Alex – POV
The FBI field office smelled like stale coffee and the faint hum of overworked air conditioning. Agent Martinez led us through a maze of cubicles, where agents spoke in low tones over phones, faces illuminated by computer screens. The air felt heavy, charged — like a storm about to break.
She opened a door to a small conference room. Inside, evidence was laid out across a long metal table like relics from a forgotten world. Three stuffed animals sat in the center — a worn teddy bear, a floppy-eared dog, and a lion with a missing eye. Beside them were stacks of documents sealed in clear evidence bags. Photographs. Shipping manifests. Financial statements printed on paper that had begun to yellow with age.
Fifteen years of truth, hidden in children’s toys.
“We’ve catalogued ev
