MCT_2616

Framed for a crime he didn’t commit, Jasper is thrown into Blackridge Penitentiary—a prison ruled by the strong. Betrayed, beaten, and left for dead, he has one goal: survive, grow stronger, and take revenge.

Under the brutal guidance of Mark Clarin, Jasper transforms. But when he strikes first against Pante nox, the prison’s most feared kingpin, war erupts.

Now, Jasper isn’t just fighting for survival. He’s taking over.

Forged in Chains

The courtroom was silent, but the weight of a hundred gazes pressed down on Jasper Cruz like a vice. The judge's voice was steady, merciless.

"Jasper Cruz, you are hereby sentenced to life in prison for the rape and murder of Lyme Hayes."

A murmur rippled through the spectators. Some gasped. Others nodded as if they had known it all along. Jasper didn't hear them. His ears were ringing. His mind refused to accept the words.

His fists clenched against the cold metal of his handcuffs. His lawyer had done nothing. The evidence had been stacked against him—drug traces in his system, his fingerprints on Lyme's body, and damning photos of them together in bed. But Jasper knew the truth.

The night Lyme died, Jasper had been out drinking with his friend, Dave. It was supposed to be a night of celebration after landing a big project at work. But at some point, things became hazy. His drink had been spiked—he was sure of it. He remembered laughter, a club, then darkness. When he woke up, Lyme was lying next to him, lifeless.

Blood on the sheets. Her torn dress. His own hands stained red.

He had screamed. Called for help. But it was too late. The police burst in as if they had been waiting. And now, here he was—on trial for a crime he had no memory of committing.

The bailiffs grabbed his arms and yanked him up. He barely registered his mother's sobs behind him, the silence of his so-called friends. No one believed him. No one cared.

As they dragged him from the courtroom, he locked eyes with one man sitting near the back. A smirk. Just for a second. Then it was gone.

Ben Zemmer. The CEO of the company where Jasper and Lyme worked. Powerful. Untouchable. And now, smiling as Jasper's life crumbled to dust.

Jasper lunged forward, but the guards tightened their grip, slamming him into the doorframe. Pain shot through his ribs, but the rage drowned it out.

"You did this!" he roared, his voice hoarse. "I'll kill you, you son of a—"

A fist buried into his gut. His breath vanished. His vision blurred. The last thing he saw before darkness took him was Ben Zemmer adjusting his tie, looking bored.

The prison gates loomed over him like the jaws of a beast, ready to swallow him whole.

A fortress of concrete and steel, where the worst of the worst were caged like animals. And now, Jasper was one of them.

The transport van came to a stop, and the doors flew open. A guard yanked him out. The air was thick with sweat, metal, and something rotten beneath it all. The inmates watching from the yard were a mix of vultures and wolves, all sizing him up, deciding if he was prey or predator.

A group of men near the fence whispered among themselves, their eyes glinting with something sinister. Jasper didn't need to hear them to know what they were planning.

A guard shoved him forward. "Move."

He did. One step at a time, through the gates and into hell itself.

As he walked, a single thought burned in his mind.

The Fall