CHAPTER 4:

Edward took a few steps back, terrified by the angry-looking men around him. He was completely surrounded by the tyrants of the cell he was told about—the Black Vipers. Why was he so slow to have noticed it was Marcus Santosh from the beginning?

He scanned the dining room to see if anyone would say a word, but no one was willing to help him. It was just him against the horrible-looking men.

"You dared punch Marcus Santosh in the face. It's like you have no respect," Marcus said in his Mexican accent, his burning gaze on Edward's frightened face.

"I'm sorry, but I didn't mean to. I'm a new inmate," Edward begged, and the men all broke into laughter.

"Hahahahaha."

"Yeah, I know you are new, and that's why I'm not going to be different with you, unlike others. Since you punched me, you must be a good fighter. There's only one way out. We are both going to fight one on one. If you beat me, you have my respect and you are free, but if I beat you, you are going to be my puppet, and I promise to make your entire prison life so miserable. Deal?" Marcus said, stretching his hand to seal the deal. But Edward rejected it.

He wondered how a pretty slender figure like him would defeat a muscular giant like Marcus. It was practically impossible.

"I cannot accept this. I'm sorry," he pleaded.

"You don't have a choice," Marcus said, and suddenly a cheering sound erupted from the hall as everyone began clapping their hands and screaming, "Fight! Fight! Fight!"

Marcus smirked at this and said, "You see? They all want a fight now, and a fight they shall get. To the field now!"

At Marcus' words, all the prisoners suspended their food, running outside the passage door that led to the prison field. One of Marcus' men carried Edward on his shoulder, and they all headed to the field.

"Help! Please help, don't let them take me," Edward was screaming to one of the prison officers who was standing at the corner of the dining hall, but he just stood numb and watched like it was none of his business.

They let Edward down when they got to the field, and Marcus stood in front of him, cracking his fingers with a sinister smile. They were both surrounded by the prisoners who were cheering them on for a fight. Amidst the prisoners, Rodney hid himself in the crowd so Edward wouldn't see him. He stared at Edward in pity.

Without waiting for a signal, Marcus attacked first, giving Edward a heavy punch on the face that sent him crashing on the tarred ground. The force of the punch made Edward's vision blurry. He lay on the ground as blood started gushing out of his nose. He hadn't healed from the punches he received from Richard yesterday, and now this?

Somehow he knew there was a difference between Mr. Richard and Marcus. With such a heavy hand, if Marcus gave him half of the punches Richard had given him, he knew he wouldn't survive.

"Stand up like a man, you coward," Marcus screamed at him as everyone cheered him on. Gently, Edward scampered to his feet, and when they thought he wanted to attack, he turned and tried to run, but Marcus' men restrained him and brought him back to Marcus. They pinned him to the ground, and Marcus got on him and began punching him. Each punch that hit his face left a cut with so much blood. His eyes were beginning to close as he felt his soul leaving his body.

"He's gonna die! Stop, Marcus!" he heard one of Marcus' men say, but Marcus didn't stop; he kept punching. Gradually, Edward felt his ghost leaving his body as the sounds from the background began to fade.

He couldn't lift a limb. Almost at the verge of death, he heard the crowd give way as a fleet of expensive cars drove into the field and parked in front of them.

This caused a distraction as Marcus stopped punching and focused on the convoy in front of him. The cars in the convoy were all expensive—a combination of Lamborghinis, Maybachs, limousines, and Sprinters. Out of the limousine, A tall, handsome middle-aged stepped out, and about 30 bouncers exited the convoy to give him cover. All the prisoners stared in shock. His looks screamed affluence. He was dressed in a fitted luxurious white suit beautifully adorned with diamonds, on his hand was an expensive Rolex watch ranging from 100,000 Dollars and above. His black Italian shoes reflected in the sun as he slowly walked toward Marcus.

"I think you should pick someone your own size," he said to Marcus. At his words, Marcus stood up and faced him angrily.

"And who the fuck do you think you are? What are you doing here? If you knew me, you wouldn't be here," Marcus said, and the man smiled.

"Marcus Santosh, one of the most notorious drug lords and gangsters in the late '90s. Of course, I know you. But you are messing with the wrong person. And if you don't back off from that guy you are punching, you will learn the hard way," the man in white said.

"Okay, let's see," Marcus said, and just as he raised his hand to punch, the man held his hand and twisted it backward until he heard a crack, and Marcus fell to the ground, groaning in pain.

"Ahhh! My hand!"

All the prisoners stared with their mouths wide open. Was this Marcus Santosh crying?

Suddenly, Marcus' men came in their numbers to attack, but the bouncers with the man in white quickly barreled toward Marcus' men, and after a minute, the Black Vipers were all on the ground, groaning in pain alongside their leader, Marcus.

Seeing Marcus crying in pain on the ground instilled fear in the prisoners as they began to wonder who the man in white and his associates were. This made them begin to dismiss the scene and head back to the dining hall. Marcus and his men scampered to their feet also and followed the prisoners inside, leaving the field alone for the strange men and Edward.

Edward, who was bloodied, raised his head to look at the man in white towering over him, but he couldn't spot any resemblance.

"Who are you?" Edward asked, and the man crouched towards him and replied.

"Young Master Lloyd, I'm Donald, your butler, and I'm so glad we found you. It's finally time to embrace your true identity and became the god-like personality you were born to be," The man said, and all the security personnel who accompanied him knelt down in honor of Edward.

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