Chapter 3 Truth

Aria

I waited until the station was down to its midnight skeleton crew when the vending machine buzzed louder than the phones and the rookies yawned through desk reports.

Chris stood beside the hallway door, pretending to scroll through his phone while watching my back.

"You've got five minutes," he muttered. "Tops."

"I only need three."

The archives weren't off-limits but the case I wanted was.

Dominic Virelli.

The file was buried sealed after his sentencing, locked under Level 2 security clearance. Only a handful of people could touch it without triggering alarms.

And I wasn't one of them.

But I'd never let rules stop me before.

The door clicked open under my badge code, and I slipped in.

Rows of metal filing cabinets stared back at me, bathed in cold fluorescent light. The room smelled like dust, dried ink, and time.

Section 2C. Cold Cases. I moved quickly, gloved hands sliding along the tabs.

Then I saw it.

VIRELLI, DOMINIC – Case 0482-L.

I pulled the drawer. My pulse spiked.

Photos. Evidence logs. Old interviews. Handwritten notes by my father. And near the back something I'd never seen before. A sealed red envelope with my mother's signature on the tab.

Catherine Delwunco

What the hell?

"Aria," Chris's voice whispered urgently from the door. "Someone's coming hurry!"

I shoved everything I could into my inside jacket pocket and closed the drawer. My fingers were trembling as I slipped out the side exit and into the stairwell with Chris on my heels.

Later That Night – My Apartment

"Your mother knew something," I said, staring at the envelope on the kitchen table like it might explode.

Chris poured two cups of coffee, one for me, one for him. "She didn't tell you?"

I shook my head. "She said I should let it go. That I need to move on. That reopening the case would only reopen wounds."

He sat down across from me, concern creasing his face. "She's scared."

"Of what?" My voice cracked. "That I'll find something she didn't tell me? That I'll get hurt? That I'll finally learn the truth about what Dominic really did?"

He didn't answer.

I opened the envelope with careful fingers.

Inside were three pages of handwritten notes. Legal strategy. Weak evidence. Gaps in witness testimonies. My mother's signature at the bottom. She'd helped seal the case. Her law firm had advised the DA's office back then. She hadn't just stayed quiet she'd been involved.

"She protected the conviction," I whispered. "She helped make sure it never got appealed."

Chris looked at me. "She did it for you."

"I didn't ask her to."

Silence. Heavy. Choking.

Then my vision swam.

Black spots crept in from the edges of my eyes, and the room tilted.

"Aria?"

I tried to stand, but the floor slipped out from under me.

Then everything went dark.

Hospital The Next Morning

Beeping.

White lights.

Sterile air.

I blinked slowly, consciousness crawling back like molasses.

Chris was slouched in the visitor chair, asleep, jacket draped over his lap. My mother sat beside the bed, legs crossed, coat pristine, expression tight.

"You fainted," she said flatly. "Dehydration. Stress. Lack of sleep. They said your body gave out."

I tried to sit up. "I'm fine"

"You're not fine," she snapped.

Chris stirred but didn't open his eyes.

"You're working yourself into the ground, chasing a ghost," she went on. "And now you're compromising your own health, your job, your sanity."

My throat was dry. "You lied to me. You knew things about Dad's case and never told me"

"I protected you," she said, voice like cut glass. "The moment you started this detective fantasy, I knew this would happen. You think I don't see it? Every case, every suspect you're not chasing justice, Aria. You're chasing him."

I turned away. "Because he's not done. You think Dominic got out to live quietly in a cabin somewhere? He's planning something."

"And if he is, let someone else stop him. You're taking a leave."

I whipped back around. "What?"

"Effective immediately. Paid medical leave. I've already spoken to the Chief."

"You had no right"

"I had every right. I'm still your mother."

Tears stung my eyes, but I refused to let them fall. Not here. Not in front of her.

Chris opened his eyes finally and looked between us, sensing the tension.

"She needs rest," he said gently. "We can handle things for now."

I turned my face to the ceiling. Defeated. Furious.

"Fine," I said quietly.

But in my chest, I knew this wasn't over.

Dominic was out there.

And even if the whole damn world wanted me on pause...

I was just getting started.