“We can’t just sit here,” Eleanor said, her voice breaking the silence. “We have to do something.”
“But what?” Delilah asked, her voice shaky. “We don’t know who to trust. We don’t know who’s behind this.”
“That’s the problem,” Augustus said. “We have no idea who’s pulling the strings. But we need to figure it out before we’re next.”
The weight of his words hung heavy in the air. None of them wanted to admit it, but Augustus was right. They were running out of time, and the noose was tightening.
Their phones buzzed simultaneously, causing them all to jump. The sound was jarring, a stark contrast to the eerie quiet of the park. They all pulled out their phones with trembling hands, dreading what they might see.
Unknown
Tick tock.
“Shit,” Sebastian breathed, his face going pale.
The wind howled through the park, as if echoing the ticking of a clock counting down their last moments of safety.
Chapter Thirty-Two
The smell of freshly brewed coffee and the low hum of conversation usually brought Lilia a sense of calm. Today, though, her nerves were stretched thin as she stood in line at the local coffee shop, staring absentmindedly at the menu overhead.
The barista greeted her with a warm smile. “What can I get for you?”
Lilia blinked, snapping back to reality. “Um, just a black coffee, please. And maybe . . . ” She paused, reaching for her wallet. “A croissant.”
As she handed over her card, the TV mounted above the counter flickered to life, its familiar jingle signaling the start of the local news. Lilia glanced up, barely paying attention until a headline crawled across the bottom of the screen:
“Breaking News: Local Detective Found Dead—Supposed Suicide in Connection to Willow Montgomery’s Murder.”
Her stomach dropped.
“Did you need anything else with that?” the barista asked, confused by Lilia’s frozen expression.
Lilia’s hand faltered as she reached for her coffee. The cup tipped and fell, spilling hot liquid across the counter and onto the floor. The shop seemed to go silent in that instant, all eyes shifting to the TV, where the anchor’s somber voice carried through the air.
The barista jumped back to avoid the splash, but Lilia barely noticed. Her eyes were glued to the screen, her heart thudding in her chest as the news anchor spoke.
“—Detective Thomas McCall was found dead yesterday afternoon in what authorities are calling an apparent suicide. In his note, McCall allegedly confessed to the murder of Willow Montgomery, the young college student whose disappearance and death shook the community just months ago. Photos leaked online earlier today show Montgomery entering McCall’s car on the night she went missing.”
Lilia’s breath caught in her throat. No. No, this can’t be happening. A suicide? He had murdered Willow?
The anchor continued, the images on the screen shifting to pictures of McCall in his police uniform, followed by a grainy photograph of Willow stepping into a dark sedan.
“McCall’s note details an affair with Montgomery that reportedly led to her death. Sources say the detective flew into a rage when Montgomery tried to break off the relationship. The two were seen together in the days leading up to her disappearance, though friends close to Montgomery insist they were unaware of the relationship.”
A soft murmur rippled through the coffee shop as people began whispering to one another. Lilia could feel their eyes on her, could feel the weight of their collective gaze as the news replayed the same damning story she thought had been left behind.
“Is that the detective who was questioning you?” a voice said from somewhere behind her, a quiet, hushed tone.
“Yeah, it’s the same guy,” someone else responded.
The whispers grew louder. Lilia forced herself to look away from the screen, but it felt impossible to focus on anything else. She could feel the tightness in her chest, the air in the shop suddenly feeling too thick, too suffocating.
Her phone buzzed in her pocket, but she couldn’t bring herself to check it. Not yet.
As the camera cut back to the news desk, another anchor chimed in, her voice sympathetic but firm. “This is, of course, a major development in the ongoing investigation. While McCall’s suicide note allegedly clears Lilia Chen and her friends of any involvement in Montgomery’s murder, many are questioning how such a high-ranking officer was able to hide his involvement for so long.”
The first anchor nodded. “It’s certainly a shock to the community. We’ve also heard reports that the DA’s office will be making a statement later this evening. It’s unclear whether the investigation will close entirely, but it seems McCall’s confession has provided some closure?—”
