It was almost two in the morning when my phone buzzed.
I was barely drifting off, one arm around Aurora's waist, her back pressed to my chest.
Her breathing was steady, like a metronome keeping me sane.
We hadn't said much after dinner.
What was there to say? We were both running on fumes, pretending this safe house could shield us from the monsters outside.
But that illusion shattered the second the phone lit up.
I untangled from her slowly, careful not to wake her. Slipped out of the bedroom, grabbed the phone, and ducked into the kitchen.
Unknown number.
I answered anyway. "Hello?"
"Lance." Low voice. Urgent. Familiar.
My blood iced over. "Selena?"
She sounded like hell, like she was breathing through panic and bruises.
"Listen to me," she whispered. "I don't have much time."
I was already reaching for my laptop. "Where are you? Are you safe?"
"No. I'm being held. They got me."
"Who—"
"Julius," she cut in. "His men. I don't know exactly where I am. They move me. But listen carefully, because this might be the only time I can call."
I stopped moving.
Heart in my throat.
"I overheard them. Julius and Judge Javier. They're in on it. They're manipulating the case. And they're planning to frame me. They think i'm the leak."
I gripped the edge of the counter. "What?"
"They know you and Nico are digging. They know Luis saw something. He tried to warn Aurora."
My stomach dropped. Everything in me went cold. "They killed him, didn't they?"
She didn't answer right away.
And then, quietly, "Luis heard everything. The plan to drug Aurora at that party. They were going to make it look like an OD. Inject her with MDMA and wait until it was too late."
I swore under my breath.
The image of Aurora collapsing, unconscious, twisted in my gut.
"Luis was going to go to the press. That night. That's why they got to him."
"Jesus Christ," I muttered. My hand was shaking.
"There's something in Julius's house," she went on. "His bedroom. I don't know what, but i felt it. Something's off. Like he's hiding more than evidence."
"You're sure?"
"I'm sure. He keeps everything close. He's getting paranoid. Use that."
"I'll find you," I said, voice tight. "We'll get you out."
"No," she said. "If they get suspicious, they'll kill me. Just… protect Aurora."
I clenched my jaw.
"I will."
The line cut.
And just like that, the calm was gone.
By sunrise, I was in full gear again. No more waiting. No more red tape. No more praying the system would work. The system was the rot.
I called Nico.
"She's alive?" he asked, still half-asleep.
"She called me. She's being moved. Said Julius and Javier are trying to frame her. That Luis heard the plan to kill Aurora."
Nico let out a string of curses. "And the MDMA in Luis' system?"
"They injected him. Just like they were going to do to Aurora."
"Shit," Nico muttered. "That explains the tox report. No ingestion signs. Just presence in the bloodstream."
"They're erasing everything. Every lead, every witness."
"Judge Javier's involved?" he said, more statement than question.
"Deeply. We need to break into Julius's house."
"Officially or off the books?"
I was already typing on my tablet. "Off the books. I've called in a few favors. No warrants."
"If we get caught…"
"Then we go down swinging. But we take the truth with us."
By noon, I'd added two more bodyguards for Aurora. Vetted them myself. Paid from my own account.
She didn't ask why.
She just nodded.
And that scared the hell out of me.
The Aurora i knew would've argued. Snapped something sarcastic. But now? She just looked… tired.
I watched her flip through a book she wasn't even reading. Her phone buzzed again. Spam text. Probably another anonymous threat.
I crossed the room.
"Give me your phone," I said.
She handed it over without hesitation.
I pulled the SIM out, crushed it in a napkin. "New number. New phone. No one contacts you unless it's me."
She nodded again. Barely a whisper. "Okay."
I kissed her forehead. "They won't touch you. Not while i'm breathing."
Four in the afternoon. Nico and I sat in a parked van outside Julius's gated mansion.
The property was pristine.
Third-floor window, north side, that was the room. Pulled the floor plan from old files at city hall.
"How do we get in?" Nico asked.
I handed him a forged ID. "We're here to clean the AC units."
He chuckled. "Old school."
"Still works."
He looked over as my phone buzzed.
Anonymous.
YOU'RE PLAYING WITH FIRE. STOP NOW OR YOU'LL BE NEXT.
I showed it to him.
"You still in?" I asked.
He cracked his neck. "Always."
We walked in with toolkits and fake smiles. No one questioned us. Not on a humid afternoon like this.
The place was too clean.
No photos. No mess. Just white walls, polished wood, and a silence that wasn't natural.
We found the third-floor hall quickly. I slipped gloves on.
We entered.
The room was… wrong.
Too cold. Too symmetrical.
Like someone wanted it to look lived-in.
"Ten minutes," I muttered. "Maybe less."
Nico checked the dresser. "Cologne bottles and cufflinks."
I scanned the bookshelf. Nothing useful. Then opened the closet.
A drawer caught my eye, small, metallic, locked.
No reason for a locked drawer inside a closet unless you're hiding something.
I pulled a tool from my pocket.
Popped it open.
USBs. A journal. And a syringe. Silver, with residue still inside.
I handed the syringe to Nico. "Get this tested. Lab. Discreet."
He nodded.
I flipped open the journal.
My stomach turned.
Names. Dates. Dosages.
And one line, scribbled like an afterthought:
"A dies by her own hand. Overdose. Let the world call it poetic justice."
I didn't realize i was holding my breath until it escaped me in a rush.
We bagged everything.
Reset the drawer. Locked it.
And left just as the real AC guys showed up.
Back in the van, I stared at the journal in my lap.
Nico looked over. "You good?"
I shook my head.
"No. But we're closing in."