Chapter 3

The red light flared to life on the dial. I pressed my thumb down immediately.

"Dad? Are you there?"

"You were right." His voice rushed out fast and breathless. "The Deputy Captain sent me to the alley yesterday, but I set up a trap."

"He hired a hitman to silence me."

I gripped the steering wheel tightly. "Are you okay?"

"I am fine. I am going to report this up the chain discreetly." He sounded completely focused.

"Cops cannot blatantly murder other cops. The Deputy is finished."

He finally trusted me. But the real danger was still coming.

"Listen to me carefully," I said, leaning closer to the speaker. "The records show you vanish on October 22nd. Outside a private underground club."

"Whatever happens, you cannot go near that place on the 22nd."

A heavy sigh filtered through the static. "I cannot do that, Charlotte."

"I finally located their ultimate stash. The physical ledger and the microfilms are inside that club."

"If you go, you disappear forever!" I yelled into the mic. "You leave me and Mom completely alone!"

"If I push a little harder, this city loses its worst corrupt politicians." His voice grew remarkably soft.

"I took an oath to the badge. I have to honor it."

He paused. "Tell me one thing. By 2023, is the corrupt mayor finally behind bars?"

My throat closed up entirely. I could not speak.

I knew the exact details of this case. The mayor never faced a single charge.

They only locked up a few scapegoats like the mob middleman, Carl. Those men were finishing their fifteen-year sentences this very year.

"Charlotte? Are you there?"

I could not bring myself to destroy his hope. Before I could reply, the three minutes ran out.

A sharp click echoed. The radio went dead in my hands.

I threw the radio onto the passenger seat and started the engine. I sped straight toward the federal penitentiary.

Carl was the black-glove intermediary for the dirty cops. He was serving the final months of his sentence.

A guard led him into the visitor booth. Carl sat down on the other side of the thick glass.

He wore a standard orange jumpsuit but looked well-fed and completely relaxed. He picked up the heavy phone receiver.

"Well, look who it is." Carl smirked, his eyes trailing over me.

"The dead hero’s daughter. Or should I say, the Chief’s lovely wife?"

I held the receiver tightly against my ear. "I want the truth about my father. Is he really missing?"

Carl threw his head back and laughed loudly. "The official police report says he grabbed the bribe money and ran."

"What exactly do you want me to say?"

"You absolute bastard," I practically spit the words into the phone. "Do you never worry about karma catching up to you?"

His smile vanished instantly. He leaned closer to the glass.

"Karma? The only real sin in this world is being weak and broke."

"I used to hustle on the streets for pennies. Once I started running errands for politicians, I lived like an absolute king."

He tapped the glass with his knuckle. "A spoiled brat like you has zero right to lecture me."

I stared intensely into his eyes, processing my next move quickly. Playing nice was never going to work on a man like him.

"You have an illegitimate son living in London," I said, keeping my voice dead flat.

Carl froze completely. His hand tightened around his receiver.

"He is seventeen now, right? Very handsome kid." I tilted my head slightly.

"He walks to prep school every morning alone."

Carl exploded from his chair. He lunged at the glass, banging his fists violently against the pane.

"Do not touch him!" he screamed into the phone. "You are a cop's daughter!"

A guard immediately stepped forward, grabbing Carl by the shoulder. "Sit down or this visit is over!"

Carl fell back into his plastic chair. He stared at me with pure, unfiltered panic.

I let out a cold, sharp laugh. "I have not touched him because I actually have a soul."

"I am only going to ask you this one time. What exactly happened sixteen years ago?"

I lowered my eyes, acting completely defeated. "You guys destroyed his body years ago. I have no evidence to overturn the case."

"Even if I know the truth, I cannot travel back in time to fix it."

Carl stared at me, his chest heaving heavily. The panic in his eyes slowly shifted into deep calculation.

He tapped his fingers nervously on the metal counter. Ten seconds passed in total silence.

"I will give you one piece of the puzzle," Carl finally whispered into the receiver.

"Your dad hid perfectly inside the club that night. No one from my crew even spotted him."

"But he accidentally bumped into someone he trusted completely."

Carl smiled a chilling, ugly smile. "You know that person too."