Chapter 13
The Price of Silence
The investigation uncovers a murder linked to Seajay and Rayan's past. Romero realizes the stakes are higher than he ever anticipated; lives are on the line.
The stale air of the precinct clung to me like a shroud, each breath a bitter reminder of how far I'd fallen. The scent of cheap coffee and desperation was a far cry from the jasmine and sea salt that had once filled my world, a world that now felt like a distant, fragile dream. Detective Miller, a man whose perpetual frown seemed etched into his very soul, slid a folder across the scarred desk. The manila was worn thin, the corners dog-eared, like a book read too many times by too many troubled hands.
"This is what we've got on the warehouse fire," Miller grunted, his voice rough as sandpaper. "Or, what's left of it."
I opened the folder, my hands trembling. Inside, not the crisp reports I expected, but a collection of smudged photographs and a single, official-looking document. The photos were grim: twisted metal, charred beams, the skeletal remains of what was once a thriving business. But it was the last photo that made my blood run cold. A figure, barely visible through the smoke and debris, a dark shape against the inferno, its posture contorted in a way that spoke of sudden, violent stillness.
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