There was something about the quiet hum of early morning that made every thought louder.
I hadn't slept.
Not even for a second.
The lamp on my desk cast a dull glow on the crime board in front of me strings, photos, reports, the mess that this entire thing had become.
Names crisscrossed with red yarn, faces half-shadowed, and in the center… Luis Padilla. A friend. Dead. And for what?
I stared at the toxicology report again, fingers tapping against the desk like a clock ticking down.
MDMA in his system. Enough to knock him out. Kill him, even, if mixed with alcohol. But he wasn't the type. Luis barely drank. He was obsessive about control. Health.
That amount… he wouldn't have taken it willingly.
Not unless someone slipped it to him.
Or worse.
I leaned forward, narrowing my eyes at the printed diagram of the autopsy. There a barely noticeable mark on his inner arm. Misidentified as a small bruise.
What if it wasn't?
I grabbed my phone and sent a voice note to Nico.
"Reopen the autopsy. I want tests done on Luis's arm. Inner bicep, left side. Check for injection sites. It's not oral. This was planted. Forced."
I barely let go of the send button when the thought hit me again, the girl from the BGC.
The supposed foreigner seen with Julius.
Tall, olive-toned skin. Black hair, curled and thick. A forgettable accent. But her posture was what stuck with me precise. Controlled. Like someone trained.
I had seen that woman before.
I pulled up archived footage from a senate hearing on judicial reforms. There she was, behind the bench, robe draped over one arm.
Judge Leticia Javier.
Not foreign.
Not even close.
I felt my jaw clench.
What the hell was a sitting judge doing at that kind of party?
And more importantly, why was she with Julius Evangelista?
I stood up, palms flat on the desk, trying to breathe through the fire building in my chest.
This isn't coincidence anymore.
This is a cover-up. Layered. Calculated.
Judge Javier had a history of "ambiguous" rulings, some of which were quietly overturned on appeal, if they ever reached that far.
She was slippery.
She ruled based on silence, on omission. On favor.
And now she was in bed with the son of the President.
What were they planning?
My phone buzzed.
I answered before it could ring twice.
"Nico?" I barked.
"Something happened," he said. His voice was tight, low. Serious. "We just got a call at the bureau. A guy claiming to have been at Luis's party. Said he saw something. Someone. He sounded scared but determined. He wanted to testify."
My pulse spiked. "Okay. So where is he?"
"That's the thing," Nico said. "Right after the call dropped, we tried to call back. Line was disconnected. Burner phone. And we can't trace where it came from, it bounced through five different towers before hitting us."
I closed my eyes, hands balling into fists.
Of course it did.
"Every damn lead," I hissed. "Every person who tries to speak up just—vanishes."
"I know," Nico muttered. "We're running out of time, Lance. Someone's silencing them."
Not just someone.
Someone with the reach to erase footprints before they're even made.
"I'm heading to the safe house," I said, already grabbing my jacket. "Keep working on Javier. See if we can get facial recognition hits from her and tighten surveillance on Julius. No gaps."
"Got it."
I ended the call and shoved my phone into my coat.
Every step to the elevator felt like i was dragging a storm with me.
By the time i reached the car, I was one breath away from punching the steering wheel.
Who do you protect when the whole system is rigged?
You protect who you can.
You protect her.
The drive to the safe house felt longer than usual, even with my foot heavy on the gas. It wasn't the distance, it was everything else.
My mind wouldn't stop spinning.
What kind of power could force silence from witnesses, plant MDMA into someone's bloodstream without a trace, and loop in a judge?
And why did it all seem to circle back to Julius Evangelista?
I tightened my grip on the steering wheel.
There was something wrong with that guy. His timing. His sudden reappearance. The way he looked at Aurora, like he was ten steps ahead of all of us.
Like he knew something and was just waiting for us to catch up.
I should've listened to my instincts the first time.
I pulled over near a service station, took out my encrypted phone, and dialed Nico again.
"Surveillance teams are already moving," he said before i could speak.
"Change of plan," I said. "I want eyes on Julius twenty-four-seven. I don't care if he's buying toothpaste or brushing his damn dog—someone needs to be watching."
"Already deploying people," Nico confirmed. "You think he's the one moving pieces behind the scenes?"
"No," I said slowly. "I think he's a pawn. But a willing one."
A pause.
"And that makes him dangerous."
I ended the call and drove the last ten minutes in silence.
When i arrived at the safe house, the guards opened the gate immediately. They didn't ask questions anymore. They knew what this was. Who i was here for.
As soon as i stepped into the front door, I heard it, the soft shuffling of bare feet against marble.
Then—
"Lance?"
Aurora stood at the hallway entrance, wearing one of my hoodies again, her hair pulled into a loose bun. She looked like she hadn't slept either.
I didn't say anything.
I just walked up to her and pulled her in.
She didn't ask. Didn't hesitate.
Her arms wrapped around me tightly, like she'd been holding herself together all night and only now remembered how to breathe.
"Something happened," she murmured into my chest.
"Yeah," I said, exhaling shakily. "We're getting closer. But it's not safe. Not yet."
She pulled back, just enough to look up at me. "Luis didn't overdose on his own, did he?"
I shook my head.
"It was injected. Someone did this to him. Someone close enough to be in the same room. Same party."
Her mouth parted slightly, fear flickering in her eyes. "Julius?"
I didn't answer.
Because i didn't have proof yet.
But i knew.
I knew.
Instead, I said, "I've already arranged private security for you here. Two men outside, one in the hallway, another downstairs. No one gets in or out unless i approve it. Understand?"
She nodded.
"And i'm not leaving this place without backup now," she said quietly. "I don't care if it's just to breathe outside."
I reached up and gently brushed a strand of hair from her face. "Good. Don't."
We stood like that for a moment, quiet, tense, but breathing the same air.
Then my phone rang again.
I pulled it out fast, hoping for news, anything concrete.
It was Nico.
I answered. "Talk to me."
"You're going to want to hear this," he said, his tone clipped. "The girl we thought was a 'tourist'? The one with Julius?"
"Yeah?"
"She's not just anyone. We ran her image through the Judiciary archives. It's confirmed—Judge Leticia Javier. Real name, no aliases. She entered the venue using a guest pass under the name Catherine Lee, which doesn't exist in any of our databases."
I blinked, stunned. "So it was premeditated. She went undercover."
"She was also seen leaving the hotel with Julius, no security, no press. Private garage exit. Cameras wiped. She's not just involved, Lance. She's in it."
Something inside me snapped into place.
This wasn't just about a cover-up.
It was an operation.
Layered, protected, and judicially shielded.
"What are they planning?" I asked under my breath. "Is this about Luis or is there something even bigger?"
Before Nico could answer, there was static.
Then—
"Wait, something's coming through. Lance, we just got a message. A voice recording sent through an encrypted email. It's from Selena."
I straightened. "Play it."
There was a pause, then her voice came through the speaker. Shaky. Urgent.
"Don't look for me yet. I'm safe. I'll come out when it's clear. But stop focusing on the tattooed men. They're not the root. Someone bigger is pulling the strings, someone with influence beyond what we expected. This person can poison the air around you and still walk away clean. Aurora needs to be careful. She's being watched. I'll call again once i have more. Don't trust anyone. Not even those who say they're on your side. They're trying to erase those whoever wants to help aurora."
Then silence.
I ran a hand through my hair, tension crawling up my spine.
Every time we got close, something slipped away.
And now even Selena was underground.
But at least she was alive.
Still moving.
Still hunting.
So was i.