Chapter 12 - The Screaming Cell at Ironwood
The heavy steel gates of Ironwood Maximum Security Penitentiary slammed shut with a deafening, hydraulic clang that resonated in the pit of Arthur’s stomach. The air inside the subterranean visitation block smelled of stale bleach, ozone, and institutional misery.
Arthur sat on one side of a three-inch-thick sheet of bulletproof acrylic. He had pulled every political favor, emptied two offshore ledger favors, and bypassed state protocol to secure an emergency solitary interrogation without prison guards present in the booth.
Across the partition sat Daniel Vance.
His son looked utterly ruined. The tailored Italian suits were replaced by a garish orange jumpsuit. Daniel’s right eye was swollen shut, purple and weeping; two of his fingernails were missing, and a deep, jagged cut ran along his jawline. His hands shook violently against the steel counter, the chains linking his wrists rattling continuously.
"You shouldn't have come, Dad," Daniel croaked, his voice raw, spitting flecks of blood onto the glass. "They know you're here. They know everything."
"Who sent the message to the estate this morning, Daniel?" Arthur leaned forward, his voice a low growl that caused the glass to buzz. "Who is using Rachel's name? Tell me before I leave you to the wolves in general population."
Daniel let out a hysterical, cracked laugh that sounded like dry leaves scraping over concrete. "Rachel's name? You arrogant old fool! You thought you won when the judge slammed the gavel down? You thought that trial was the end?"
Daniel lunged against the glass, bringing his bruised face inches from Arthur’s. "You made billions building military communication arrays forty years ago, Arthur! But who funded you? Who paid for the patents? The Covenant! You took their blood money, and when you tried to sever ties, Rachel paid the price!"
Arthur felt the room tilting. "What are you talking about? Rachel died in a highway collision caused by brake failure!"
"It wasn't an accident!" Daniel spat, tears of pure terror leaking from his functional eye. "I married Rachel because *they* ordered me to! I watched her every move for six years! When she found the ledger—the black accounts proving you were laundering their cartel assets—she tried to run with Lily! The crash was orchestrated! And the chain... the dog chain around Lily’s neck..."
Daniel choked on a sob, his frame shuddering violently. "It wasn't Evelyn's sick fantasy, Dad! It was a signal! The Covenant demands total degradation before they harvest an heir! They told me if I broke Lily’s spirit completely, they’d let me live! But you ruined it! You brought her into the light!"
Suddenly, the red emergency sirens inside the cell block began to scream.
The harsh fluorescent overhead lights flickered once, twice, and died, plunging the visitation chamber into deep crimson emergency lighting. From the corridor outside, two muffled gunshots popped through the thick walls, followed by the heavy thud of a body collapsing.
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Daniel’s face drained of what little color remained. "They’re here," he whispered, staring past Arthur toward the steel security door. "They're tying up loose ends."
***
