This wasn't as hard as I thought it'd be to get back into. I hope you enjoy it. Please consider looking at what else I've been writing lately.

Chapter Sixteen:

Sophia

I am already feared among the women in Highgate prison. They quickly learned not to mess with me after I shanked a girl for trying to nickname me "Mrs. Rich Bitch." No one could pin the crime on me as I had used a napkin to cover my prints on the shiv. I know the guards suspect it was me, but they have no proof. Even in here, I feel power surging through me.

Someone passed me a book through the bars the day of Thanksgiving. It had a note in it for from Catherine Adams. Cat was held in a different prison, but clearly, she had eyes everywhere. We were destined to form a bond.

The code we used was simple. We used the substitution of every fourth letter to create messages. Guards reading them would assume we were griping about Reid when actually, we were plotting. It was apparent Cat had most of the resources she needed to exact the kind of revenge we were both looking for. She just needed me as a source of misdirection.

…

Jacob underestimated my intelligence. He always had. It takes brains to know who can be manipulated, who needed to be blackmailed, and who had to be threatened. There is also an element of talent required in the art of seduction. The technical genius never considered the wife he hated might be a genius in her own right.

Prison was all about routine, even the "surprise" inspections. There had been whispers about it for days. Cat and I had planned accordingly. I obediently left my cell when they came and tore it apart. I had made sure a piece of paper was sticking out of the hole I had cut into the mattress. The guard looked at the papers and one rushed out while the other escorted me to an interrogation room.

I sat there for hours. No one visited me. I let my mind drift to my favorite beach in the Bahamas. To an observer, I looked positively tranquil.

Emily Prentiss burst in.

"You were plotting to kidnap Hank Morgan!" she exploded. "Tell me your source of information!"

"Why would I help you?" I asked calmly.

"Maybe, when I've cooled off, I'll talk to the DA about getting you more privileges," she said.

"I have everything I need," I said.

She stormed out.

The clock was ticking, and she needed to make sure Hank was alright. Oh, how wrong the brunette bitch was.

…

The window passed twenty-four hours later. I knew for a fact Hank was perfectly safe. There had been no reason to worry about him.

It worked out perfectly. I was dragged out of my cell in the morning, and blond bitch was waiting in the interrogation room.

"Where's my son!?" she practically screamed.

"Which one?" I asked in a mocking tone.

She slammed her hand on the table.

"I'm in no mood for games," she said. "Tell me where Michael is!"

"Now you know what it is like to have one of the things you love ripped from you," I said. "To worry that he is scared and suffering."

"I want to know where he is!" she said.

"Do your superiors know you're here?" I asked innocently. "You seem awfully close to this case."

She walked over to my and pulled my chair out from under me. She then kicked me in the stomach.

"Where is he?" she demanded and kicked me in the shoulder. "Where is he!?"

"Guard!" I shouted.

"No one is paying attention," she said. "I made sure of that! Garcia even turned off the surveillance cameras."

She turned the chair around and pressed it to my neck, choking me.

"TELL ME!" she screamed.

"Tied to a tree in Shenandoah Park by the Griffith amphitheater," I said. "If my hitmen followed their directions."

She ran out while the chair was still on my neck.

Despite my relatively minor injuries. I couldn't have been happier.

Cat had all the information she needed. She had even been plotting against J.J. before I came into the picture. Money from a Swiss bank account under a different name that I used also turned out to be helpful in broadening Cat's vision.

…

My next visitor was my niece Nico. This surprised me. I was expecting Spencer.

"You didn't win," she said as we sat down.

"You'd think money would be a burden to someone like him," I said. "After all the suffering it has caused."

"You really thought a silly code would work?" Nico asked. "Spencer broke it in minutes."

"But only after the fact," I said.

Nico smiled.

"Agents Jareau and Prentiss are quite the actresses, aren't they?" Nico said. "Jareau could have killed you if she wanted to. Spencer has been keeping tabs on Cat Adams for years and when she sent you a message, he knew you weren't done plotting."

My expression remained neutral.

"Norma Desmond, really?" Nico said. "You and Uncle Jacob did enjoy the classics together. You really shouldn't have used that as your fake name on your Swiss bank account to fund your illicit activities."

I remained calm.

"Why isn't Spencer here?" I asked and gripped the table.

"He's got a billion-dollar company to run," she said. "Why would he waste his time on you?"

"You have no idea who you're dealing with," I said as my voice oozed with menace. "I won't stop until I get what belongs to my children!"

"I know," Nico said. "Everyone knows. By the way, even August and Carina are disgusted by your latest stunt. Did you forget they're both parents, albeit bad ones? Carina has cut a deal with prosecutors about the dresses, and will only serve probation. August has also cut a deal where he'll only face two years in prison and get out in sixteen months with good behavior."

She then pulled out her phone and played a message.

"Mom, why'd you do it?" Carina cried. "I'm fine with going after his family and his friends, but not the kids! The kids had nothing to do with it! I'm done with your games. Have a nice life in prison."

"I can't believe you mom!" August shouted. "I thought the dress thing was kind of funny, but plotting to kidnap kids? Seriously!? This looks really bad. Don't expect me to visit. As far as anyone is concerned, I'm an orphan."

I looked at Nico. She didn't look so much as pleased as relieved. The games were over in her mind.

She stood up and left without saying another word.

I vowed to find a way to make Spencer pay for what he had done until I breathed my last breath.