The System's Shadow - R. A. Collins

Arthur Cross was a dedicated auditor for the State Department of Infrastructure, a man who believed that numbers never lied. But when he uncovers a multi-million dollar embezzlement scheme involving the city's most "respected" commissioners, the numbers become a death warrant for his career. Framed for the very crime he tried to expose, Arthur is sentenced to fifteen years in a maximum-security penitentiary.

Inside, he doesn't succumb to despair. Instead, he applies his analytical mind to the prison's logistics, mapping out the architecture, the guard shifts, and the digital infrastructure of the facility. Through a series of brilliant, calculated moves, Arthur orchestrates an escape that baffles the authorities. Once free, he becomes a ghost in the city he once served. Moving through the shadows, Arthur must outsmart the corrupt officials who put him away, recover the evidence they thought was destroyed, and stage a final confrontation that will either clear his name or bury him forever.