CHAPTER 2 — The Night Victor Realized He Had Chosen the Wrong Woman
By midnight, every inmate in Cell Block D was awake.
Nobody wanted to miss what Victor Kane had promised.
The woman sat alone at the end of the cafeteria table, quietly eating the untouched bread from her tray.
Her name was finally whispered through the block.
Elena Cross.
That was what the prison records said.
Thirty-two years old.
Convicted for assaulting three federal agents.
Sentenced to life.
But nobody believed that was the full story.
A woman like her did not belong in Cell Block D.
She had no gang.
No protection.
No fear.
That made the prisoners uneasy.
Fear was currency inside Blackstone.
If someone had none, it meant one of two things.
They were insane.
Or they were more dangerous than everyone else.
Victor did not care.
At exactly 12:17 a.m., the lights flickered.
The guards suddenly disappeared from the observation windows.
The cameras in the corridor turned away.
Everyone knew what that meant.
Victor had paid for privacy.
Slowly, he walked into the cafeteria with six of his strongest men behind him.
The room became silent.
Elena set down her bread.
Victor smiled.
"I told you," he said. "You wouldn't make it to breakfast."
Elena looked up.
"You brought six men?"
Victor's smile faded.
"Smart people bring backup."
Elena wiped her hands with a napkin.
"No."
She stood.
"Scared people do."
One of Victor's men lunged first.
He was nearly twice her size.
Elena moved only half a step.
Her hand struck his wrist.
His knife dropped.
Before anyone understood what happened, she twisted his arm behind his back and slammed his face into the table.
The sound cracked through the cafeteria.
The second man rushed her.
She grabbed the metal tray from the table and drove it into his throat.
He collapsed, gasping.
The third tried to grab her from behind.
Elena stepped backward, hooked her foot behind his knee, and dropped him hard onto the concrete.
Three men down.
In less than ten seconds.
Nobody laughed now.
Victor's eyes widened.
The woman had not screamed.
Had not panicked.
Had not even breathed heavily.
She fought like someone who had done this in darker places than prison.
Victor roared and charged.
The entire room shook under his weight.
Elena waited.
At the last second, she turned sideways.
Victor crashed into the table.
Before he could recover, Elena pressed two fingers into a nerve point beneath his jaw.
Victor froze.
His massive body locked in place.
His knees hit the floor.
A gasp spread through the room.
Victor Kane...
The king of Cell Block D...
Was kneeling.
Elena leaned close and whispered,
"You should have let me eat in peace."
Then she released him.
Victor fell forward, coughing violently.
His men crawled away from her.
For the first time in twenty-five years...
Victor looked afraid.
But Elena did not finish him.
She simply picked up her tray, walked to the trash bin, and threw it away.
Then she returned to her cell.
No celebration.
No speech.
No threats.
Just silence.
That silence was worse than violence.
By morning, the entire prison had changed.
Inmates stepped away when Elena walked by.
Guards stared at her through the glass with pale faces.
Even Victor stayed inside his cell.
But the real danger had not come from Victor.
It came from outside.
At 9:00 a.m., the warden received a phone call from Washington.
His face turned white.
"What do you mean she was never supposed to be transferred here?"
The voice on the phone was cold.
"Because Elena Cross is not an inmate."
The warden gripped the desk.
"Then what is she?"
A long pause followed.
Then the voice answered,
"She is the only person who can identify the man hiding inside your prison."
The warden looked toward Cell Block D.
His blood went cold.
"Who?"
The voice replied,
"A war criminal. A cartel financier. A man responsible for over two hundred deaths."
The warden whispered,
"Inside my prison?"
"Yes."
"And Elena was sent in undercover to expose him."
The warden’s hand began to shake.
"Who is the target?"
Before the voice could answer...
The prison alarm exploded.
Red lights flashed.
Sirens screamed.
A guard burst into the office.
"Sir!"
"What happened?"
The guard could barely speak.
"Cell Block D..."
The warden stood.
"What about it?"
The guard swallowed hard.
"Victor Kane just asked to speak to Elena Cross."
The warden frowned.
"Why?"
May you like
The guard's face turned pale.
"Because he says he knows who the real monster is."
