passageway

CHAPTER 13: BEHIND STONE WALLS

Years passed.

Inside the maximum-security facility, Vincent Corneille was no longer a feared mob boss. He was inmate #48291. But he wore his sentence not as a burden, but as a penance.

He spent his days in the prison library, tutoring younger inmates, teaching them how to read, and helping them prepare for life after release. The anger and paranoia that had ruled his early life were gone, replaced by a deep, quiet tranquility.

Every month, without fail, a letter arrived in an unmarked envelope handled by Agent Miller.

*Dear Don Vincent,* the letters would read.

Sophie was growing up. She was excelling in school, playing the violin, and living in a beautiful coastal town where the air was clean and the ocean was blue. Elena had opened a small bakery and was thriving.

May you like

Vincent read every letter by the dim light of his cell, a gentle smile resting on his aged face. He kept a small, drawn picture Sophie had sent him pinned to his wall.

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