The raven files
747 Words
Chapter 12
The ambulance sirens faded into the distance.
Red and blue lights flashed outside the Blackwood Gazette, illuminating the rain-soaked streets.
Amora sat silently on the back steps of the building, Samuel Walters’ notebook resting in her lap.
She couldn’t stop replaying his final words.
“Finish what Noah started.”
Ethan walked over, carrying two cups of coffee.
“You should drink something.”
She accepted the cup but didn’t take a sip.
“He died because he helped Noah.”
Ethan sat beside her.
“He died because he refused to stay silent.”
She looked down at the notebook.
“What if everyone who helps us ends up like Samuel?”
Ethan was quiet for a moment.
“Then we make sure his death wasn’t in vain.”
⸻
An hour later, Sheriff Brooks escorted them back to Ethan’s office.
“I’ve assigned officers outside,” he said.
“They’ll stay here tonight.”
Ethan frowned.
“You trust all of them?”
The sheriff hesitated.
“No.”
“That’s why I only told two officers where you were going.”
After the sheriff left, Ethan locked every door and closed the blinds.
Only then did he place the notebook on his desk.
“You ready?”
Amora nodded.
“I have to be.”
The notebook was old, its leather cover cracked with age.
Across the front, in faded gold letters, were the words:
RAVEN FILES
Inside the first page was Samuel Walters’ handwriting.
If you’re reading this, then either Noah succeeded… or I failed.
Amora swallowed hard.
The next page contained a list of names.
Some were crossed out.
Others were circled in red.
One name stood alone at the bottom.
Richard Hawthorne
“The same man from the newspaper article,” Amora whispered.
Ethan nodded.
“He keeps showing up.”
She turned another page.
There were photographs.
A warehouse.
A luxury hotel.
Several expensive cars.
And one image that made Amora stop breathing.
Noah.
He was shaking hands with Richard Hawthorne.
“What?”
She stared at the picture in disbelief.
“Why would Noah meet with him?”
Ethan took the photograph.
“Look closer.”
She did.
Noah wasn’t smiling.
His expression was tense.
And just behind Hawthorne…
Barely visible…
Was the man in the black suit.
“The man from the SUV,” Amora whispered.
“So he’s been involved from the beginning.”
⸻
A folded piece of paper slipped from between the pages.
Ethan unfolded it carefully.
It wasn’t a letter.
It was a ledger.
Rows of dates.
Amounts of money.
Account numbers.
Every payment had the same initials beside it.
R.H.
M.C.
D.B.
Amora frowned.
“Who’s D.B.?”
Ethan’s face became unreadable.
“I don’t know.”
“But I know one thing.”
He pointed to the dates.
“These aren’t random.”
“The payments happened every month.”
“For years.”
She looked at him.
“You think it’s bribery?”
“I think someone was paying people to keep quiet.”
Just then, Ethan’s phone rang.
The screen displayed an unknown number.
He hesitated before answering.
“This is Ethan.”
A distorted voice spoke.
“You’ve opened the Raven Files.”
Ethan stood.
“Who is this?”
“You have twenty-four hours.”
“To do what?”
“Leave Blackwood.”
The line crackled.
“Or the next funeral…”
The caller paused.
“…will be Amora’s.”
The call ended.
Silence filled the office.
Amora looked at Ethan.
“They know.”
He nodded.
“They’ve been watching us every step of the way.”
Before either of them could speak again, a loud bang echoed from downstairs.
Then another.
Someone was pounding on the front door.
One of the deputies shouted from outside.
“Mr. Cross!”
Ethan rushed to the window.
“What happened?”
The deputy looked up, panic written across his face.
“The evidence room at the sheriff’s station…”
He struggled to catch his breath.
“It’s on fire.”
Amora’s heart sank.
“The evidence.”
Ethan’s jaw tightened.
“They’re destroying everything.”
He grabbed his car keys and the Raven Files.
“We’re going.”
As they raced down the stairs, neither of them noticed a single loose page slipping from the notebook onto the office floor.
On it was a handwritten sentence neither of them had seen.
The traitor wears a badge.
- Writer
