CHAPTER 4 — "The Woman Everyone Feared Was Only a Pawn"
At exactly 2:17 a.m., Emily opened her eyes.
She hadn't been sleeping.
Years of military operations had taught her that threats usually arrived before dawn.
The hallway outside remained silent.
Too silent.
Then—
Footsteps.
Slow.
Careful.
Not a guard.
Someone stopped outside her cell.
A tiny metallic click echoed from the lock.
Emily stepped into the darkest corner of the room.
The door opened by less than an inch.
A masked figure slipped inside holding a sharpened toothbrush wrapped in cloth.
The attacker lunged without hesitation.
Emily moved first.
She trapped the wrist.
Twisted.
The homemade knife clattered across the floor.
Before the intruder could scream, Emily pinned them against the wall.
"Who sent you?"
No answer.
Only heavy breathing.
Then another voice whispered from the hallway.
"Finish her!"
Three more masked inmates rushed into the cell.
Emily realized immediately—
This wasn't revenge.
It was an execution.
The first attacker swung a steel food tray.
Emily ducked.
The tray smashed into the concrete wall.
She drove her shoulder into the attacker's chest, sending her crashing backward into the others.
The narrow cell erupted into chaos.
Punches.
Elbows.
Bodies colliding.
Within seconds, one woman lay unconscious.
Another crawled toward the door.
The third froze after Emily caught her by the wrist.
Emily didn't strike.
Instead, she whispered,
"You still have a choice."
The woman's eyes widened.
No inmate had ever shown mercy during a prison fight.
She burst into tears.
"It wasn't my idea!"
"They said they'd kill my daughter if I refused!"
Emily slowly released her.
"Who?"
The terrified woman shook uncontrollably.
"I've never seen her face."
"Orders always come through someone else."
"Everyone calls her..."
"...the Queen."
Before Emily could ask another question—
A gunshot exploded somewhere outside the cell block.
Every alarm in the prison activated at once.
Red emergency lights flooded the corridors.
Guards shouted.
Doors slammed.
Smoke began pouring from the laundry wing.
Someone had started a fire.
But it wasn't an escape attempt.
It was a distraction.
High above the prison yard, hidden behind reinforced glass, a woman in an elegant black suit calmly watched the chaos unfold through security monitors.
Unlike the prisoners...
She wore no inmate uniform.
Only expensive heels.
White gloves.
And a diamond ring shaped like a serpent.
She smiled as Emily's image appeared on one of the screens.
"So..."
"Captain Emily Carter."
"I've waited a very long time to meet you."
She pressed a button beneath the monitor.
Across the prison, dozens of hidden cell phones vibrated simultaneously inside different cells.
One encrypted message appeared on every screen.
May you like
Kill Emily before sunrise.
The hunt had officially begun.
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