I slammed my fist on the table.
The entire room went silent. Conversations died mid-sentence. Guards’ hands drifted to their belts. Every eye tracked to our corner, waiting to see if Knox Blackwood was about to remind everyone why he commanded respect in this cage.
“Don’t.” My voice came out gravel and glass. “Don’t you dare use her against me.”
Ryker held my stare, unflinching. Good. At least he had the balls to own his manipulation.
“I’m not using her, Knox. I’m reminding you that you have something to fight for. That she’s graduating high school without you. Dating people you’ve never met. Making decisions without her father’s guidance because you’re too proud to say three words: I was wrong.”
My pendant burned against my chest. She’d made it in preschool before everything went to hell. “For Daddy’s good luck,” she’d said, her chubby fingers struggling with the knot.
Some fucking luck.
“You think I don’t know what I’m missing?” I pressed my tongue against my molars, fighting the urge to tell him everything. How I kept her crayon drawings under my mattress. How I’d memorized every photo I had of her. How some nights, I still heard her four-year-old voice calling for me.
“Listen.” Ryker leaned back, his voice softening into something almost like sympathy. “Remember when Blake’s sister got tangled up with that judge? When he threatened your parole if any of us helped her?”
I knew where this was going. “Your point?”
“You didn’t hesitate. Threw yourself under the bus to protect her. That’s the side of you that your daughter doesn’t know, Knox. If she did …” He was smart enough to not finish that thought.
If she did, she might visit me.
My gut twisted at what my ex must have told her. That I was a prisoner, obviously. That I’d killed a man and confessed to it. But even my ex didn’t know why. At least I had that.
Because that’s what my daughter would never know:why.
I’d rather her see me as a monster than be plagued with what that man had done to her. She was only four when it happened. Let her hate me, if it meant protecting her psyche from that kind of horror.
My ex and I got pregnant by accident in high school. One stupid, reckless, life-changing time. And, boom, two pink lines.
After that, everything revolved around giving my daughter the best life I possibly could. When I went to college, I chose business because it meant good pay, stability, the kind of life she deserved.
Being away from her while I was in college was hard enough. I drove home almost every single weekend just to be with her, and the only way I got through it was to remind myself that once I graduated, I would never be separated from her again.
I never anticipated that dark night that would forever change our lives.
But at least I had protected her. At least I had saved her.
Even if she’d never know it.
“Time’s up!” A guard bellowed, his voice cutting through the tension like a rusty blade.
Ryker stood slowly, straightening his tie with practiced precision. The movement was pure lawyer, all performance and polish. But his eyes were tired.
“You’re already doing life, Knox.” He tapped his temple. “Maybe not behind bars forever, but up here? You’re still locked in that moment. Still living as the man who took a life instead of the man who could build a new one.” He grabbed his briefcase. “If you don’t find a way forward, this place won’t need to cage you. You’ll do it to yourself.”
I said nothing. There was nothing to say.
“And, Knox?” Ryker pointed at me, the way only he could. If any other person in this room did it, we’d have a problem. One that ended with broken teeth. “Do not get into any more fucking trouble.”
5
HARPER
After a full day of patients, I sat at my desk, reviewing my notes from each visit, making sure everything was airtight. First days mattered. First impressions on paper mattered more. Every chart needed to reflect competence, precision, someone who belonged here.
I clicked through file after file until Knox Blackwood’s name stared back at me. I’d documented everything. There was no way someone could read my medical notes and make any other deduction than the fact that Knox Blackwood had brutally assaulted that man.
