One guard nodded and hurried out.
The social worker looked terrified.
“Warden, the order—”
“The order was based on a murder,” Mitchell said.
“And right now, I’m looking at a picture of the dead woman breathing.”
Within minutes, the prison entered a controlled chaos no one had ever trained for.
Phones rang.
Supervisors arrived.
The state execution team was told to stand down.
The governor’s office demanded verification.
The prosecutor’s office demanded the photograph.
Mitchell refused to release the original.
“Chain of custody begins here,” he said. “And this time, nothing disappears.”
Gavin looked up sharply at those words.
“This time?”
Mitchell did not answer.
Not yet.
He walked Chloe into a small interview room with the social worker and two child-welfare officials on speakerphone.
Gavin remained visible through the glass, so Chloe could see he had not been taken away.
Mitchell crouched carefully in front of her.
