Doctor asked.

"Get what she needs here, and I'll pay for it out of my own pocket because it can't come out of the prison budget," the Warden said to the Doctor before he looked at Charlie. "I understand you smoke weed,"

Charlie couldn't believe he had been brought into the conversation as he thought he wouldn't be needed.

"Yeah, occasionally," Charlie admitted.

"When Daphne is over her cocaine addiction, then get her onto weed," the Warden said to Charlie before he turned his attention back to the Doctor. "How soon can you get what she needs here?"

"It depends on what's available in the area," the Doctor admitted.

"Just get it done because I want Daphne well again," the Warden said. "Nothing is going to get in the way of my time with that bitch,"

"Yes, sir," the Doctor said respectfully.

When Daphne first arrived at Coolsville Prison, Charlie thought of her as just another prisoner. Now, he saw her as an enslaved person, and he wondered how Daphne was going to survive with the decades of incarceration ahead of her.

XXXXX

Except for a nurse watching her, Daphne was alone in the infirmary. She was still feeling sick from the severe nosebleed, but she was happy to be alive. Or so she thought until she began watching the news on television. A handsome newsreader had a happy expression, and the words "Mystery Inc.'s Surprise Announcement!" were on the screen behind him.

"And in other news, Mystery Inc. held a press conference to announce a big surprise to their fans," the newsreader said.

Daphne sat up immediately.

"What the hell?" she asked shocked.

Fred stood behind a podium in front of lots of journalists, photographers and fans.

"We've had a challenging year, as you all know, but we've recently been blessed with some incredible news," Fred said. "We have a new member. Would you like to meet her?"

Daphne didn't know what was making her more angry. The fact that Mystery Inc. was announcing they had a new member without telling her first or that Fred was being so infuriatingly corny about it.

"Yes!" various journalists and fans repeatedly.

"Ladies and gentlemen, I'm proud to introduce you to," Fred said before pausing for effect. "Stephanie Hannah!"

Daphne was devasted to see that it was the blonde woman that Fred had told her about the last time he wrote to her. Fred stepped away from the podium as Stephanie walked up to it.

"Ladies and gentlemen, I couldn't be prouder to be the new member of Mystery Inc.," Stephanie said. "I couldn't believe my luck when I met them in Scotland earlier in the year, and I was so happy that I could help them with a difficult mystery they were working on,"

"You goddamn bitch!" Daphne shouted.

"When I returned to the States after they did, the last thing I expected was to receive a message from Fred offering me such an exciting new job, and I hope I continue to meet his expectations, and more importantly, yours, the fans that have been so great to Mystery Inc. for nearly ten years now," Stephanie continued.

Fred walked closer to the podium, and Daphne thought she would be sick.

"And that's not the only new announcement we'd like to make," Fred said.

Fred and Stephanie looked at each other and then kissed. The crowd went wild, and Daphne cried uncontrollably. All those years together, they amounted to nothing, from falling in love in high school to solving their first case to Fred asking her to marry him. Daphne couldn't believe it was all over, and she had to discover this while watching television after nearly dying from forced cocaine addiction. Fred wasn't honorable and brave to tell her in person that their relationship was over. He threw her away like the judge did when he told her she was going to spend her life in prison for a crime she didn't commit.

"Goddamn you, Fred!" Daphne shouted through her tears. "I gave you everything! I gave you my heart and soul, and this is how you treat me? Goddamn you!"

Daphne continued to cry with how helpless and alone she was, and she wondered just how much more she could take. When she looked back on her life, she couldn't imagine what she had done to deserve such a horrific life and unfair future.