The inmate immediately sat back in her chair.

"No problem, officer."

The guard looked between the two women, clearly sensing the tension.

For a moment, neither spoke.

Finally, he gave a short nod and moved on. Catalina watched him disappear down the aisle.

As soon as he was gone, the woman stood up. "I want you as my bitch."

"Then you’re going to be very disappointed."

"I always get what I want." The inmate shot her one last glare before walking away.

Then another guard stepped into the dining hall. His eyes scanned the room before settling on her.

"Windsor!"

Several inmates looked up.

"You have a visitor."

Catalina frowned. Her mother had already visited earlier that day.

She certainly wasn’t expecting any of her former high society friends. Most of them had disappeared the moment she was imprisoned.

Which meant whoever was waiting for her was probably the last person she’d expect.

She followed the guard down a long, cold hallway. The heavy metal doors clicked open and shut behind them.

She was led into a small room divided by a thick glass pane. There were plastic chairs on both sides and phones attached to the wall.

Catalina stopped in her tracks when she saw who was sitting on the other side of the glass.

She slowly walked over, sat down in the chair, and picked up the phone. She slowly pressed it to her ear and stared at the person across from her.

"What are you doing here?" she asked flatly.

"No ’hello’? No ’good to see you’?" Mateo asked, pressing his own phone against his ear.

"I don’t think either of us is happy to see me here, Mateo," Catalina said.

He sighed. "You didn’t have to confess, Cat. A year in this dump? It’s crazy."

"It was a deal," she said, leaning forward. "I do my time, and..."

"And what?"

She ran a hand through her hair.

"It’s that bitch Lyvana. She has me cornered. If I didn’t take this deal, she would have destroyed me and the entire family."

​Mateo frowned, leaning closer to the glass. "What do you mean, she has you cornered? What does she have on you, Cat?"

"She has videos of me and the Master."

Mateo’s eyes widened.

"How the hell did she get them?"

"I don’t know," Catalina admitted, frustration creeping into her voice. "I’ve asked myself that a thousand times. Those recordings were supposed to be impossible to access."

Mateo swore under his breath. 𝕗𝐫𝐞𝕖𝕨𝐞𝗯𝚗𝕠𝘃𝐞𝚕.𝐜𝗼𝚖

"Do you think the Master gave it to them?"

"I don’t know," Catalina snapped, rolling her eyes as if the question itself bored her. "And I’m not about to go digging for answers and end up putting my mom and myself in trouble with the organization. So unless you came here with a way to change that, tell me what you actually want."

Mateo hesitated. His expression darkened, like he already regretted what he was about to say.

"I hate to be the bearer of bad news, Cat. But Julian officially got engaged to Lyvana two days ago. When Victoria told me you didn’t know, I thought..."

He stopped. The absolute rage that flared in her eyes made Mateo move back a fraction, even with the thick glass separating them.

"What?" Catalina repeated.

Mateo swallowed. Maybe telling her wasn’t such a good idea. "Cat..."

"What did you say?" she asked again.

"Calm down Catalina."

But something inside her had already snapped. She grabbed the phone and smashed it hard against the glass divider.

The glass trembled under the force.

Mateo shot to his feet. "Cat... stop!"

But she didn’t. She slammed it against the glass one more time.

That was when two guards grabbed her arms from behind.

"Let go!" she screamed, twisting violently. "Let go of me!"

The phone fell from her hand and hit the floor, clattering across the tiles.

"Calm down!" one guard barked.

But she fought harder, struggling against their grip.

"I will kill her!" she shouted. "Damn bitch!"

Mateo stood frozen on the other side of the glass, watching her being restrained. Victoria will kill him for this.

The two guards held Catalina tightly as she continued to thrash against them.

​"Let go of me!" she shouted again, twisting violently in their grip. "I said let go!"

​But they didn’t listen. Her resistance only made them tighten their hold. They dragged her out of the visiting room, her shoes scuffing loudly against the floor as they headed straight into the isolation wing.

​Without warning, they shoved her inside the cell. She stumbled forward, catching herself against the cold wall.

​"You can’t do this to me!" she yelled, turning back toward them.

​The heavy door slammed shut, cutting off her voice. The lock clicked into place.

Inside the dark isolation cell, Catalina stared at the heavy metal door. Her chest heaved as she breathed in the cold, stale air. The rage inside her was burning hot.

​"Lyvana," she hissed, her voice shaking with pure hatred.

​She walked over to the corner and sat down, her hands clenched into tight fists. A one-year prison sentence was supposed to protect the Windsor name, but now, knowing that Lyvana was out there, free and happy, made the walls feel like they were closing in.

​Catalina leaned her head against the cold wall of the cell. She needed to get out. She needed her mother to pull some strings and get her out. One year was too long to wait. If she stayed locked up in this prison any longer, she would lose her mind.

Meanwhile, back at the private island, the night was quiet.

The sound of waves drifted in through the open windows, mixing with the soft rustle of palm trees outside.

​Lyvana stood in her room. Emily was sitting on the bed, watching her closely.

On the table beside her sat the black candle. Next to it was the small glass vial filled with silver liquid. She stared at both items for a long moment.

Then she walked to the windows, closed the curtains and sat down on the floor placing the candle in front of her.