CHAPTER 4 — THE PRISON BOSS'S DARKEST SECRET
Marcus pulled the trigger.
Click.
Nothing.
His gun was empty.
Before he could react, one of the Belgian Malinois lunged forward, knocking the weapon from his hand. It skidded across the concrete floor, disappearing into the darkness.
Marcus staggered backward.
"You think you've won?" he snarled. "You have no idea what this place really is."
Ava calmly picked up one of the classified folders lying on a steel table.
Inside were photographs of dozens of missing inmates.
Some had vanished only weeks earlier.
Others had supposedly "died" years ago.
But according to the files...
None of them were dead.
They had been sold to a private security corporation conducting illegal human experiments.
Ava's hands trembled as she turned another page.
At the bottom of the report was a signature.
Not Marcus Kane.
Someone far more powerful.
Director Samuel Pierce.
The man who appeared on television every week promising prison reform.
The man the entire country trusted.
Marcus burst into laughter.
"You finally understand."
"I was never the boss."
"I was just the man cleaning up someone else's mess."
Suddenly, every light inside the underground bunker went dark.
Emergency alarms screamed through the tunnels.
A cold mechanical voice echoed from hidden speakers.
"Security Breach Detected."
"Protocol Black Activated."
Heavy steel doors slammed shut, sealing every exit.
The prisoners upstairs began pounding on the floors as panic spread through Blackridge.
Then...
A slow clap echoed from the darkness.
A man in an expensive black suit stepped into the emergency lights, smiling as if he had expected this moment all along.
"Welcome back, Agent Carter."
Ava's face turned pale.
She hadn't seen him in twelve years.
Director Samuel Pierce.
The man she believed had died in an explosion...
...was standing right in front of her.
He smiled calmly.
"I've been waiting for you to discover the truth."
Then he looked directly at Marcus.
"You've outlived your usefulness."
Before Marcus could speak, a suppressed gunshot echoed through the bunker.
Marcus Kane collapsed to the floor.
The ruler of Blackridge Prison was dead.
May you like
But the real mastermind...
Had only just arrived.
