~CHARLES~
The correctional facility had a unique smell. It was a mix of bleach, old sweat, and the coppery scent of despair.
I adjusted my spectacles and smoothed the lapel of my cheap, ill-fitting suit. To the guards, I was Mr. Arthur Evans, a court-appointed attorney here to discuss a plea deal. To the world, Charles Watson was a ghost, a fugitive who had vanished into the wind.
But I wasn't just a ghost, I was a father.
"Client is in room four," the guard grunted, buzzing the heavy steel door open.
I walked in. The room was a concrete box with a bolted-down table. And there she was, Cassandra, my beautiful girl.
