The Prison-Made Queen novel Chapter 920

Callahan rapidly analyzed their surroundings. He kept his voice low and tight. "Based on the trajectory and how far we crawled, we're likely in a utility mezzanine sandwiched between the first and second floors."

"Stay sharp. Keep quiet. The psycho might have rigged the hallways."

Moving like ghosts, they crept up the concrete stairs, pushed through a heavy fire door, and finally stepped onto the main floor.

The first thing Leilani noticed was an elaborate electrical panel mounted next to the massive exit doors.

Thinking instantly of Payton and Abel trapped in the basement, she studied the wiring sequence for a brief second before pressing a combination of switches.

A heavy, mechanical groan echoed through the floorboards. She could hear the distinct sound of the underground vault doors disengaging.

By pure luck and intuition, Leilani had actually unlocked the basement.

A few minutes later, Abel burst through the opposite stairwell, carrying Payton securely on his back.

But before anyone could even let out a breath of relief, the cavernous main hall they were standing in was suddenly flooded with blinding industrial lights.

Someone had thrown the breaker.

"Who's there?!"

Callahan instantly yanked Leilani behind him, dropping into a defensive crouch.

Abel and Payton flawlessly mirrored the movement, forming a human shield around her.

But the sprawling hall was dead empty. Aside from the six of them, there wasn't another soul in sight.

Yet, under the glaring fluorescent lights, the centerpiece of the room was finally revealed.

"What... what is this..." Leilani gasped, her pupils shrinking in pure horror.

Standing in the exact center of the hall was a monstrous, ceiling-high corkboard, covered in a chaotic, sprawling web of red string.

Pinned dead center, catching the brightest light, was a series of candid surveillance photos of her and Callahan.

But it wasn't just them. Surrounding their faces were dozens of other targets. The Sloan family's holiday portraits, Milford and Tamara's wedding photos, Paulina Cheney's official prison mugshot, a photo of Arnold unconscious in his hospital bed, and a severely faded, decades-old photograph of a young Payton...

"Fuck!"

"What kind of sick freak show is this?"

Staring at the horrific web of red string, the final pieces of the puzzle violently snapped into place in Callahan's mind.

The collapse of the Sloan empire, the strange anomalies in the Sherwood family, the poison injected into Arnold, the relentless kill squads sent after Payton... these weren't isolated tragedies.

They had been pawns on this board from the very beginning.

Leilani felt her blood turn to ice. Her eyes were completely locked on Paulina Cheney's mugshot.

In the photograph, Paulina's eyes were terrifyingly calm. There was no trace of the grief or anger you would expect from an elderly woman framed and thrown into a concrete cell.

It perfectly matched the demeanor of the woman Leilani had met behind bars all those years ago.

Wait...

Leilani's heart slammed against her ribs.

Her mind replayed the exact words Paulina had whispered to her in the darkness of her cell. In a sickening flash of clarity, Leilani realized the truth.

Paulina's death was not an accident. It was an execution.