When she saw the specific cell housing the Walker family, she did not wait for a guard or a key.
Instead, she reached into her hair and pulled out a sturdy, professional grade hairpin.
With a series of practiced, metallic clicks, she manipulated the lock until the heavy iron cage swung open. She stepped inside the cramped space, her presence immediately commanding the room.
As soon as the family of three realized who had entered their cell, they scrambled to their feet.
Their weary, dusty faces lit up with an almost pathetic level of hope.
Nick Walker was the first to react, his expression shifting from misery to a smug sort of triumph.
It was Nick who had been Celine's original point of entry into the family.
He was the one she had first contacted months ago, and he was the one who had practically sold his brother out to her for the promise of wealth and status. He looked at his parents now, his chest puffing out with unearned pride.
