Chapter18
875 Words
The sound of glass cracking against the far wall still echoed in Serena’s ears.
Dominic hadn’t flinched when her phone shattered. He just watched her, coldly, silently. That silence, it felt heavier than anger. She could handle yelling. She knew how to dodge it, how to swallow it. But silence was something else entirely.
It was judgment disguised as calm.
She sat on the edge of the couch, one arm cradling her waist like she might collapse inward. Her breath still hadn’t found a rhythm.
“So,” Dominic said after a long stretch, “what are you planning?”
She looked up. “Don’t do that.”
“Do what?”
“Speak to me like I’m about to make a mistake.”
He stepped toward her, slow, deliberate. “Because you are.”
Serena’s jaw clenched. “You think I’ll just sit here and let Mara walk away with Clara’s case? Let them erase her story while I pretend everything is fine?”
Dominic didn’t blink. “You think they removed you for no reason?”
That made her pause. Her eyes narrowed.
“They didn’t remove me because I was compromised,” she said. “They removed me because I was close.”
“You were reckless,” he countered. “Meeting Dope in alleys, drawing attention, letting people see too much. I told you this would happen.”
Serena stood now, heart thudding, voice low. “You don’t get to stand there and act like I belong to you.”
That stopped him.
For once, there was no witty retort. Just a shift in his gaze like something soft blinked through, then vanished.
Serena turned away, brushing her fingers across the counter as if grounding herself in the weight of reality.
“I need to speak to Clara’s family,” she said. “Properly. Not under orders. Just... as someone who knew her.”
Dominic didn’t answer, but he didn’t stop her either when she walked out.
The city smelled like wet pavement and quiet disappointment. Serena didn’t bother to grab a coat. The cool air helped her think.
She didn’t have clearance anymore, but she still had instincts.
Clara’s apartment was still taped. She didn’t try to go in.
Instead, she sat outside. On the steps. Where they used to share coffee during Clara’s late-night venting sessions. There was a stain on the sidewalk she hadn’t noticed before. Old, faded. Not blood, just... remnants.
“You always hated silence,” Serena said quietly, to no one in particular.
A soft voice behind her broke it.
“She said you made her feel brave.”
Serena turned sharply. An older woman stood there, wrapped in a thick scarf, eyes tired but warm.
“Sorry,” Serena said. “Are you...?”
“I was Clara’s caretaker.”
Serena rose. “I I didn’t mean to intrude. I just ”
“She trusted you,” the woman said, cutting off her apology. “I saw it.”
Serena didn’t know what to say. All she could do was nod.
The woman stepped down slowly, sitting beside her.
“They said she made bad friends,” she whispered. “That’s what they told us.”
Serena’s spine straightened. “Bad friends?”
“From her building. No signs of struggle. No signs of anything.”
“That’s not possible,” Serena said. “She would never let them…”
“I know.”
They sat in silence.
Then Clara’s aunt reached into her coat and pulled out a small envelope.
“She left this for you.”
Serena stared. “She what?”
“She said if anything happened... you’d understand what to do.”
Hands trembling, Serena took it. It wasn’t heavy. Just paper. Old, folded neatly. A letter, maybe.
She didn’t open it right away. She couldn’t.
Back in her apartment, the letter sat untouched on the table while Serena paced.
It felt like opening it would break something sacred. Like a final breath sealed in paper.
Her hand finally reached for it when the city began to sleep.
Inside: Clara’s handwriting. Shaky, but hers.
"I’m sorry."
"If you’re reading this, I’m gone. And it wasn’t an accident. Don’t believe what they say."
"I knew they were watching me. I knew something wasn’t right I know this is the second time I'm leaving such but it was all too much for me. I couldn't even come out about everything. And I'm still being a coward not being able to pinpoint the person behind all this mysery.”
"I trusted you because you saw truth where others saw comfort. Don’t let them make you forget what you already know."
Serena's hands shivered as she continued to read the letter. Her eyes were filled and years rolled down. She held her mouth as she continued to read. The one job she thought she was perfect in. She failed to protect a client and was going to fail in serving justice she thought.
Now the letter sat like a bomb.
Clara was gone. But the truth wasn’t.
And if names tied to bloo
d meant what Serena thought they meant... her own existence was about to make even less sense than it did yesterday.
- Writer
