Chapter 8: The Man Who Came Back
I wanted to hit him.
Not because I was angry.
Because I was afraid.
Fear is the emotion people rarely admit.
Fear makes you question your memories.
Your choices.
Your entire understanding of who you are.
“Explain,” I said.
David looked at me.
“I know how this sounds.””
“It sounds like you’re accusing a dead man who isn’t dead.””
“That’s exactly what happened.””
Alvarez stepped between us.
“Start from the beginning.””
David nodded slowly.
“Ethan wasn’t investigating corruption.””
I felt my hands tighten.
“Yes, he was.””
“No.””
David shook his head.
“He wanted you to think he was.””
I looked at the files on the table.
“Then what was he doing?””
David walked toward the photographs.
“He was building a list.””
“Of corrupt officers?””
“No.””
He pointed at my picture.
“Of everyone who could expose him.””
The room became silent.
I stared at him.
“You’re saying Ethan framed people?””
“I’m saying Ethan learned how to manipulate everyone around him.””
“No.””
The word came out before I could stop it.
David looked at me sadly.
“You still protect him.””
Because he knew.
He knew exactly where to hurt me.
“You don’t know him like I did.””
“I knew him too.””
“Then you knew the version he wanted you to know.””
I looked away.
Because there was a part of me that hated him for saying that.
And another part that wondered if he was right.
Alvarez picked up one of the files.
“What is this?””
David hesitated.
Then answered.
“The original undercover operation.””
I opened it.
Inside were documents I had never seen.
Reports.
Recordings.
Financial records.
And one name repeated over and over.
Ethan Vale.
Not as an officer.
As a target.
My heart stopped.
“He was under investigation?””
David nodded.
“Yes.””
“Why?””
“He was selling information.””
I looked at Alvarez.
She looked back at me.
Neither of us spoke.
Because suddenly every piece of the puzzle moved.
The stolen evidence.
The missing files.
The fake death.
The frame job.
But something still didn’t fit.
“Then why warn me?””
David looked confused.
“What?””
“Ethan called me.””
“What did he say?””
“That I was looking at the wrong enemy.””
David’s expression changed.
Not surprise.
Fear.
“Oh no.””
“What?””
“He knew.””
“Knew what?””
David stepped back.
“He knew I was going to tell you.””
A noise came from outside.
A car door closing.
Everyone froze.
Alvarez moved toward the window.
“There’s someone outside.””
David whispered:
“You need to leave.””
I looked at him.
“Why?””
“Because whoever is behind this knows we’re here.””
The lights suddenly went out.
The apartment fell into darkness.
Alvarez drew her weapon.
“Everyone stay where you are.””
A sound came from the hallway.
Slow footsteps.
Calm.
Confident.
Someone who wasn’t trying to hide.
Someone who wanted us to know they were coming.
The door handle moved.
Once.
Twice.
Then the lock broke.
The door opened.
A figure stood in the doorway.
The emergency light from the hallway revealed his face.
My entire body went cold.
Because I knew that face.
I had seen it in the photograph.
I had heard his voice on the phone.
I had buried him.
But there he was.
Alive.
Ethan Vale looked directly at me.
And the first words out of his mouth were not an apology.
Not an explanation.
Not a warning.
They were a question.
“Marcus…”
His eyes moved to David.
May you like
Then back to me.
“Which one of them did you believe?””
