Chapter 3: The Secret Beneath the Concrete
I stared at the note for almost ten minutes before I moved.
Not because I didn’t understand the words.
Because I understood them too well.
*Stop helping Tiana Brooks, or the truth about what happened three years ago will be revealed.*
The paper felt heavier than it should have.
A single sentence.
A single threat.
But it carried three years of memories I had buried so deep that even I sometimes wondered if they were real.
The prison around me continued as normal.
Metal doors opening.
Guards shouting.
Inmates arguing.
The sounds of Blackridge Correctional Facility had never bothered me before.
But that morning, every noise felt like a warning.
Someone had slipped this under my door.
Someone had walked through my cell block without being noticed.
Someone knew exactly where to hurt me.
I folded the paper and placed it inside my mattress.
Then I looked around my cell.
The walls were the same.
The bed was the same.
Everything looked exactly how it had yesterday.
But something had changed.
For the first time in three years, I wasn’t sure who was watching me.
A guard stopped outside my cell.
“Hayes.””
I looked up.
Officer Carter stood there.
He was one of the older guards at Blackridge. He had worked here long enough to know everyone’s habits, weaknesses, and secrets.
“What?””
“Warden wants to see you.””
I almost laughed.
“Does he?””
Carter didn’t smile.
“Now.””
That was never a good sign.
I followed him through the hallway.
The other inmates watched from behind their bars.
Yesterday, their eyes held fear.
Today, they held questions.
That was more dangerous.
Fear kept people quiet.
Curiosity made them reckless.
When I entered the warden’s office, Tiana was already there.
Of course she was.
She sat across from the desk, holding a folder.
The warden looked between us.
“Close the door.””
Carter left.
The lock clicked.
I crossed my arms.
“What is this?””
The warden didn’t answer immediately.
Instead, he looked at Tiana.
“She found something.””
My eyes moved to her.
Tiana opened the folder.
Inside were photographs.
Documents.
Records.
She placed the first photo on the desk.
A woman I recognized immediately.
“Lena?””
Tiana watched my reaction.
“You know her.””
I stared at the picture.
Lena Parker.
She had been an inmate in Block C three years ago.
She was also the reason I became the person everyone hated.
“She’s dead,” I said quietly.
The warden looked down.
“Yes.””
Tiana leaned forward.
“Officially, Lena Parker died from an overdose.””
I looked at her.
“And unofficially?””
Tiana slid another document toward me.
“Her medical report was changed.””
I picked it up.
The page showed corrections.
Different handwriting.
Different signatures.
My chest tightened.
“Who gave you this?””
“Someone who doesn’t want their name known.””
I laughed.
“So you trust anonymous sources?””
“No.””
Tiana’s eyes narrowed.
“I trust patterns.””
She tapped the documents.
“Lena filed three complaints before she died.””
I looked at the papers.
“What complaints?””
“Abuse. Threats. Missing medication.””
The warden added quietly:
“All three were dismissed.””
I looked between them.
“And you think I had something to do with this?””
Tiana shook her head.
“No.””
That answer surprised me.
“Then why show me?””
“Because Lena’s final complaint mentioned you.””
The room became still.
My fingers tightened around the paper.
“What did it say?””
Tiana hesitated.
Then she handed me another page.
I read the words.
*Marla Hayes is not the person everyone thinks she is. If something happens to me, she tried to help.*
I stopped breathing for a second.
The memories came back.
Lena sitting on my bunk.
Her hands shaking.
Her voice barely above a whisper.
“Marla, please. You’re the only person they’re afraid of.””
I had told her to stay quiet.
I had told her I would handle it.
And then two days later, she was dead.
I placed the paper down.
“You knew.””
Tiana looked at me.
“Knew what?””
“That I wasn’t the problem.””
“I suspected.””
I laughed bitterly.
“Why?””
“Because villains don’t usually have victims writing letters defending them.””
The warden stood.
“There’s more.””
I looked at him.
He opened another file.
“This morning, someone accessed old security footage.””
My eyes narrowed.
“Someone?””
“Yes.””
“Who?””
The warden’s jaw tightened.
“That’s what we’re trying to find out.””
Tiana looked at the clock.
“Show her.””
The warden turned on the monitor.
A grainy black-and-white video appeared.
The timestamp showed three years earlier.
The hallway outside Block C.
I recognized it instantly.
That night.
The night Lena died.
My stomach twisted.
The footage showed Lena walking down the hallway.
Then another figure appeared.
A guard.
The image was blurry.
But I knew the uniform.
I knew the way he walked.
My eyes widened.
“No.””
Tiana watched me carefully.
“You recognize him?””
I stepped closer to the screen.
The figure stopped outside Lena’s cell.
Then entered.
The footage cut out.
The warden paused the video.
“Who is he?””
I didn’t answer.
Because saying his name would make it real.
Because for three years, I had believed he was gone.
Because everyone believed he was gone.
Finally, I whispered:
“Officer Grant.””
The warden’s expression changed.
“Grant?””
“He worked here before Carter.””
Tiana looked at the warden.
“Where is he now?””
The warden didn’t respond.
That silence told me everything.
I turned toward him.
“Where is he?””
The warden looked uncomfortable.
“He left Blackridge shortly after Lena’s death.””
“Left?””
“Yes.””
I laughed.
“People don’t just leave after something like this.””
Tiana stood.
“Where did he go?””
The warden looked down.
“I don’t know.””
Nobody believed that answer.
Not even him.
A loud alarm suddenly echoed through the building.
Red lights flashed.
Everyone froze.
The warden immediately grabbed his radio.
“What’s happening?””
A guard’s voice crackled through.
“Sir, we have a situation in Block C.””
The warden’s face changed.
“What kind of situation?””
A pause.
Then:
“Someone attacked inmate Brooks.””
Everything stopped.
Tiana moved first.
She ran toward the door.
I followed.
The hallway exploded into chaos.
Guards rushed past us.
Inmates shouted from their cells.
When we reached Block C, I saw her.
Tiana was standing in the middle of the hallway.
Unharmed.
But another inmate was on the ground.
Blood covered her face.
Denise.
My heart dropped.
“What happened?””
Nobody answered.
Then I saw something in Denise’s hand.
A small piece of paper.
Tiana picked it up.
Her face changed.
“What does it say?”” I asked.
She didn’t answer.
“Tiana.””
She looked at me.
Then handed me the paper.
Three words were written on it.
Three words that made the entire prison disappear around me.
*YOU REMEMBERED WRONG.*
I looked at Tiana.
She looked back at me.
And suddenly, I understood.
Someone wasn’t afraid I would reveal the truth.
Someone was afraid I would remember it.
Because three years ago…
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I hadn’t seen everything.
I had only seen what they wanted me to see.
