Monster

"Inmate 1151, you're free to go. We wish you a fresh start."

The guard's voice echoed through the corridor as he escorted a young woman toward the prison exit.

Outside, rain hammered against the ground.

Vessara Barclay stood silently at the end of the narrow iron passageway, her oversized prison uniform hanging loosely from her slender frame.

Five years.

Five years trapped behind these walls.

As she stared at the storm beyond the gates, memories she had spent years burying surfaced once more.

Eight years ago, when she was only fifteen, Selena Laurent had shown up at the Laurent estate with a DNA test in hand.

Overnight, everything changed.

The Laurent family welcomed Selena back with tears of joy, celebrating the return of their long-lost daughter.

And Vessara learned the truth.

She wasn't their biological child.

She was nothing more than a baby who had been switched at birth.

Even then, Vessara had never blamed Selena.

She had tried her best to make up for the years Selena had lost.

Again and again, Selena framed her.

Again and again, the family chose to believe Selena.

Yet Vessara always found excuses for her.

Selena had grown up without her real family. Of course she'd feel insecure. Of course she'd be afraid of losing everything she had just gained.

That was what Vessara told herself.

Until three years later.

Selena caused a fatal hit-and-run accident.

And the Laurent family didn't hesitate for a second.

They drugged eighteen-year-old Vessara.

Forced her to sign a confession.

Then sent her to prison in Selena's place.

The daughter they had raised for eighteen years became a disposable sacrifice the moment their real daughter needed saving.

A bitter smile touched Vessara's lips.

Family.

As Vessara drifted into the painful memories she'd tried so hard to bury, a deafening roar suddenly echoed across the sky.

BRRRRMMMM—

The thunderous beat of helicopter blades shattered the steady rhythm of the rain.

Vessara's thoughts came to an abrupt halt.

Her eyes narrowed as she looked up.

Several black SUVs lined up outside the prison gates. Above them, helicopters circled low in the sky like steel monsters watching from above.

Dozens of men in black suits stepped out at the same time.

Neat.

Silent.

Dangerous.

And in the next second—

every single one of them lowered their heads.

“Welcome back, Boss.”

Silence instantly swallowed the entire area.

The prison guards froze.

Even the newly released inmates instinctively backed away in fear.

Vessara slowly lifted her gaze.

Her expression remained calm.

“Roy.”

The tall man standing at the front immediately straightened his posture.

“Yes, Boss.”

“I just got out of prison,” Vessara said flatly. “Not back from winning a war.”

Cold sweat instantly appeared on Roy’s forehead.

“Sorry, Boss. The boys were just too excited to welcome you back.”

Vessara glanced at the helicopters overhead.

“Five seconds.”

“Get rid of all of this.”

“NOW.”

“Y-Yes!”

Within seconds, the entire convoy disappeared as if it had never existed.

The helicopters flew away.

The SUVs retreated.

The men in black vanished into the rain.

Until only a single black Porsche Panamera remained parked outside the gates.

Silence returned once more.

Vessara walked toward the car.

Then stopped.

Slowly, she turned to look back at the prison behind her.

The place that had destroyed her life.

The place where Selena had visited her with that sweet innocent smile—

while confessing how the family had chosen to sacrifice her.

How they drugged her.

Placed her in the driver’s seat.

And let her take the fall for Selena after Selena killed a little girl in a hit-and-run accident.

Even after that—

they still continued taking Vessara’s blood regularly for Selena’s medical treatments.

As if she did not even deserve to be treated like a human being.

Vessara’s eyes slowly darkened.

Five years.

For five whole years, they had thought prison would break her.

But they never imagined that in the most dangerous corner of that prison, she would meet a mentor who changed her life.

They never realized that instead of destroying her, prison had created a monster.

Without another glance at the towering walls behind her, she stepped into the waiting Porsche Panamera.

The door closed with a soft click, shutting out the rain.

"Where's the Laurent family?" she asked.

Leaning back against the leather seat, Vessara watched raindrops race down the window as the car pulled away from the prison gates.

Roy, seated in the driver's seat, carefully glanced at her through the rearview mirror before answering.

"At the Grand Hotel."

A brief pause followed.

"They're hosting Selena Laurent's engagement party tonight."

The air inside the car instantly grew colder.

Vessara's eyes narrowed slightly.

An engagement party.

How fitting.

She had spent five years rotting in prison for Selena's crime, while the woman responsible was celebrating the happiest day of her life.

A low chuckle escaped her lips.

“How interesting.”

“I went to prison for her.”

“And she’s celebrating her engagement on the very day I’m released?”

Her eyes slowly lifted.

“In that case…”

“It would be rude of me not to congratulate her personally.”