As Stan explained everything he knew about the situation, the commissioner’s tone gradually became more serious. What had initially sounded like a routine conversation about the prison break had clearly taken on a different level of importance once the details surrounding Blackridge Correctional Facility became clear.
“That’s… extremely troublesome.”
Stan’s eyebrows furrowed slightly at the commissioner’s choice of words. “Why?”
“Because Blackridge isn’t an ordinary facility.”
The moment he heard that, Stan’s expression sharpened. He already knew Blackridge was supposed to be a high-security prison, but the commissioner’s tone suggested there was more to the facility than its reputation alone.
The commissioner continued after a brief pause. “Some of the Red Serpent’s core members are being held there.”
Stan’s eyes widened slightly. “Seriously?”
“Yes.”
“Even their leader?”
“Especially their leader.”
Stan leaned back against the sofa, his expression becoming thoughtful as he processed the information. He had known that several major members of the Red Serpent had been arrested following the authorities’ efforts to dismantle the organization, but he hadn’t realized that so many of them had been concentrated in the same facility.
The fact that the organization’s leader was also being held there made the situation considerably more concerning.
“Damn.”
The word escaped Stan quietly as his mind began connecting the pieces. If the prison really housed that many important members of the Red Serpent, then the consequences of a large-scale escape could be far more serious than the authorities were currently willing to admit.
His gaze instinctively shifted toward Camilla.
She had only been listening to his side of the conversation, so she couldn’t hear the commissioner’s responses, but she had been around Stan long enough to read his expressions. The relaxed demeanor she had displayed while playing chess with him had disappeared completely. Her attention was now fixed on him, and the slight narrowing of her eyes made it obvious that she had realized something serious had happened.
Stan returned his attention to the phone.
“How could prisoners break out of a place like that so easily?”
“They shouldn’t be able to.”
The commissioner’s response came immediately, without hesitation.
“That’s exactly the problem.”
Stan frowned. The certainty in the man’s voice made the situation even more suspicious.
“Meaning?”
“Blackridge is heavily secured. It has multiple layers of security, armed guards, reinforced cells, surveillance systems, and strict restrictions on prisoner movement.”
The commissioner paused briefly before continuing, and when he spoke again, the tension in his voice was even more noticeable.
“For a large number of prisoners to escape at once, something significant must have happened.”
Stan’s eyes narrowed.
“So you don’t know what caused it?”
“Not yet.”
The commissioner’s answer was straightforward, but Stan could tell from his tone that the investigation was already underway.
“I’m going to find out.”
Stan remained silent for a moment before asking the question that had been occupying his mind ever since he heard about the prison break.
“Can you check whether Damien Bale was recaptured?”
“I’ll need some time.”
“Of course.”
Another brief silence settled between them. Stan could almost imagine the commissioner weighing his next words before finally speaking again.
“And Stan?”
“Yeah?”
“If you’re asking about Damien specifically…” The commissioner paused, his voice becoming more cautious as he chose his words. “Is there something I should know?”
Stan’s gaze hardened slightly.
“Not yet.”
He deliberately kept his answer vague. There were certain things he wasn’t prepared to explain, especially when he didn’t yet have enough information himself to determine exactly what had happened.
The commissioner remained silent for a moment. He seemed to understand that Stan was deliberately withholding something, but rather than pressing him for an explanation, he simply accepted the answer.
“Understood.”
“I just want to know whether he’s among the prisoners who escaped.”
“I’ll check.”
“Thanks.”
“Don’t mention it.”
The call ended shortly afterward.
Stan lowered the phone slowly and placed it on the table beside him. His movements were calm, but his expression remained serious as he stared at the device for several seconds, his mind still occupied by everything the commissioner had told him.
The room itself remained quiet.
The chessboard was still positioned between Stan and Camilla, and the pieces remained exactly where they had been before the call. The soft lighting cast a warm glow across the table, creating an atmosphere that should have felt peaceful.
Only a short while ago, Stan had been enjoying the quiet evening with Camilla, completely focused on the game and considering his next move.
Now, the chessboard might as well have not existed.
Camilla studied him from across the table before finally breaking the silence.
“You think this Damien escaped?”
“I don’t know.”
And he genuinely didn’t.
Stan lowered his gaze toward the chessboard and studied the pieces for a moment. The black and white figures stood beneath the room’s soft lighting, frozen in the positions they had occupied before the phone rang. There was something almost ironic about seeing the game sitting there untouched when his mind had suddenly become occupied by an entirely different kind of conflict.
His thoughts returned to Blackridge.
It wasn’t some ordinary prison.
Stan already knew that much.
Blackridge Correctional Facility had been specifically designed to house dangerous criminals who posed a serious threat to society. Its security measures were considerably more advanced than those of ordinary correctional facilities, with multiple layers of protection intended to prevent prisoners from escaping or moving through the facility without authorization.
Every important aspect of the prison’s operation was supposed to be tightly controlled. Prisoner movement was restricted, guards were stationed throughout the facility, surveillance systems monitored the premises, and the cells themselves were reinforced against forced escapes.
A facility like that wasn’t supposed to experience a prison break involving a large number of inmates.
More importantly, some of the Red Serpent’s highest-ranking members were being held there.
The authorities had gone to considerable lengths to capture those criminals. Many were considered extremely dangerous, and some had managed to evade law enforcement for years before finally being brought into custody.
It made little sense for so many of them to end up in the same facility if that facility could apparently be breached so easily.
For that many prisoners to escape simultaneously, something had gone seriously wrong.
Stan’s expression gradually became more serious as he considered the possibilities.
It could have been an internal security failure. Perhaps someone inside the facility had deliberately disabled part of the security system or assisted the prisoners in escaping.
It could have been an attack from outside, with someone powerful enough to breach Blackridge and create an opportunity for the inmates to flee.
There was also the possibility of deliberate assistance from someone working within the facility. If an individual with sufficient authority had betrayed the prison from the inside, they could potentially have created an opening that ordinary prisoners would never have been able to exploit.
And there were other possibilities as well.
Without more information, there was simply no way to determine what had actually happened.
That uncertainty bothered Stan more than anything else.
None of the possibilities were reassuring.
Then there was Damien Bale.
Stan still didn’t know whether Damien had escaped.
He didn’t know whether the man had already been recaptured, whether he had remained inside the facility, or whether he had somehow disappeared during the chaos.
There were simply too many unanswered questions.