“Get him down!” Warden Pratt screamed. His bleeding gums painted his teeth red. Blood spilled from the corners of his mouth. “Get him down NOW!”Six guards lunged. Riot batons at hand. And still, the new inmate tore through them like they were made of paper. “This prison is mine now! You are all dirt!” Blackgate Federal Prison had a reputation. Men who walked through its gates walked out broken, reformed, or they didn’t walk out at all. But the new inmate wasn’t impressed. He grabbed a warden and slammed him on the ground. Bones crunched. Flesh ripped. The piercing scream tore through Cell Block D. “You call this a prison?” the inmate said, his voice almost bored. “I’ve put down guard dogs with more fight than you.” A second warden lunged. The inmate caught his jaw with an elbow and felt it shatter under the impact. “Pathetic. All of you. Pathetic!” Warden Pratt backed toward the radio on his belt, hand shaking too hard to find the button. “This is Cell Block D, we need

Processing took longer than Rhys expected. First it was the paperwork, then a bag containing his old clothes was handed to him. Some guard pressed a dollar bill into his hand. Rhys stepped through the final gate. He stood at the curb, scanning the lot for the black Mercedes his wife Alisha had promised him in her last letter, eighteen months ago. The last letter she’d bothered to send. The lot was empty. Rhys sighed. Surely she was caught up at work and forgot. He flagged a taxi instead. The driver glared at his disheveled hair and worn out clothes, and visibly recoiled. Like Rhys might be contagious. “Where to?” the driver finally asked, as if he already regretted stopping. “Wayne estate,” Rhys replied and got in. The ride was quiet. Rhys watched the city slide by. By the time they pulled up outside Wayne estate, music was already drifting from somewhere inside the mansion. Rhys smiled. At least they were hosting a welcome party for him. Or so he thought. He held out

Rhys followed the screams into the alley.A black SUV sat against the curb, back door thrown open.Four bodyguards in matching suits stood frozen beside it, all looking at each other and blinking in confusion.Inside, sprawled across the back seat, a young girl lay still. Too still. Her chest barely rose. Her lips had a dark shade of blue that was so visible even from the distance.A woman in her forties knelt over the girl with her hands hovering just above her face.“Anna. Daughter, please, open your eyes. Don’t do this to me,”Her voice cracked on the last word, and broke apart completely. Rhys recognized the woman. This was Sera Longwater, Matriarch of the Longwater Family, wife to the esteemed billionaire Adam Longwater.Sera picked her phone and dialed a number again, but dropped the phone with a clatter when there was no response.Rhys stepped closer.“Hey! There’s nothing to see here. Move along,”One of the guards said to him. But Rhys didn’t stop. The other planted a h

Anna’s spine cracked again, and this time her whole body arched off the seat.Rhys moved before anyone could stop him.He shoved past Luther, dropped to one knee beside the car, and clamped both hands against her convulsing chest. The black smoke surged instantly, thicker now, angrier, wrapping around his wrists like a tornado.“What are you doing?! Get off her!” Luther lunged, but one of the guards caught his arm.Luther shot the guard a glare.“How dare you? Unhand me!”“She’s seizing, sir, maybe we can just—““Maybe nothing! He’s fucking killing her!”Luther dragged his arm off the hand.Sera pressed both hands over her mouth, sobbing into her palms, watching her daughter’s body twist and buck.Dr. Whitfield had gone very still.His earlier arrogance had drained clean out of his face. He’d seen exhaustion. He’d seen shock, seizures, cardiac events. He had never seen a man’s palm glow black.“That’s not normal. That’s not… medicine,” Whitfield mumbled to himself. Legs frozen in pl

Next morning, a knock hit the door.Rhys opened to find Luther leaning against the frame, arms crossed. He wore a frown on his face.“Sleep well, gutter rat?” Luther’s eyes swept the guest room like it disgusted him just by hosting Rhys’s body. “Enjoy the sheets while they last. Silk’s wasted on someone like you.” He added.Rhys sighed.“Is there a point to this, or did you just miss me?” Luther’s face darknened immediately. He straightened himself.“The point is that you’re a stray Sera dragged in off the street because she felt sorry for you, and strays that overstay their welcome get put down. So here’s some free advice, fuckface… Luther stepped closer.“Take the money. Keep your head low. Don’t get comfortable, and don’t get ‘ideas’ about anyone in this family, especially not Anna. ” His eyes cut deliberately toward the hallway. “You understand me? Or has poverty rotted your brain already?”“Your foolishness didn’t stop me from saving her last night. It won’t stop me now either