CHAPTER 3 — THE SECRET BENEATH CELL BLOCK 13
Ethan barely had time to process the Ghost's words.
"The prison warden is your father."
Before he could respond, a deafening siren echoed through the underground arena.
The guards rushed in.
The Ghost suddenly attacked Ethan with a brutal punch to the jaw.
The audience erupted with cheers.
To everyone watching, it looked like another savage beating.
But as Ethan crashed into the sand, the Ghost slipped something into his hand.
A tiny steel key.
"No matter what happens..." he whispered.
"...hide it."
Then he slammed Ethan into the wall hard enough to convince the spectators the fight was over.
The announcer laughed.
"Looks like the rookie survives another day!"
The wealthy gamblers booed.
They had wanted blood.
Back in his cell, Ethan examined the key.
A faded number was scratched into it.
B-13
The old prisoner across the hallway suddenly turned pale.
"You need to throw that away."
"What is B-13?"
The old man refused to answer.
Instead...
He quietly pulled up his prison shirt.
Across his chest was an ugly surgical scar running from his neck to his stomach.
"They took my brother there."
"They brought back... pieces."
Before Ethan could ask more questions, every light inside the prison suddenly went out.
Complete darkness.
Then...
Heavy footsteps echoed through the corridor.
One by one...
Cell doors opened automatically.
Not by guards.
By someone inside the prison's security system.
A calm female voice echoed through hidden speakers.
"Ethan Kane..."
"If you want the truth..."
"Follow the blue lights."
Tiny blue emergency lights flickered alive along the floor.
Every prisoner remained frozen.
Nobody dared move.
Only Ethan stepped outside.
The glowing path led deep beneath the prison.
Far below the fighting arena...
Far below the execution chambers...
He finally reached a massive steel door.
CELL BLOCK 13
The key fit perfectly.
The door slowly creaked open.
Inside...
Hundreds of prison uniforms hung neatly from the ceiling.
Every uniform carried a different inmate number.
Every inmate...
Officially listed as dead.
And in the center of the room stood hundreds of locked glass tanks.
Each one contained medical files...
DNA samples...
And photographs.
Ethan froze when he found one file labeled with his own name.
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Across the cover were five horrifying words.
"PROJECT PHOENIX — SUBJECT 001."
