Chapter 1 — “Come Here and Massage My Legs”
The common room of Blackridge Women’s Correctional Facility smelled like burnt coffee, disinfectant, and the stale air of too many people trapped behind the same walls.
The television mounted high in the corner flickered without sound.
A deck of worn playing cards slapped against a metal table.
Someone laughed from the far side of the room.
Someone else shouted.
The guards watched from behind reinforced glass, accustomed to the constant tension that could turn an ordinary afternoon into chaos within seconds.
But everyone in the common room knew one unwritten rule.
There was a woman you did not challenge.
Her name was Victoria Kane.
She was tall, broad-shouldered, blonde, and carried herself like she owned the facility.
She sat comfortably on a torn gray couch, eating chips from a plastic bag.
Two inmates sat beside her.
Raven and Tasha.
They weren't her friends.
Not really.
They were simply smart enough to stay close to the strongest person in the room.
Victoria reached into the bag and chewed slowly.
Then the common-room door opened.
A new inmate walked in.
She was a pretty brunette woman with calm brown eyes.
Her orange jumpsuit was freshly issued.
Her hair was tied back.
She carried a small plastic container holding her personal belongings.
The room gradually became quieter.
New inmates were always watched.
People wanted to know what kind of person had just entered their world.
Weak?
Violent?
Afraid?
Useful?
The brunette looked around.
She didn't lower her head.
She didn't stare aggressively either.
She simply observed.
Victoria noticed.
She stopped eating.
"You're the new one."
The brunette looked toward her.
Victoria patted the empty space in front of the couch.
"Come here."
The brunette didn't move.
Victoria's eyebrows rose.
"I said come here."
The woman walked closer but stopped several feet away.
Victoria looked her up and down.
"What's your name?"
"Claire."
Victoria smiled.
"Claire."
She repeated the name as though testing how it sounded.
Then she stretched her legs across the couch.
"So you're the new one. Come here and massage my legs."
Raven laughed.
Tasha smirked.
Several other inmates looked away.
Everyone expected Claire to obey.
Instead, Claire stared at Victoria for a moment.
Then she tilted her head.
"Seriously?"
Victoria's smile disappeared slightly.
Claire folded her arms.
"You think you can order me around?"
A few inmates exchanged glances.
That was the first time anyone had openly challenged Victoria in months.
Victoria slowly stood halfway from the couch.
Her voice became louder.
"I can do a lot more than that!"
The room went silent.
Claire looked at her.
Then, unexpectedly, she smiled.
Not nervously.
Not fearfully.
Mockingly.
"Then do some exercise."
A gasp came from somewhere behind them.
Raven's mouth fell open.
Tasha looked at Claire as if she had just watched someone deliberately walk into traffic.
Victoria slowly stood.
Her fists clenched.
Her face turned red.
"Enough!"
She stepped forward.
"Let me teach you a lesson today."
Claire didn't move.
She simply looked Victoria directly in the eyes.
And for some reason, that calmness made Victoria even angrier.
But Claire knew something Victoria didn't.
She hadn't walked into Blackridge by accident.