When she gets to the prison the next morning, the world feels warped, unreal. She walks to Dorothy’s office, throat dry.

But Dorothy isn’t there.

The door is slightly open.

Inside, the desk is a mess. Papers scattered, drawers left open, as if someone had searched the place in a hurry.

Something glints on the desk. Brooke steps closer. A white envelope.

Her name is scrawled across it in red ink.

She picks it up with shaking hands and tears it open.

Inside, there is only one thing.

Her key.

Brooke drops the envelope like it burns.

What is happening?

She turns to leave, but a guard steps into the doorway, blocking her path.

—The warden wants to see you. Now.

A chilling cold burrows into her bones.

Something is very, very wrong.

Sixth Part: The Monster in the Cell

The hallway to the warden’s office feels longer than usual. Brooke hears her own pulse in her ears, each step heavier than the last.