AVA
Prison visiting hours were over.
Ava didn't care.
She flashed a forged badge at the guard station, her other hand wrapped around the grip of the Glock tucked into her waistband. The photo Lionel had given her burned in her pocket—Julian, standing over the wreckage of her parents' car, his teenage face lit by flames.
*Sixteen years old. Already a killer.*
The guard waved her through.
Julian was waiting in the high-security visitation room, cuffed to the table, his once-pristine suit replaced by prison orange. He looked up as she entered—and smirked.
*"Miss me already?"*
Ava slammed the photo down in front of him.
Julian's smirk died.
---
JULIAN
For the first time in his life, Julian Thorne felt fear.
Ava Lopez looked at him like he was already dead. The photo between them—*that night, the fire, the bodies*—was supposed to be buried forever.
*Lionel's final betrayal.*
Julian forced a laugh. *"You think I knew who they were? Lionel told me it was a rival—"*
Ava's fist connected with his jaw.
The guard outside didn't flinch. *Paid off.*
She leaned in, her voice a whisper. *"You burned them alive."*
Julian spat blood. *"And you're just like me. Here to kill an unarmed man."*
Ava's gun pressed against his thigh under the table.
*"No,"* she said. *"I'm here to watch you rot."*
Then she slid a second photo across the table—Julian handing a briefcase to a known terrorist. *"Meet your new life sentence."*
---
CARL
Carl burst into the visitation room just as Ava stood to leave.
Julian's face was a bloody mess. The guards were coming.
Ava met Carl's gaze, her eyes hollow. *"It's done."*
Carl grabbed her arm. *"Kathleen's outside with Alina. The kid's asking for you."*
Ava flinched.
Alina—the one person she couldn't let see her like this.
Her fingers uncurled from the gun.
---
ALINA
Alina swung her legs in the backseat of the armored car, humming as Kathleen scrolled through news alerts.
*"Ava's okay?"* she asked.
Kathleen smoothed her hair. *"She will be."*
The prison doors opened. Ava emerged, her hands shaking, Carl at her side.
Alina rolled down the window. *"Aunt Ava! I drew you a picture!"*
She held up a crayon masterpiece—Ava as a superhero, cape flying, with Alina and Mr. Snuffles in her arms.
Ava's breath caught.
Then she crumpled onto the curb and wept.