CHAPTER 4 — The Queen of Cell Block C Falls
The prison had never been so quiet.
Not after a riot.
Not after an escape attempt.
Not even after an inmate had died years before.
This silence was different.
It was the silence of fear changing sides.
Raven stood frozen in the middle of the prison garden as federal agents handcuffed the correctional officer she had trusted for years.
The officer shouted desperately.
"I didn't do anything!"
Emma calmly opened another page in her notebook.
"March 18."
"You accepted five thousand dollars to leave Camera 14 offline for exactly twenty-three minutes."
The officer's face turned white.
Emma continued.
"April 2."
"You ordered two inmates transferred into solitary after they witnessed contraband deliveries."
Another agent quietly nodded.
"Confirmed."
The handcuffs clicked shut.
For the first time in twelve years...
Raven realized she had been nothing more than a pawn.
She glared at Emma.
"You used me."
Emma slowly shook her head.
"No."
"The people behind you did."
"They made sure everyone feared you."
"While nobody looked at them."
The truth hit Raven harder than any punch.
Every fight.
Every punishment.
Every act of violence...
Had been useful for someone else.
While prisoners blamed Raven...
Corrupt staff made fortunes behind locked doors.
By evening, the prison looked like a crime scene.
Federal investigators searched every office.
Drug-sniffing dogs uncovered hidden compartments beneath storage rooms.
Financial investigators seized computers.
Phones.
Flash drives.
Bank records.
The list kept growing.
Then came the biggest discovery.
Hidden beneath the prison greenhouse...
Agents uncovered a concrete tunnel.
Inside were expensive electronics, luxury watches, narcotics, cash, and prison records that should have been destroyed years ago.
The tunnel connected directly to an abandoned warehouse outside the prison walls.
The entire corruption network had operated beneath everyone's feet.
The prison warden collapsed into his chair.
"This... this can't be happening..."
Emma looked at him quietly.
"It already happened."
"You just chose not to see it."
That night...
For the first time since entering prison...
Emma was moved into protective custody.
As the heavy steel door closed behind her...
Someone slipped a folded piece of paper underneath it.
Only three words were written.
"You're dead tomorrow."
Emma smiled slightly.
"They're getting desperate."
May you like
Outside...
Someone was already planning her murder.
