But Cassia’s confession had another name in it. Orion. The underground kingpin of Dune.

  And if they started digging into him… they’d find everything. His connection to the Anti-Smuggling Bureau. The illegal mutant trade.

  The entire Moncrief family's smuggling operation—mutant hunters, materials, all funneled through Orion, cleaned up through 'government ties', and sold off in the black market for massive profits.

  This wasn’t some minor corruption case. This? This could bury his whole damn family. And if the Whisper Syndicate got involved? No one could sweep it under the rug.

  Lachlan immediately backed down. His tone shifted, desperate but respectful. "Please… let's discuss terms."

  Rosaline exhaled, bored. "That’s more reasonable." She tilted her head. "But I'm not the one you should be begging."

  Lachlan blinked. "Go talk to Axel yourself," she continued. "Whatever deal you make? That’s between you two."

  The way she said it—like his so-called conditions weren’t even worth considering. But no one else objected. Which meant he was out of options.

  He swallowed hard, nodded furiously, and scurried away to make a phone call.

  Kaia grinned and patted the seat next to her. "C'mere, little sister. You’re Axel’s classmate, right? You must’ve been scared earlier."

  Cassia hesitated, but sat down.

  Vincent leaned forward with an easy smirk. "Hey, I’ll make you some coffee—"

  SMACK!

  Kaia slapped him upside the head. "Get lost. Don’t scare her."

  Vincent grumbled but backed off, rubbing the spot where she hit him.

  Cassia barely noticed. Her gaze flickered to Lachlan, watching him panic like a trapped animal. Just a short while ago, she had felt crushed under his power and influence—like there was no escape.

  But the moment Axel’s friends walked in… Everything flipped. Like Lachlan was nothing.

  Cassia lowered her gaze, rubbing her pale fingers together, lost in thought. Axel…

  When did you surpass me so much?

  The cafeteria was cleared, prisoners escorted back to their cells. But when they passed by Axel, they instinctively kept their distance, stepping several meters away.

  The guards led Axel down the corridor, but it wasn’t their presence that kept the inmates in check. It was him. Even among hardened criminals, there weren’t many who killed without hesitation.

  And the fact that Axel had done it so effortlessly? That alone made him a man to be feared. Whispers rippled through the ranks of inmates, murmurs barely above a breath.

  The tale has been stolen; if detected on Amazon, report the violation.

  "That guy's ruthless. He might end up running this place."

  "Shit, I’m thinking of calling him boss already."

  "Tsk, weren’t you the one talking the loudest earlier? Maybe you wanna taste him yourself?"

  "Hey, hey, don’t start making shit up! I never said anything, alright?!"

  A few men who had been too bold earlier were now sweating bullets, afraid their words might reach Axel’s ears.

  But then, a reedy, weathered voice cut through the conversation.

  "You guys are clueless."

  Everyone turned toward the speaker. A scrawny old man, one of the prison veterans. He wasn’t the strongest, but he’d been locked up long enough to know how things worked. And in Black Rock Prison, knowledge was power.

  The old man smirked, seeing that he had their attention. He crossed one leg over the other, settling in like he was about to tell a ghost story. "You all think sucking up to him is the smart move?" He shook his head. "You won’t even see it coming when you die."

  Silence. Then, someone finally asked, "What do you mean?"

  The old man tapped the side of his temple, as if they were all too dumb to figure it out. "Think about it. He barely got here and was already shoved into a cell with Lucas. Then, two unknown guys show up outta nowhere trying to kill him? That ain't random. That means the guy who wants him dead has real power on the outside."

  He scanned the faces around him. "And what happens when you befriend someone with a death sentence hanging over their head? You die right next to them."

  He leaned back, looking completely confident in his assessment. "Mark my words. That kid won’t last a week."

  The murmurs started again, but this time, they were different. The initial fear was now mixed with uncertainty. Maybe they had miscalculated.

  Then, the main doors swung open. The room fell into a stunned silence. Everyone turned to look. And then—

  "Maxwell?" Some gasped.

  "See? What did I say?" The old man slapped his thigh, a smug grin on his face. "Maxwell’s here to finish him off personally."

  The inmates murmured their approval. The prison’s top dog wouldn’t get involved unless this was serious.

  The old man basked in their admiration—until he actually saw Maxwell. The veteran prison guard, usually so commanding, was a fucking mess.

  His face was pale. Sweat drenched his uniform. He stumbled forward, practically tripping over his own feet in his desperation to get to Axel’s cell.

  The old man’s smirk faded. Wait. What the hell was going on?

  Maxwell shoved past the bars, his voice cracking as he practically begged. "Mr. Axel! It was a misunderstanding—a complete misunderstanding! I almost made a huge mistake! I’m so sorry! Please, please forgive me!"

  He wasn’t just apologizing. He was pleading for his life. The entire room went dead silent. The prisoners stared, their brains short-circuiting.

  Maxwell—Maxwell, the goddamn enforcer of Black Rock Prison—was bowing like a servant.

  "I'll get you out right now, sir!" Maxwell continued, hands shaking as he fumbled with the keys. "You're a big man—I’m nothing but a lowly prison guard! Please, let’s not hold grudges, alright?"

  Axel raised an eyebrow, mildly amused. "That was fast." Honestly, he had already guessed who was behind this.Vince was here. But he hadn’t expected him to move this quickly.

  Maxwell, still trembling, sank to his knees and unshackled Axel’s cuffs like he was handling a VIP, not a prisoner.

  Then, he stood aside, bowing slightly, as if escorting someone important. And everyone saw it.

  “This… this…”

  “Did Maxwell have a fucking seizure today?”

  “I must be losing my damn mind…”

  The whispers didn’t stop as Maxwell escorted Axel out of Black Rock Prison like he was royalty. The once-dominant enforcer of the prison now looked like a man who had just narrowly escaped death.

  When Axel was finally gone, Maxwell leaned against the door, exhaling heavily. He muttered under his breath, “Finally got that monster out of here…”

  Just then, a prison guard rushed up to him, his face pale.

  “Boss, bad news. Lucas escaped during the chaos. We can’t find him anywhere.”

  Maxwell’s stomach dropped. “What?!” His voice cracked. Lucas wasn’t just another inmate—he was dangerous as hell. If word got out that he had slipped through the cracks, Maxwell would be the one to take the fall.

  “Don’t let this leak. Keep it under wraps until the Whisper Syndicate leaves.” If the Syndicate didn’t get involved, there was still a chance to fix this.