CHAPTER 3 — THE MAN INSIDE BLACKSTONE
Ryan Mercer ran like a man who already knew he had nowhere to hide.
He shoved through the academy doors and disappeared into the rain.
Ethan was right behind him.
"Ryan!"
No response.
Ethan sprinted down the sidewalk.
The rain came down harder, turning the pavement into a sheet of reflected streetlights.
Ryan crossed the parking lot, jumped a low barrier, and disappeared between two buildings.
Ethan followed.
His shoes slipped on the wet concrete.
He caught himself against a wall and kept moving.
"Ryan!"
Still nothing.
Then Ethan saw him.
Ryan was standing beside an old delivery truck.
He wasn't running anymore.
He was waiting.
Ethan slowed.
"Why did you run?"
Ryan's chest rose and fell.
"I didn't."
"You did."
"I was scared."
"Of what?"
Ryan looked behind him.
Then back at Ethan.
"You."
Ethan stopped.
"Me?"
Ryan nodded.
"You don't understand what's happening."
"Then explain it."
Ryan shook his head.
"I can't."
"Why?"
"Because if I tell you, they'll kill me."
Ethan stepped closer.
"Who?"
Ryan looked directly into his eyes.
"Iron Crown."
Ethan's expression hardened.
"You're working for them."
"No."
"Then why are you afraid?"
"Because I used to."
Ethan went silent.
Ryan swallowed.
"Not by choice."
"Everyone says that."
"I know."
Ryan reached inside his jacket.
Ethan immediately raised his hands.
"Don't."
Ryan stopped.
Slowly, he pulled out a small flash drive.
He held it between two fingers.
"This is why Daniel told you not to trust me."
Ethan stared at it.
"What's on it?"
"Everything."
"Everything?"
"Fight records. Payments. Medical reports. Names."
Ryan looked around.
"And proof that your father's death wasn't an accident."
Ethan's face changed.
"Give it to me."
Ryan hesitated.
Then extended his hand.
Ethan reached for the drive.
A gunshot cracked through the rain.
Ryan jerked backward.
His eyes widened.
Blood spread across his shirt.
Ethan caught him before he hit the ground.
"Ryan!"
Ryan gasped.
"Run."
Ethan looked around.
Nothing.
No shooter.
Only rain.
Ryan grabbed Ethan's jacket.
"Listen to me."
His voice was barely audible.
"Don't take it to the police."
"Why?"
"They own people there."
"Who?"
Ryan struggled to breathe.
"Not police."
He coughed.
"Judges."
Ethan froze.
Ryan pressed the flash drive into his hand.
"Find Daniel."
Then his eyes closed.
Ethan lowered him to the ground.
"Ryan!"
Nothing.
A car accelerated somewhere down the street.
Ethan looked up.
A black SUV disappeared around the corner.
He knew exactly what it meant.
This was no longer a secret.
It was a war.
Daniel had escaped the warehouse fifteen minutes earlier.
He was limping.
His shirt was torn.
One side of his face was bruised.
But he kept moving.
He knew the city well enough to disappear.
Three blocks.
Then four.
He stopped beneath an overpass.
His hands were shaking.
He pulled out an old phone.
There was only one saved number.
He called.
A woman answered.
"Daniel?"
"Where are you?"
"Safe."
"Ethan knows."
Silence.
The woman exhaled.
"How much?"
"Enough."
"Did he find Room 17?"
"Yes."
Another silence.
"Then it's started."
Daniel looked toward the street.
"They moved the tournament."
"I know."
"Seven days."
"I know."
"They've selected Ethan."
"I know."
Daniel closed his eyes.
"We need to get him out."
"We can't."
"Why?"
"Because they've already threatened his mother."
Daniel's jaw tightened.
"Then I'll take his place."
"You know that won't work."
"It has to."
The woman was quiet.
Finally she said:
"Daniel, your father tried the same thing."
Daniel looked down.
"And he died."
"Exactly."
Daniel's voice became cold.
"Then maybe it's time someone finished what he started."
Ethan returned to Blackstone before sunrise.
The academy was empty.
Ryan was gone.
The rain had washed away every trace of what happened outside.
But Ethan still had the flash drive.
He inserted it into an old laptop in Marcus's office.
The screen filled with folders.
Hundreds of them.
FIGHTERS.
PAYMENTS.
MEDICAL.
JUDGES.
BLACKSTONE.
And one folder simply labeled:
MICHAEL COLE.
Ethan clicked it.
A password appeared.
He tried his father's birthday.
Wrong.
His mother's birthday.
Wrong.
His own birthday.
Wrong.
Then he remembered the words from his father's belt.
Control the mind first.
He typed:
BLACKSTONE.
Access granted.
Ethan stopped breathing.
Inside were twenty-seven files.
The first was a video.
He opened it.
His father appeared on screen.
Older than in the photographs.
Tired.
Bruised.
But alive.
Ethan stared.
Michael Cole looked directly into the camera.
"If you're watching this, Ethan, you're old enough to know the truth."
Ethan leaned forward.
"I don't know when you'll find this."
His father paused.
"But I know someone will eventually lead you here."
A shadow moved behind him.
Michael glanced toward the door.
Then continued.
"I was recruited by Iron Crown when I was twenty-three."
Ethan's fists tightened.
"They told me it was an elite training program."
A bitter smile appeared.
"It wasn't."
Michael explained how the organization identified promising fighters.
They offered money.
Coaching.
Competition opportunities.
Medical treatment.
Then came the pressure.
They manipulated opponents.
Controlled judges.
Created rivalries.
Threatened careers.
And eventually—
they demanded obedience.
"If you refused," Michael said, "they destroyed you."
Ethan stared at the screen.
His father continued.
"I refused to throw a fight."
He lowered his eyes.
"That was my mistake."
A noise sounded outside the room.
Ethan paused the video.
Silence.
He waited.
Nothing.
He resumed.
Michael looked directly into the camera.
"The fight I refused to lose was against a fighter named Victor Kane."
Ethan froze.
Victor Kane.
Chairman of Iron Crown.
Michael continued.
"Victor wasn't supposed to fight."
"He was supposed to win."
"He had people inside the organization protecting him."
Michael leaned closer.
"But I discovered something."
A pause.
"Victor had been fixing fights for years."
Ethan whispered:
"Why?"
The video answered him.
"Because he wasn't interested in being the best fighter."
Michael's expression darkened.
"He wanted to control the people who decided who became the best."
The screen flickered.
Then Michael said something Ethan wasn't prepared for.
"Marcus helped me."
Ethan looked down.
"He gave me evidence."
"He helped me hide it."
"And when they discovered what we'd done..."
Michael paused.
"They came for both of us."
Ethan swallowed.
"Marcus survived."
"My father didn't."
The video ended.
Ethan sat motionless.
Then another file opened automatically.
A document.
FINAL FOUR — 2015.
Four names.
Michael Cole.
Victor Kane.
Marcus Hale.
And one name Ethan didn't recognize.
Sarah Vale.
Ethan stared.
Sarah Vale.
He opened her file.
The document was almost empty.
Only one line remained.
STATUS: MISSING.
Then another file.
INCIDENT REPORT — OCTOBER 14, 2015.
Ethan opened it.
His father's accident report.
Except the original report had been altered.
The photographs showed his father's car.
The brakes had been cut.
Ethan's hand went cold.
He opened another image.
A security photograph.
Someone standing beside the car.
The face was blurred.
But the clothing was clear.
Blackstone training uniform.
Ethan stared at it.
Someone from the academy had been there.
Someone who knew his father.
Someone who had helped kill him.
Then the laptop suddenly shut down.
Ethan jumped.
A voice came from behind him.
"You weren't supposed to see that."
Ethan turned.
Marcus stood in the doorway.
His face was bruised.
His shirt was torn.
But he was alive.
Ethan stood.
"You lied to me."
Marcus said nothing.
"You knew my father."
"Yes."
"You knew he was murdered."
"Yes."
"You knew Iron Crown was coming for me."
Marcus looked away.
"Yes."
Ethan's anger exploded.
"Then why didn't you tell me?"
Marcus stepped inside.
"Because your father asked me not to."
"My father is dead!"
"I know."
"You don't get to use him as an excuse!"
Marcus absorbed the words.
"You have every right to hate me."
Ethan stared at him.
"Did you betray him?"
"No."
"Did you help Iron Crown?"
Marcus hesitated.
"Once."
Ethan's eyes narrowed.
"When?"
"Twelve years ago."
"Why?"
"Because they had your father."
Marcus's voice cracked.
"They threatened your mother."
Ethan stopped.
Marcus continued.
"I gave them information."
"What information?"
"Where your father was hiding."
Silence.
Ethan stepped backward.
"You gave them his location."
"I thought I could control the situation."
"And they killed him."
Marcus closed his eyes.
"Yes."
Ethan's voice became quiet.
"You betrayed him."
"I betrayed myself."
Marcus looked at him.
"I've regretted it every day since."
Ethan turned away.
Then he remembered something.
"Who is Sarah Vale?"
Marcus went completely still.
Ethan noticed.
"You know her."
Marcus didn't answer.
"Who is she?"
"She was the fourth finalist."
"She disappeared."
Marcus looked toward the window.
"She didn't disappear."
"Then where is she?"
Marcus's voice dropped.
"She's alive."
Ethan stared.
"Where?"
"Underground."
"With Iron Crown?"
"No."
Marcus looked at him.
"She's been fighting them from the inside."
A door opened upstairs.
Both men looked toward the ceiling.
Marcus immediately grabbed Ethan.
"Stay here."
"What?"
"Someone's coming."
Footsteps.
Slow.
Heavy.
Marcus reached beneath his desk and pulled out an old pistol.
Ethan stared.
"You had a gun?"
Marcus didn't answer.
The footsteps reached the hallway.
Then stopped.
A voice spoke.
"Marcus."
Marcus raised the weapon.
Victor Kane.
"Come out."
Marcus whispered:
"Don't move."
Victor continued.
"We know Ethan is there."
Ethan's heartbeat accelerated.
"You have ten seconds."
Marcus looked at Ethan.
"Whatever happens, don't fight."
Ethan whispered:
"What?"
"Listen."
Victor began counting.
"Ten."
Marcus moved toward the back wall.
"Nine."
He pulled a hidden lever.
A section of the wall opened.
A narrow passage appeared.
"Eight."
Marcus pushed Ethan inside.
"Seven."
Ethan resisted.
"I'm not leaving you."
"You're not leaving me."
Marcus stared at him.
"You're leaving the trap."
"Six."
Marcus shoved him through.
"Five."
The wall began closing.
"Coach!"
Marcus looked at him one last time.
"Find Sarah."
"Four."
"And Ethan..."
"Three."
"Don't trust anyone who tells you winning is the only way out."
"Two."
The wall closed.
"One."
The office door exploded inward.
Ethan ran through the hidden passage.
The tunnel led beneath the city.
Ethan walked for nearly twenty minutes before reaching another door.
He opened it.
A woman stood on the other side.
Mid-forties.
Short dark hair.
A scar above her eyebrow.
She looked at Ethan.
Then smiled sadly.
"You look exactly like him."
Ethan froze.
"Sarah Vale?"
The woman nodded.
"You found me."
"Who are you?"
Sarah stepped aside.
"I'm the person your father trusted when everyone else betrayed him."
Ethan entered.
The room contained dozens of monitors.
Maps.
Files.
Photographs.
Every wall was covered with information about Iron Crown.
Sarah closed the door.
"Marcus told you to find me."
"Yes."
"Then he's probably captured again."
Ethan stared.
"Again?"
Sarah nodded.
"They've been watching him for years."
Ethan looked at the screens.
One monitor showed Victor Kane.
Another showed Daniel.
Another showed Ethan.
His own face appeared on the screen.
A timestamp showed that the camera was live.
Ethan stepped backward.
"They've been watching me."
"Since you entered Blackstone."
"Why?"
Sarah looked at him.
"Because your father left something behind."
"What?"
Sarah hesitated.
"Evidence."
"What evidence?"
"The kind that can destroy Iron Crown."
Ethan stared at her.
"Where is it?"
Sarah shook her head.
"We don't know."
"Then what do you know?"
"We know Michael hid it before he died."
"Where?"
"Inside the tournament."
Ethan frowned.
"That's impossible."
Sarah smiled.
"Your father knew Iron Crown would search his home."
"So he hid it somewhere they would never think to look."
"Where?"
Sarah pointed at the screen.
At the tournament logo.
"The championship trophy."
Ethan's expression changed.
"The trophy?"
Sarah nodded.
"Your father knew the organization would never destroy its own symbol."
Ethan stared at the screen.
"So the evidence is inside the Iron Crown trophy."
"Part of it."
"Part?"
Sarah's expression darkened.
"The rest is in a place nobody has looked for twelve years."
"Where?"
Sarah opened a file.
Inside was a photograph of Blackstone Academy.
"Room 17 wasn't the real hiding place."
Ethan looked at her.
"Then what was?"
Sarah answered:
"The training mat."
Ethan remembered the red symbol.
"The symbol."
Sarah nodded.
"Your father carved a message beneath it."
Ethan suddenly understood.
The red mark wasn't a warning.
It was a map.
Sarah continued.
"There's something else."
"What?"
"Your father wasn't killed because he refused to lose."
Ethan stared.
"He was killed because he discovered who was fixing the fights."
"Victor?"
Sarah shook her head.
"No."
She looked directly into Ethan's eyes.
"Victor was only the face."
"Then who?"
Sarah's expression hardened.
"The person behind Iron Crown."
Ethan waited.
Sarah whispered:
"Your father's closest friend."
The room fell silent.
Ethan's mind raced.
Marcus?
No.
His father had trusted Marcus.
Then who?
Sarah opened another file.
The photograph showed three men.
Michael Cole.
Marcus Hale.
And another man.
Ethan recognized him.
His stomach dropped.
The third man was standing beside Victor Kane in the photograph from the previous night.
It was the same man who had appeared in the shadows at the gym.
The stranger.
Sarah said his name.
"Elias Cross."
Ethan stared.
"Daniel's father."
Sarah nodded.
"Daniel has spent twelve years believing his father died protecting Michael."
She looked away.
"He didn't."
Ethan's voice became barely audible.
"Then what did he do?"
Sarah answered:
"He sold him."
At that exact moment, every monitor in the room went black.
Sarah spun around.
"No."
Ethan heard a low electronic tone.
Then one screen came back.
Victor Kane appeared.
He smiled.
"Hello, Ethan."
Sarah immediately reached for a keyboard.
The system was locked.
Victor continued.
"You've been looking for answers."
Ethan stared at the screen.
"Where's Marcus?"
Victor smiled.
"Alive."
"Where?"
"Come to the tournament."
Ethan clenched his fists.
"Let him go."
"Seven days."
Victor leaned closer to the camera.
"You have seven days to qualify."
"Why?"
"Because your father never finished his fight."
Ethan stared.
Victor's smile disappeared.
"And neither will you."
The screen went black.
Sarah looked at Ethan.
"He's forcing you into the tournament."
Ethan nodded.
"Yes."
"That's exactly what he wants."
Ethan looked at the Iron Crown symbol.
"Then we'll use it."
Sarah stared.
"What?"
Ethan's eyes hardened.
"If the evidence is inside the trophy..."
He picked up his father's old black belt.
"...I'm going to win it."
Sarah shook her head.
"You don't understand."
"I understand perfectly."
"They will try to break you."
"Then they'll have to try."
"They will manipulate your opponents."
"I'll adapt."
"They will threaten your family."
Ethan looked at her.
"They already did."
Sarah fell silent.
Ethan tied the black belt around his waist.
"For twelve years, they thought my father died with the truth."
He looked at the screen.
"They were wrong."
Seven days later, the Iron Crown qualifying arena was packed.
Thousands of people filled the seats.
Cameras surrounded the ring.
Sponsors watched from private boxes.
Fighters stood backstage.
Ethan was alone.
His opponent was announced.
The crowd erupted.
A massive fighter named Marcus Reed entered the arena.
Six-foot-four.
Two hundred and thirty pounds.
Undefeated.
Twenty-seven professional victories.
He stared at Ethan.
Then smiled.
Ethan stepped into the ring.
The referee checked their gloves.
The bell hadn't sounded yet.
Marcus Reed leaned closer.
"Your father fought here."
Ethan's eyes narrowed.
"You knew him?"
"No."
The fighter smiled.
"But I know how he died."
Ethan froze.
"How?"
Marcus whispered:
"Ask your opponent."
Then the bell rang.
Ethan raised his guard.
The fight began.
Marcus Reed charged.
Ethan slipped the first punch.
Blocked the second.
Moved backward.
The crowd roared.
Then Marcus whispered as he attacked again:
"Your father didn't lose."
Ethan blocked.
"He was betrayed."
Ethan countered.
"By who?"
Marcus smiled.
"Ask Daniel."
Ethan froze for half a second.
Marcus's fist connected with his ribs.
Pain exploded through Ethan's side.
He staggered backward.
The crowd screamed.
Marcus advanced.
And from somewhere in the arena, a voice shouted:
"Ethan!"
Daniel.
Ethan turned.
Daniel stood in the entrance.
Bruised.
Bleeding.
Alive.
But he wasn't looking at Ethan.
He was staring at the VIP box.
At the man sitting beside Victor Kane.
Elias Cross.
Daniel's father.
Ethan followed his gaze.
Elias slowly stood.
Their eyes met.
And for the first time, Ethan saw something he had never expected to see in a man's face.
Fear.
Real fear.
Elias whispered something to Victor.
Victor looked toward Ethan.
Then smiled.
Because the fight had only just begun.
And now Ethan knew the truth.
The greatest threat wasn't the fighter standing across from him.
May you like
It was the man watching from the shadows.
The man who had been waiting twelve years for Michael Cole's son to step into the ring.
