Marcus replied:
"Neither did you when you walked onto the mat."
"This isn't a tournament."
"I know."
"There are people involved who hurt others."
Marcus nodded.
"Then we should be careful."
Evelyn looked at Daniel.
"You?"
Daniel shrugged.
"I don't like bullies."
Victor crossed his arms.
"I don't like unfinished business."
Evelyn looked toward Adrian.
The coach sighed.
"Don't look at me."
"You're the adult."
"Exactly."
He pointed at the three men.
"They're adults too."
Evelyn smiled despite herself.
The next clue came from an old storage facility.
Daniel had rented a locker there under a false name.
Evelyn had never known.
Calvin gave her the key.
Inside the locker was a single metal case.
The three men stood behind her.
Maya waited outside with Adrian.
Evelyn opened the case.
Documents.
Photographs.
Names.
Dates.
Financial records.
Everything connected to an underground fighting organization that had operated through private clubs, illegal tournaments, and corrupt officials.
At the center of it all was a man named Victor Kane.
Kane had disappeared after Daniel's death.
Now he was back.
Marcus studied the photographs.
"This guy?"
Calvin nodded.
"He was the reason Daniel was investigating."
"Why?"
"Because fighters were being recruited, manipulated, and sometimes forced into matches they couldn't safely survive."
Evelyn looked at the papers.
"My husband tried to expose them."
"Yes."
"And they killed him."
Calvin looked down.
"Yes."
Evelyn closed her eyes.
For twenty years she had carried grief.
Now grief was becoming anger.
That frightened her more than the men who were coming.
She remembered Daniel's last words to her.
Don't become like them.
She opened her eyes.
"We aren't going after them."
Victor frowned.
"Then what?"
"We expose them."
Marcus nodded.
"That makes sense."
Daniel smiled.
"I was hoping you'd say that."
The plan was simple.
They would not hunt Kane.
They would force him into the light.
They would give the evidence to investigators and journalists.
But Kane moved faster.
That night, the Ironwood Academy was attacked.
The first window shattered at 10:17 p.m.
Adrian heard it.
Then another.
Students froze.
Marcus stood.
"Everyone back."
Three men entered through the front.
Then two through the side.
They weren't there to fight.
They were there to intimidate.
Evelyn stepped forward.
"Leave."
One of the men laughed.
"You're still protecting people?"
Evelyn recognized the voice.
"Kane."
The man smiled.
"Not quite."
A phone rang.
The man answered.
A voice came through the speaker.
Evelyn recognized it immediately.
Victor Kane.
"You have something that belongs to me."
Evelyn looked at the metal case.
"No."
"You have Daniel's records."
"Yes."
"Bring them."
"No."
Kane laughed.
"Then I take them."
The attackers moved.
Marcus, Daniel, and Victor formed a line.
Adrian shouted:
"Control!"
They understood.
This wasn't about revenge.
They protected the students.
Marcus redirected the first attacker.
Daniel blocked another.
Victor used his size to stop two more from reaching the younger students.
Evelyn moved differently.
She didn't attack first.
She waited.
Then she intervened wherever someone was in danger.
The fight lasted less than three minutes.
When it ended, the attackers were on the floor.
Nobody was seriously hurt.
Evelyn looked at Marcus.
"Everyone okay?"
He nodded.
Daniel checked the students.
Victor looked toward the broken windows.
"They'll come back."
Evelyn nodded.
"I know."
Maya walked toward her.
"Mom."
Evelyn hugged her.
"I'm okay."
Maya shook her head.
"I know."
She looked at the others.
"They're not."
Evelyn understood.
The next battle would not be about fighting.
It would be about truth.
And Victor Kane had spent twenty years making sure the truth stayed buried.
Kane made his move three days later.
He sent an invitation.
Not a threat.
An invitation.
It was delivered to Ironwood in a black envelope.
Inside was a photograph of Daniel Carter.
On the back were four words:
Come finish his fight.
Evelyn stared at it.
Marcus stood beside her.
"Don't go."
Evelyn shook her head.
"I have to."
"No."
She looked at him.
"Why?"
"Because that's what he wants."
"Exactly."
Marcus understood.
"He wants you angry."
"Yes."
"Then don't give him anger."
Evelyn smiled.
"Who says I'm angry?"
Marcus laughed.
"Your eyes."
The invitation contained an address.
An abandoned arena.
Evelyn went with Marcus, Daniel, Victor, Adrian, and Calvin.
Maya stayed behind.
The arena was enormous.
Thousands of empty seats surrounded an old fighting platform.
Kane stood in the center.
He was older than Evelyn remembered.
Gray hair.
Sharp eyes.
A calm smile.
"You came."
Evelyn stepped forward.
"You killed my husband."
Kane shook his head.
"No."
"You were responsible."
"I gave him a choice."
"You gave him a trap."
Kane smiled.
"Everyone chooses."
Marcus stepped beside Evelyn.
Kane looked at him.
"These are your new students?"