Chapter 3 A TRAIL OF SECRETS

The tires crunched against the pavement as the black SUV rolled to a stop at the curb. The door unlocked with a sharp click, but Elena didn't move right away. Her pulse was still erratic, her mind spinning from the whirlwind of the past few hours.

"Get out," the man in the driver's seat said flatly.

She swallowed, gripping the handle and stepping out into the cold night air. The street was dimly lit, empty except for a few scattered cars. She recognized the area, just a few blocks from her apartment.

The SUV didn't wait. As soon as her feet touched the ground, the door slammed shut, and the vehicle sped off into the darkness.

Elena stood there for a long moment, breathing in the crisp air, trying to steady herself. She wrapped her arms around her torso, feeling the phantom weight of Lorenzo's warning pressing down on her.

"You're in over your head, Vasquez. If you keep digging, you won't like what you find."

Her jaw clenched.

Screw him.

Shaking off the lingering unease, she forced her feet forward, walking briskly toward her apartment.

Inside, she locked the door behind her, twisting the deadbolt twice before leaning against the cool wood. The silence of her apartment felt almost suffocating. She wanted to scream, to throw something, but exhaustion pressed down on her like a heavy weight.

Instead, she peeled off her jacket, letting it drop carelessly to the floor as she made her way to the bathroom. She turned the shower knob, stepping under the stream of hot water, hoping it would wash away the tension coiling in her muscles.

It didn't.

Even as she stood there, eyes closed, water streaming down her back, all she could think about was her father. The way his blood had stained the pavement. The way Lorenzo had looked at her, his expression unreadable.

She exhaled sharply, shutting off the water.

Minutes later, wrapped in an oversized sweatshirt, she collapsed onto her bed, staring at the ceiling.

She wasn't sure when sleep took her.

The next morning, Elena woke with a start, her body still tense with the remnants of the previous night's events. Sunlight filtered through the curtains, casting a dull glow across the room.

For a brief moment, she could almost pretend everything was normal.

Then reality set in.

Her father was gone. And she was no closer to finding out why.

Shoving back the covers, she forced herself up, moving on autopilot as she got dressed. Today, she needed answers. And the first step was retrieving whatever her father had left behind at the precinct.

The police station was busy when she arrived, officers moving in and out, the hum of conversation filling the air. A few familiar faces offered her sympathetic nods, but she avoided their gazes, heading straight to the front desk.

It didn't take long before she was handed a small cardboard box.

Her father's things.

She carried it out without a word, her grip tightening around the edges as she made her way home.

Back in her apartment, she set the box down on her coffee table, hesitating before lifting the lid.

A badge. A notepad. A few personal effects. And a hard drive.

Her stomach clenched.

She didn't waste time. Plugging it into her laptop, she clicked through the folders until she found one that stood out.

"V. Case."

Heart pounding, she opened it.

A flood of documents filled her screen, reports, crime scene photos, transaction logs. But one file caught her attention.

A half-finished article.

She clicked it open, scanning the words, expecting corruption, criminal records, something about the De Lucas' illegal dealings.

But instead, she found a name.

"Antonio De Luca."

A missing person.

Elena sat back, gripping the edge of her desk.

Her father hadn't just been investigating the De Lucas.

He'd been looking for one of them.

And now, he was dead.