Chapter 8 - The Prison VisitTwo months after graduation, inside the sterile, fluorescent-lit visiting room of the federal correctional facility, the heavy metal door clicked open.

Arthur Vance walked in wearing a standard-issue orange jumpsuit, his hair unstyled, his posture slumped. The man who had once commanded boardrooms, funded political campaigns, and struck his own daughter in public now looked small, defeated, and profoundly tired.

He sat down across the thick plexiglass divider, picking up the heavy black telephone receiver with shaking hands.

I sat on the other side, wearing my pristine lieutenant's uniform, my expression completely neutral.

Arthur slowly picked up his receiver and pressed it to his ear. For a long moment, neither of us spoke. The background noise of other inmates and visitors hummed through the static of the line.

"You look well, Audrey," Arthur said finally, his voice sounding raspy, stripped of its former booming arrogance. "The uniform... it suits you."

"It does," I replied evenly. "It represents everything you tried to prevent me from achieving."

Arthur swallowed hard, his eyes dropping to the steel table between us. "Your mother... she’s staying with a cousin in Florida. She lost the house. The bank seized everything. Julian is... Julian is working at a fast-food joint downtown, trying to pay off his legal fees before his trial starts."

"They reap what they sowed," I said without malice, but without a drop of pity either. "Just like you."

Arthur looked up, a flicker of his old desperation flashing across his eyes. "Audrey... I’m your father. Can't you use your position? Can't you talk to the prosecutors? A deal... a reduced sentence? We can settle this privately."

I shook my head slowly, letting out a quiet breath.

"You spent four years telling everyone I was a failure, Dad," I said, my voice cutting through the plexiglass with absolute finality. "You taught me how to survive without help, how to outsmart systemic corruption, and how to stand tall when someone tries to knock you down."

I stood up, adjusting the collar of my uniform.

May you like

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"Thank you for the training," I added softly. "Goodbye, Arthur."

I hung up the phone, turned on my heel, and walked out of the visitor center without looking back once.