2026-01-22 08:32:56Chapter Three Betrayal Live on Air
Michael Krux POV The next day, they let me shower for court, but the orange jumpsuit they gave me was one size too small on purpose. The fabric pulled across my shoulders like it wanted to remind me I wasn’t in control anymore. Two marshals marched me into the federal courthouse through a side door. A bold placard carried the no camera allowed inscription, yet, the hallway was lined with reporters anyway. Phones up and questions shouted all at once thrown at him as soon as I was in their views. “Did you try to kill the President?” “How much did the terrorists pay you?” “Where’s your wife, Krux?” I didn’t stop to answer any of their questions, I simply kept my eyes forward. The courtroom was packed. Wall to wall suits, reporters in the back rows, three news cameras pointed at the defendant table. I scanned the gallery for friendly faces but there were none. Then the side door opened and my family walked in. Uncle Reginald, who was my father’s younger brother, and now the acting CEO, wore a black suit and the same fake sad expression he used at funerals. Aunt Cecilia beside him, clutching a handkerchief she would never actually use. Beside her was Cousin Damien, their twenty-seven year old trust fund prince had his phone out, filming me like I was a zoo animal. They all sat in the front, still exercising power even at such gatherings. The judge entered and everyone stood, only I stayed seated. The marshals yanked me up and soon the charges were read: attempted assassination, terrorism, treason, the prosecutor asked for no bail . The judge agreed before my lawyer even opened his mouth. Then came the “victim impact statements.” First up: Gabriel Luxter came out from nowhere and walked to the microphone in a charcoal suit, eyes red like he’d been crying for days. Same height as me, same dark hair, but softer around the edges. He looked straight at me.“Michael was my best friend for seventeen years,” he said, voice cracking perfectly. “I trusted him with my life. I trusted him with the company we built together. I never imagined he could do something this evil.”A pause. A single tear rolled down his cheek.“I’m sorry, America. I failed you.”The gallery ate it up. Cameras flashed. Reginald put a hand on Gabriel’s shoulder when he sat down like a proud father. I noticed. But I didn't say anything. Next up was Uncle Reginald. He stood, adjusted his tie, and spoke like he was giving a board meeting. “Krux Enterprises is a family company older than this nation itself. Michael’s actions have stained three hundred years of honor, in fact, on behalf of the entire Krux bloodline, we disown him.” Uncle Reginald took a deep breath before he continued. “He is no longer welcome in our homes, our company, or our name.” He looked right at me when he said the last part. Damien leaned over and whispered something to a reporter. The reporter laughed. Then the doors opened again. Layla my wife walked in.White dress, sunglasses even inside, hair pulled back tight. She looked like she was attending my funeral, not my hearing.The judge actually nodded at her. “Mrs. Krux, you have the floor.”She walked to the microphone slowly and took off the sunglasses. Her eyes were dry.“I married Michael because I believed in him,” she said, voice steady. “I stood by him while he built his empire. But I will not stand by a man who tried to murder the President. I am filing for divorce today. I want nothing that was bought with blood money.” She turned and looked at me for the first time. “I’m sorry, Michael, It’s over.” Then she walked back and sat between Gabriel and my uncle. Gabriel put his arm along the back of her chair. The judge banged the gavel. “Remanded to Iron Glacier until trial. Next case.” Then the marshals grabbed my elbows. As they dragged me past the front row I stopped right in front of my family looking at the four familiar faces with Zero warmth, yet I smiled. Small. Cold. “Enjoy the view from the top,” I told them. “It’s a long way down when the floor disappears.”Reginald sneered. “You’re done, boy.”Gabriel leaned forward. “Take care of yourself in there, buddy.”Layla wouldn’t meet my eyes. The marshals pulled me away.Cameras flashed the whole walk out. By the time they threw me back in the van, every network was running the same headline: KRUX FAMILY DISOWNS TRAITOR SON WIFE FILES FOR DIVORCE. I sat in the dark, chains rattling with every turn, and I felt the last piece of the old Michael crack off and die because of the betrayal of the people he called family.
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9. The First Message
Chapter Nine, The First MessageMichael Krux POVThe hotel room was quiet except for the soft hum of the city outside the window.I sat on the edge of the bed, still in the plain gray clothes they had given me at the prison gate.No suit.No watch.Just a small envelope Voss had pressed into my hand before the helicopter took off.Inside: a single burner phone, fully charged, one contact saved.Aria.I hadn’t called yet.The laptop screen still glowed with the headline I couldn’t unsee.Layla Maxwell Engaged to Gabriel LuxterPower Couple Announces Wedding Date – Six Months AwayThe photo showed her smiling in a way I hadn’t seen in years.Gabriel’s arm around her waist.A diamond ring catching the light.I closed the laptop.My first instinct had been to drive straight to their new headquarters—Luxter Energy’s gleaming tower downtown.To walk into the boardroom, sit at the head of the table, and watch their faces drain of color.But something held me back.Not forgiveness.Not weakness.Curios
9. The Yard King Dies
Chapter Nine, The Yard King DiesMichael Krux POVDay 1,096.The number felt lighter than it should have.I had counted every sunrise since the helicopter dropped me on this ice, expecting to see 1,826 before the gates opened.But today, the warden’s office summoned me at 0500, long before the morning clanging began.I walked the tiers with Voss at my side, our footsteps echoing in the half-light.The block was mine now.Men who once sneered nodded in respect as we passed.The Russian crew offered quiet greetings in their language, which I returned fluently.The kitchen staff slipped extra portions onto my tray without a word.Even the guards averted their eyes, some out of habit, others out of obligation.We stopped at the warden’s door, Voss gave me a single nod.“Remember the web,” he said.I entered alone, Warden Hale sat behind his desk, a stack of papers in front of him.He looked smaller than he had on my first day, his uniform rumpled, eyes tired.No guards in the room, just u
8. Numbers in the dark
Chapter Eight. Numbers in the Dark Michael Krux POVSix months had passed since the gates first closed behind me.The days blurred into a steady rhythm of hard work, quiet lessons, and careful observation.I was no longer the man who arrived here leaner, stronger, sharper, My shoulders filled the jumpsuit differently now, and the men who once stared with contempt now looked away when I walked past.Voss had taught me more than survival.He taught me leverage and tonight, the block was quiet, lights dimmed to red emergency glow because of that for me. We sat at our usual table in the corner, no one else dared use it anymore. Voss placed a small folded paper between us.I opened the letter to see a single string of numbers.“Sixteen digits,” he said softly. “One account.Memorize it, then tell me what you see.”I studied the sequence until it locked in my mind. I tried to remember the build up Viss had taught me, how to read the figures, because he had said everything was a game of n
7. First Thirty Days
Chapter Seven. First Thirty DaysMichael Krux POVRest, that was all I needed to do, especially after all the emotional turmoil I’ve been through. I got it quiet alright, but just for a little while, Day 2 began as early as 0330 with a metal baton banging on the bars.Voss was already standing when my eyes snapped open.He didn’t speak. Just jerked his head toward the door and I knew what it meant, I rolled off the bunk.I had a very sound, yet short sleep, but still, my felt like broken glass grinding together, I didn’t make a sound.We walked to the yard while the sky was still black and the stars looked close enough to cut your hand on.Minus forty-eight degrees, with my breaths frozen into ice crystals the second it left my mouth.Voss pointed at the frozen track that circled the exercise square. “Run.” He simply said I ran, no questions asked, I ran the first lap and my lungs seized. I was ready to retreat when he repeated the same one word, “Run” again. So I ran, the second
6. Day One Beatdown
Chapter Six, Day One Beatdown Michael Krux POV The block stank of bleach, sweat, and my fresh blood, the smell was too much and my body was so uncomfortable that I could barely sit straight. At this time, I was sure that two or my ribs were cracked already, lip split, left eye swelling shut. Still, I stayed on the bench across from Elias Voss because falling off would mean Bear and his pack would drag me into a corner and finish what they had started but Voss didn’t offer sympathy. He just watched me with those pale glacier eyes. I wanted to say something to release the awkward silence, to tell him that I would accept his offer if he promised to keep me safe. But before I spoke, he first me to it, he spoke in a very low voice so only I could hear. “Your father was a thief.” He shocked me. “1998 he took something from me that was worth more than every dollar you ever made. A ledge with names and accounts, proof that could drop governments and start wars. He promised to pay but
5. Welcome To Hell
Chapter five, Welcome to HellMichael Krux POVThe helicopter dropped so fast my stomach stayed in the air.No windows. Hood still on, only the scream of the rotors and the smell of aviation fuel mixed with my own sweat.Forty minutes of nothing but noise and chains had finally come to a stop.Then the skids hit ice hard enough to rattle my teeth.When the door was yanked open, cold breeze punched me in the face like a fist made of knives.The kind of cold that burns before it freezes, rough hands shoved me forward.“Walk, princess.”I stumbled down the ramp but they dragged me anyway. Finally, the hood came off and all I could see was white.Every direction I looked , I saw nothing but white. A concrete box the size of a shopping mall squatted in the middle of it, gray against gray sky, no fences, no towers you could see. Just one red light blinking on the roof like a dying star. This was the Iron Glacier Federal Penitentiary I had only heard of, now it will become my home for the ne
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