Weeks had passed, yet the weight of it all still lingered like a bruise that refused to heal.
Daniel sat alone in the dim investigation room, the silence pressing down harder than any shouting match ever could. Files had been boxed away, evidence was half-archived, and the unit had been officially disbanded. Most people had already moved on.
Daniel hadn't.
His sleeves were rolled up, his eyes bloodshot from too many sleepless nights. It wasn't obsession that kept him here—just a stubborn ache that had followed him since childhood, ever since he watched gangs tear apart the neighborhood he grew up in.
Vincenzo Moretti wasn't just another criminal.
To Daniel, he represented everything he had joined the force to destroy.
Exhaustion weighed on him, but quitting had never crossed his mind.
The door creaked open.
Lena walked in first, dropping a stack of folders onto the table with a frustrated sigh.
"Bureaucracy's burying us alive," she muttered. "Request after request denied. At this point it feels like they're just waiting for us to disappear."
Alex entered behind her. The easy confidence he usually carried had faded, replaced by a tired expression that made him look older than he was.
Ethan followed quietly, holding an evidence folder close to his chest.
Marcus came in last, shutting the door behind him before resting a hand against the table.
"It's over," he said quietly. "That's the word from the higher-ups."
Nobody answered.
The silence that followed was filled with something none of them wanted to admit.
Guilt.
They had arrested Vincenzo believing they were finally bringing justice to Portovello.
Instead...
Dozens of innocent people had died.
The explosion replayed in Daniel's mind more often than he cared to admit. The burning station. The screaming civilians. Families that would never be whole again.
His throat tightened.
They hadn't planted the bomb.
But their actions had helped create the circumstances that allowed it to happen.
That thought never left any of them.
Lena broke the silence first.
"People don't even look at us anymore."
Her voice lacked its usual sharpness.
"Colleagues avoid us in the hallway. Internal Affairs keeps dragging us through investigations. Yesterday I overheard officers joking about our 'imminent demise' over drinks."
She gave a hollow laugh.
"They've already written us off."
For someone who rarely spoke about her own feelings, the words carried more weight than she probably intended.
Alex stared at the floor.
"My informants won't even answer my calls anymore," he said. "Everyone's scared. We thought we were protecting people..."
He let out a bitter breath.
"Look where it got us."
Ethan adjusted the folder in his hands before speaking.
"The evidence never lied."
He paused.
"But we only saw one piece of the puzzle."
His voice remained calm, though the regret underneath was unmistakable.
"We walked into that investigation without realizing the entire room was soaked in gasoline."
Marcus closed his eyes for a brief moment.
"I stayed on this job because I believed the law would eventually win."
He looked around the room.
"Now our unit is gone, we have targets on our backs, and the very system we served has decided we're expendable."
No one argued.
There wasn't anything to argue about.
The grief remained between them, heavy and unspoken.
But little by little, that grief hardened into resolve.
None of them had any intention of walking away.
Lena straightened and carried the folders to the cleared investigation board.
"If we're going to keep digging," she said, pinning the first photograph into place, "then we start with everything Narcotics finally agreed to hand over."
Everyone's attention shifted toward the board.
She placed another file beside the first.
"Moretti Security Company."
She tapped the folder lightly.
"Officially, it's a legitimate security business providing bodyguards and private protection."
She flipped to the next page.
"Unofficially... intelligence suggests counterfeit goods are mixed with legitimate shipments. Medicines, commercial products—anything that can be moved without drawing attention."
Daniel folded his arms.
"So the company is bigger than we thought."
Lena nodded.
"Much bigger."
She reached for another file.
"And that's only the beginning."
She looked around the room before continuing.
"Let's start with the Moretti family."
Lena opened another file.
She pinned the first photographs onto the board.
"Clara Moretti. Forty-eight. Mother."
She looked down at her notes.
"Neighbors, school records and older reports all point to the same thing. She openly opposed Vincenzo's actions when he was younger. There are even records of her physically disciplining him at school on multiple occasions."
Daniel folded his arms.
"So she wasn't supportive of him."
"Doesn't appear to be," Lena replied. "Whether that makes her useful is another question."
Marcus shook his head.
"A mother is still a mother."
Lena didn't argue and moved on.
"Isabella Moretti. Twenty-three."
She pinned another photograph beside Clara's.
"Former classmates and acquaintances describe her relationship with Vincenzo as... strained. Several statements mention arguments between them. One report even claims she slapped him before he left school."
Alex raised an eyebrow.
"And she's still alive."
"It seems Vincenzo doesn't retaliate against his family."
The room fell quiet for a moment.
Lena continued.
"Lucia Moretti. Sixteen."
"Friends consistently describe her as someone who dislikes being associated with Vincenzo. She had caused public scenes because of it more than once."
Daniel simply nodded.
"Antonio Moretti. Seventeen."
A new photograph joined the board.
"Known for multiple fights inside school. Teachers, students... disciplinary records aren't exactly short."
Alex gave a dry smile.
"Bad influence comes with power."
"His cousin Nick, also seventeen, isn't much different," Lena continued. "The two are usually mentioned together."
Marcus rubbed his chin.
"So the younger generation isn't exactly keeping a low profile."
Lena pinned another picture.
"His cousin. Mia Moretti. Five."
She closed that file almost immediately.
"Nothing useful. She's just a child."
Nobody commented.
Lena opened another folder.
"Rafael Moretti. Fifty-two."
"Marco Moretti. Forty-seven."
"Both oversee the family's legitimate businesses. Financial records don't show anything immediately suspicious. On the surface, they appear to run a legitimate security company."
Ethan looked over the documents.
"So even if Vincenzo disappeared tomorrow..."
"The businesses would still keep running," Lena finished.
She continued placing photographs one by one.
"Luca Moretti. Twenty-two."
"Enzo Moretti. Twenty."
"Both have appeared repeatedly during surveillance over the last few years. They seem to handle most activity whenever Vincenzo isn't present."
"The recent Santoro massacre appears to have been their doing."
Daniel looked carefully at their photographs.
"So they're running things on the ground."
"Most likely."
Lena nodded.
"Klein Moretti, twenty. Business student."
"Frank Moretti, twenty-one. Law student."
"Neither has shown much direct involvement so far."
"And Cathy Moretti—the one who's been popping up in the news."
Lena placed her photograph in the center of the board.
"Seventeen."
She didn't immediately continue.
Instead, she flipped through several pages before speaking again.
"School complaints. Multiple harassment reports. Several students required psychological treatment after incidents involving her."
Alex frowned.
"That's already bad."
"It gets worse."
Lena looked around the room.
"Several of the students connected to those reports later died after being tortured. No perpetrator found. We can't prove a connection."
"We suspect she's a sadist."
Nobody spoke.
Daniel stared at Cathy's photograph a few seconds longer than the others.
"So she's dangerous."
Lena answered carefully.
"Dangerous enough that I'd rather not trust her around people."
She stepped back from the board.
"For now, that's everyone directly connected to the family that we could confirm."
Daniel studied the photographs spread across the wall.
"The structure runs deeper than we thought."
Lena slowly nodded.
"Yes."
"It always was."
Lena opened another folder, this one noticeably thicker than the last.
"Now..." she said quietly. "These three are different."
She pinned three photographs onto the board.
Edward.
Felix.
Evelyn.
Daniel's eyes narrowed.
"The generals."
"That's what Narcotics calls them," Lena replied. "Whether that's their official position or not, nobody knows."
She picked up Edward's file first.
"Edward Hale. Fifty-seven."
She adjusted the papers in her hand.
"Former university professor."
Ethan looked up.
"A professor?"
Lena nodded.
"He was arrested years ago after being accused by a female student. The case attracted media attention. He was convicted and sentenced unusually fast."
She turned another page.
"Seven years later, he was proven innocent with ironclad evidence but this never made any news."
Alex frowned.
"Something is fishy."
"He lost almost everything," Lena continued. "His career. His reputation. His family. By the time he was released, there wasn't much left."
Marcus sighed quietly.
"And after that?"
"That's where the trail disappears, he never contacted his family or anyone he knew."
Lena tapped the file.
"We also don't know when he met Vincenzo."
She paused before adding,
"The woman who accused him also disappeared while he was still serving his sentence."
Nobody spoke.
Everyone sensed something was wrong.
For now, they remained silent.
"Officially she's still missing," Lena continued. "Rumors claim she's dead, but nothing has ever been proven."
Daniel stared at Edward's photograph.
"So he has a motive."
"Possibly."
Lena shrugged.
"We suspect revenge may have been his motive, but we can't confirm it."
She moved to the second file.
"Felix."
"Twenty-two."
"Same age as Vincenzo."
Alex crossed his arms.
"His friend."
"From school."
Lena continued.
"School records place them together for years. Multiple witnesses described them as inseparable during high school."
She slid another document onto the table.
"We also believe he's responsible for wiping information related to Vincenzo from online platforms before the blast."
Daniel looked up.
"So he's the one."
"Yes."
She pointed at several reports.
"Posts disappeared. Discussion forums vanished. Archived pages were erased. It happened repeatedly over several years because of him."
Ethan frowned.
"That takes planning."
"And skill," Lena answered.
She looked back at Felix's photograph.
"His family background is completely blank."
"No parents."
"No relatives."
"No financial records."
"Nothing."
Alex let out a low whistle.
"So somebody erased his past too."
"Either that..."
Lena closed the file.
"...or he erased himself."
Silence settled over the room again.
Then she reached for the final folder.
"Evelyn."
Lena's expression changed.
Nobody said anything.
"Twenty-three."
She hesitated briefly.
"This woman spent years inside a psychiatric institution."
Marcus frowned.
"What happened?"
Lena read directly from the report.
"Repeated animal torture beginning around the age of eleven."
She turned another page.
"At fifteen, authorities responded after neighbors reported a foul smell coming from her home."
Lena's face hardened.
"They found..."
"Her abusive family had been killed."
"The mother had survived."
"She had been restrained throughout the incident, witnessing her eat them."
The room remained completely silent.
"The original investigation concluded years of severe domestic abuse had taken place inside the household."
Ethan looked uncomfortable.
"So it should've ended there."
"It didn't."
Lena shook her head.
"Inside the psychiatric facility she repeatedly assaulted patients and staff trying to eat them."
"Eventually..."
She flipped to the final page.
"...she disappeared."
Daniel immediately asked,
"Escaped?"
"Yes."
Lena looked directly at him.
"The official report lists her as missing."
"But according to Narcotics..."
She tapped Evelyn's photograph.
"...she resurfaced alongside Vincenzo not long afterward."
Alex exhaled slowly.
"So we've got an accused professor..."
"a ghost who erases the internet..."
"and a cannibal psychiatric patient."
He looked toward Daniel.
"Quite the management team."
Daniel didn't answer.
His eyes remained fixed on the three photographs.
Three completely different people.
Yet all standing behind the same man.