The air outside the prison gates felt sharper than Ethan Cole remembered.
Cold, clean, unforgiving.
The private prison loomed behind him like a sealed chapter, concrete walls swallowing sound and light. He didn't look back. There was nothing left for him there. Not the man he had been. Not the future he had believed in.
A black sedan waited by the curb.
The warden stood beside it, posture stiff, hands folded carefully in front of him. The guards who had escorted Ethan out kept their eyes lowered, as if afraid to meet his gaze now that the balance had shifted.
"Mr. Cole," the warden said, his tone markedly different from before. "Everything has been arranged."
Ethan nodded, slipping the black gold card into his pocket. Even without checking the balance again, he could feel its weight. Not physical. Symbolic.
One hundred million dollars was not just money. It was access. Silence bought in advance.
As the car door opened, the warden hesitated. "There's one more thing."
Ethan paused. "Speak."
"The former chairman said you didn't need to visit him," the warden said carefully. "He said what was given has already been given."
That struck Ethan as odd.
During the two years they'd shared the same prison, the former Southern Territory chairman had never wasted words. He taught when it mattered. He watched when it didn't. Nothing was done casually.
"And the ring?" Ethan asked.
The warden swallowed. "It's in the car."
Ethan slid into the back seat. The interior was quiet, insulated from the world. As the door closed, the city noise vanished.
The Phoenix Ring rested inside a velvet case on the seat beside him.
Gold, understated, unassuming to the untrained eye. No gaudy gemstones. No engraving. Just weight and history. The kind of thing that didn't need to announce itself.
He turned it slowly between his fingers.
For two years, he had refused it.
Not because he didn't understand what it meant. But because he understood too well. Accepting the ring meant stepping back into a world he had spent his entire adult life trying to escape. A world of factions, leverage, debts that never stayed paid.
He had wanted quiet.
A small apartment. A shared life. Something ordinary.
Claire had been the reason he believed that kind of life was possible.
The car pulled into traffic, heading toward Boston proper. Glass buildings rose ahead, reflecting a city that moved fast and forgot faster.
"Why me," Ethan murmured.
The former chairman had no shortage of options. Men with ambition. Men hungry enough to kneel. Ethan had been the opposite. He had refused power at every turn.
And yet, the ring was here.
The car slowed and turned into a private driveway. Not a hotel. Not an office. A discreet compound tucked behind high hedges and iron gates.
"This isn't my destination," Ethan said.
"No," the driver replied evenly. "But it's close."
Ethan stepped out.
The warden followed, visibly nervous. "Mr. Cole… I know I'm overstepping, but—"
"You are," Ethan said, not unkindly.
The warden inhaled. "I need your help."
That made Ethan stop.
The man hesitated, then did something unexpected. He knelt.
The gesture was stiff, awkward, humiliating. Not the practiced bow of a subordinate, but the desperate movement of a father.
Ethan frowned. "Get up."
"I can't," the warden said hoarsely. "Not until you hear me."
Ethan looked around. No one else in sight. He exhaled slowly. "Fine. Talk."
"I have a daughter," the warden said. "Margaret Lawson."
The name registered immediately.
"Maggie Lawson," Ethan said. "B Corporation."
The warden nodded sharply. "She runs it now. One of the three monopolies in Boston. She's strong, but she's surrounded. People are circling. Old enemies. New ones."
Ethan's gaze hardened. "And you want me to scare them off."
"No," the warden said quickly. "I want you to see clearly."
He bowed his head. "I helped you survive these past two years. Not because I was brave. Because I was loyal. I'm asking for the same."
Ethan considered him for a long moment.
"Stand up," he said.
The warden obeyed.
"I'll meet her," Ethan said. "Nothing more promised."
Relief flooded the man's face. "Thank you."
The car took Ethan straight to B Corporation.
The building dominated its block. Glass and steel, clean lines, no wasted space. Power made visible through restraint.
Inside, the lobby buzzed with quiet efficiency. Executives moved with purpose. Assistants murmured into headsets. Everything here ran on precision.
Ethan stepped into the waiting area.
That was when he saw Claire.
She stood near the reception desk, clinging lightly to Andrew Whitlock's arm, smiling brightly as she spoke. Andrew looked bored, his attention drifting around the room as if everything here belonged to him by default.
Claire spotted Ethan first.
Her smile froze.
"What are you doing here?" she demanded, striding toward him. "Do you have any idea where you are?"
Andrew followed her gaze, lips curling. "Bad luck," he muttered. "Even here?"
Ethan rose slowly. "I could ask you the same."
Claire laughed sharply. "You followed me?"
"I didn't," he said flatly. "I'm here on business."
Andrew raised an eyebrow. "Business?" He glanced Ethan up and down. "Let me guess. Security?"
Claire scoffed. "With his record?"
Ethan moved to pass them.
Andrew reached out and grabbed his arm. "Careful," he said lightly. "You don't want to embarrass her."
He slapped a bank card against Ethan's chest. "Take this. Monthly allowance. Stay invisible."
Ethan's jaw tightened. He twisted his wrist just enough.
Andrew hissed and released him.
The movement was small. Controlled. But it carried weight.
Claire's eyes widened. "Security!" she snapped.
Andrew stopped her. "Not here."
Ethan looked at Claire. "This ends today."
She sneered. "You don't get to decide that."
A secretary rushed over. "Excuse me," she said urgently. "Where is the guest for Ms. Lawson?"
Claire brightened instantly. "That would be us."
The secretary hesitated, glanced around, then nodded. "Please follow me."
Ethan frowned. "You've made a mistake," he said calmly. "I'm the one she's waiting for."
Andrew burst out laughing.
"This isn't prison," he said. "You don't get to lie your way through doors."
Claire stepped forward. "Throw him out."
The secretary motioned to security.
Ethan said nothing as he was escorted away.
Upstairs, Maggie Lawson stepped out of the elevator.
"Where is my guest?" she asked coolly.
The secretary froze.