Chapter 3 - The Devil's Cage
Evelyn stood before the massive, grey concrete walls of the federal supermax prison.
The sky above was a bleak, unforgiving grey that matched the mood of the facility.
She had used every remaining favor she had from her days on the bench to secure this emergency visit.
She was subjected to three intense security searches before being escorted to the visitation room.
A thick pane of bulletproof glass separated the room into two distinct worlds.
Evelyn sat on the hard metal chair, her posture rigidly straight.
The heavy steel door on the other side clanked open, echoing loudly.
Richard walked in, wearing a bright orange jumpsuit, his wrists chained to his waist.
He looked ten years older, his arrogant posture replaced by a defeated slump.
But when he saw Evelyn sitting there, a flicker of his old, malicious pride returned.
He sat down and picked up the red telephone receiver on the wall.
"I never thought you would come crawling back to me, Evelyn," Richard smirked through the glass.
Evelyn picked up her receiver, her eyes burning with fierce determination.
"They have Lucas," she said softly, cutting straight through his arrogance.
Richard’s smirk vanished instantly, the color draining from his face.
"Who?" Richard whispered, his voice cracking with genuine fear.
"The people you worked for, the ones who control the network," Evelyn answered.
"They broke into his apartment and took him because they want the master ledger."
Richard closed his eyes, leaning his forehead against the cold, hard glass.
"I told him not to dig any deeper, I told him to leave it alone," Richard muttered frantically.
"You mailed him the key, Richard," Evelyn snapped, her voice rising in anger.
"You painted a target on our son's back because you were too cowardly to hold the key yourself!"
"It was insurance!" Richard argued defensively.
"If the cartel killed me in here, Lucas could use the ledger to destroy them."
"They are going to kill him in forty-eight hours if I do not hand over that key," Evelyn said firmly.
"Where did he hide it, Richard? Tell me how his mind works."
Richard looked at her, a rare moment of vulnerability crossing his aging features.
"He wouldn't hide it in his apartment, he knows they would look there first," Richard thought aloud.
"When he was a boy, whenever he wanted to hide something precious, where did he put it?"
Evelyn searched her memories, flashing back to a time before their family broke apart.
"The old treehouse at my father's cabin," Evelyn realized with a sudden gasp.
"Exactly," Richard nodded, his eyes wide with urgency.
"Go to the cabin, Evelyn, and get that ledger before they kill our boy."
May you like
Evelyn stood up without another word, turning her back on the man who had ruined their lives.
She had to get to the mountains before the cartel realized where the key was hidden.
