Chapter 4 - The Midnight InvestigationAt 2:00 AM, while the Vance household slept under heavy private security guard, Isabella slipped out of her bedroom window. She dropped silently onto the manicured lawn, wearing a dark hoodie and running shoes.
She wasn't going to wait for the police. The local authorities had failed to catch Victor ten years ago, and they would fail again now.
Isabella navigated the quiet, rain-slicked streets of Santa Esperanza until she reached the abandoned railyard near the industrial district—the very place where Victor had operated his underground extortion ring before his disappearance.
The rusted gates were chained, but a rusted side-panel hung loose. Isabella squeezed through, her breath misting in the cold night air.
Inside the primary warehouse, a single overhead lightbulb swayed gently, casting a sickly yellow glow over a desk covered in dust and old newspapers.
Isabella crept forward, her eyes scanning the room. On the desk lay a fresh, unopened manila envelope stamped with the exact same thorn symbol from the gala screen.
May you like
With trembling fingers, she picked up the envelope and pulled out its contents: a series of surveillance photographs taken just hours earlier.
Photos of her walking home from school. Photos of Lucas, Mateo, and Sofia playing in their backyard. And a handwritten note: “Bring me the girl who ruined my life, or the children burn.”
