The Last WitnessChapter 1: The Body by the River
The rain had not stopped for three days.
Dark clouds covered the sky as the River Ashwood flowed silently through the outskirts of Millstone City. Most people stayed indoors, but twenty-four-year-old Ethan Carter walked along the muddy riverbank with his camera hanging around his neck.
Ethan worked as a junior journalist for The Millstone Daily. Although he dreamed of becoming a famous investigative reporter, his editor only assigned him small stories about missing pets, traffic accidents, and local festivals.
"This isn't journalism," Ethan often complained.
"It's where everyone starts," his editor always replied.
That Saturday morning, Ethan had come to photograph the flooded river after several neighborhoods were evacuated.
As he adjusted his camera, something unusual floated between the rocks near the shore.
At first, he thought it was a pile of old clothes.
Then he noticed a pale hand.
His heart stopped.
"Oh... no."
He rushed closer, slipping in the mud before catching himself. The body belonged to a man wearing a black suit. His face was turned toward the water, and a deep wound marked the back of his head.
Ethan quickly stepped back and called the police.
Within minutes, flashing blue and red lights filled the quiet riverside.
Detective Sarah Blake arrived first. She was known across Millstone City for solving impossible cases.
"No one crosses the tape," she ordered.
As officers searched the area, Sarah noticed Ethan standing nearby with his camera.
"You found him?"
Ethan nodded.
"I was taking photos of the flood."
She studied him for a moment.
"You didn't touch anything?"
"No."
"Good."
Forensic officers carefully examined the body.
One of them called out.
"Detective! There's something in his pocket."
Everyone watched as the evidence bag was opened.
Inside was a small silver key with the number 17 engraved on it.
Nothing else.
No wallet.
No phone.
No identification.
"It looks like someone wanted him to stay anonymous," Sarah said quietly.
Ethan couldn't stop thinking about the strange key.
Who carried only a key?
Before leaving, he looked toward the trees surrounding the river.
For just a second...
...he thought he saw someone watching the investigation.
A tall figure wearing a black hood.
The stranger stood perfectly still.
Then disappeared into the forest.
That evening, Ethan returned to the newspaper office.
"What have you got?" his editor asked.
"A dead man by the river."
His editor laughed.
"Seriously."
"I am serious."
The editor's smile disappeared.
Within an hour, Ethan's article was online.
The story spread across the city overnight.
The next morning, Detective Sarah received shocking news.
The fingerprints from the body matched a man who had officially died five years earlier.
The dead man by the river wasn't supposed to be alive.
Sarah stared at the report.
"Then who did we find?"
Across town, hidden inside an abandoned warehouse, a man wearing black gloves placed a newspaper on the table.
The headline read:
BODY FOUND BY RIVER.
He smiled.
"So..."
"They've finally found him."
He picked up his phone and made a call.
"There was a witness."
A voice answered.
"Should we take care of him?"
The man looked at Ethan's photograph printed beside the article.
"Yes."
"Before he learns too much."
End of Chapter 1
