CHAPTER 1 — The Fight Everyone Paid to See
No one survived their first night in Blackridge Federal Prison without choosing a side.
Some joined gangs.
Some paid for protection.
The unlucky ones became entertainment.
Every Friday night, hundreds of inmates gathered around the underground fighting pit hidden beneath the oldest cell block. Guards looked the other way as millions of dollars in illegal bets changed hands.
There was only one rule.
Walk in alive. Hope you walked out at all.
For six years, one man ruled the pit.
His name was Brutus Kane.
Towering over everyone at six-foot-six, covered in scars and prison tattoos, Brutus had broken more than eighty opponents without ever being knocked unconscious.
The prisoners called him...
"The Devil of Cellblock C."
Whenever Brutus entered the arena, men stopped talking.
Even gang leaders lowered their eyes.
Tonight, however...
Everyone laughed.
Because standing across from Brutus wasn't another giant.
It was a young blond inmate who looked like he'd barely survived his first week in prison.
His file said only one thing.
Name: Ethan Cole.
Age: 29.
Former occupation: Unknown.
No gang affiliation.
No fighting history.
No visitors.
No family.
Just another man waiting to disappear.
The crowd erupted.
"He's dead!"
"Thirty seconds!"
"I'll bet two cartons of cigarettes Brutus crushes his skull!"
Brutus slowly walked toward Ethan with a cruel grin.
"You know what happens to rookies who waste my time?"
Ethan quietly wrapped the old bandages around his hands.
"I came here to leave with answers."
Brutus laughed so hard tears formed in his eyes.
"Answers?"
He leaned close enough for Ethan to smell the blood on his breath.
"You'll leave in a body bag."
The bell echoed.
Brutus charged like an enraged bull.
The first punch shattered the concrete wall behind Ethan...
But Ethan was no longer standing there.
For the first time in six years...
Brutus had completely missed.
The crowd instantly fell silent.
Nobody had ever made the champion miss before.
Not even once.
And somewhere above the arena...
May you like
An old prisoner watching from the shadows suddenly whispered three words that made another inmate turn pale.
"He's still alive..."
