Chapter 10: The Evidence They Could Never Erase

I woke to the sound of rain tapping against the hospital window.

For several seconds, I couldn't remember where I was.

Then the memories came rushing back.

The rooftop.

The fall.

Dimitri's face.

Francesca's lies.

My mother's betrayal.

I tried to sit up, but pain shot through my ribs.

A man immediately pressed a hand against my shoulder.

“Don't move yet.”

I turned my head.

A stranger in a dark suit was sitting beside my bed.

He looked to be in his forties, with tired eyes and a thin scar running along his jaw.

“Who are you?” I asked.

“Daniel Moretti.”

The name meant nothing to me.

He pulled a chair closer.

“Three years ago, I worked with your sister on the organ trafficking investigation.”

My entire body went rigid.

“Francesca?”

Daniel nodded.

“I was supposed to be dead too.”

My heart stopped for a beat.

“What did you just say?”

He lowered his voice.

“The operation Francesca claims she led wasn't hers.”

“It belonged to a joint task force that was dismantled after several officers were killed.”

“Your sister was never undercover for three years.”

I stared at him.

“Then where was she?”

Daniel hesitated.

“Hiding.”

A bitter laugh escaped me.

“I already knew that much.”

“No,” he said. “You don't understand.”

“She wasn't hiding from the criminals.”

“She was hiding from the people who were investigating them.”

He reached into his coat and placed a small black drive on the blanket.

“I found this in an evidence locker that was supposed to have been destroyed.”

My fingers trembled as I picked it up.

“What's on it?”

Daniel looked directly into my eyes.

“The original surveillance files.”

“The real chain of custody.”

“And a recording of Francesca meeting the man who ran the entire operation.”

My breath caught.

For three years, I had believed I was chasing a ghost.

But the truth had been sitting in an evidence locker the entire time.

“Why give this to me?” I whispered.

Daniel's expression hardened.

“Because I watched what they did to you.”

“And because I'm tired of watching good people get buried while the people who betrayed them collect medals.”

I stared at the drive.

For the first time since I woke up, something other than grief stirred inside me.

Hope.

Not the kind of hope that made me believe my family would change.

That hope had died long ago.

This was different.

This was the hope that truth could still exist even when everyone around me had chosen a lie.

The door suddenly opened.

A uniformed detective stepped inside.

“Lombardi?”

I looked up.

“Yes?”

“You're going to need to come with us.”

Daniel immediately stood.

“On what charge?”

The detective's expression was grim.

“The department has reopened the investigation into the organ trafficking case.”

“And they've issued a warrant for Lorelei Lombardi's arrest.”

My stomach dropped.

I looked at Daniel.

He didn't look surprised.

Instead, he gave me a quiet nod.

“They're scared.”

I clenched my fingers around the black drive.

For three years, they had controlled the story.

They had controlled the evidence.

They had controlled everyone who was supposed to protect me.

But they had made one mistake.

They had failed to kill me.

I pushed the blanket aside and slowly stood.

Pain tore through my body, but I refused to sit back down.

“Fine,” I said.

“Take me in.”

The detective frowned.

“You don't understand. This isn't a request.”

I looked him straight in the eyes.

“Neither is the truth.”

I slipped the drive into my pocket before they could see it.

This time, I wasn't going to chase a lead someone had planted for me.

This time, I had the evidence.

And whoever had spent three years destroying my life was finally going to have something to fear.