𝐂𝐡𝐚𝐩𝐭𝐞𝐫 49: 𝐖𝐢𝐥𝐥 𝐒𝐡𝐞 𝐛𝐞 𝐃𝐞𝐭𝐚𝐢𝐧𝐞𝐝 𝐟𝐨𝐫 𝐓𝐡𝐞 𝐌𝐞𝐚𝐧𝐭𝐢𝐦𝐞?

𝐌𝐚𝐟𝐢𝐚’𝐬 𝐍𝐞𝐦𝐞𝐬𝐢𝐬°°°

Breanna held the door open while men dressed in sleek black suits surrounded her like a pack of wolves.

There was an ephemeral silence before she spoke.

“You’ve been released,” she announced.

Nevena sniffled an amen and exhaled, her shoulders finally easing.

A junior officer hopped into the van, jingling a bunch of keys against Antonio’s cuffs.

The metal clinked softly until the lock clicked open.

Free.

Antonio flexed his hand forward and rubbed at the sore mark on his wrist.

Without lingering a second longer, he stepped out of the van.

Breanna handed him his phone and leaned in.

“You’re lucky the commissioner called. If it were up to me, I’d have buried you where Lorenzo fell.”

He shouldered past her and followed his lawyers.

Nevena’s brows knitted as the policeman stepped down and began closing the van’s door.

“Detective— I should be with him,” she rasped.

“Sorry, ma’am. I'm just following orders,” he said, snapping the door shut.

The van’s engine growled to life and rumbled away.

𝐏𝐨𝐥𝐢𝐜𝐞 𝐇𝐐

☆☆[𝐁𝐫𝐞𝐚𝐧𝐧𝐚’𝐬 𝐎𝐟𝐟𝐢𝐜𝐞]☆☆

“You were supposed to be at the hospital. How did you end up with that foreigner?”

The office was warm, but her tone made it frosty.

Junior sat stiff on a chair, head bowed, no answer.

Breanna tilted her head, grappling his seat closer until her shadow crossed his.

“Look, at the moment I'm not your mother. This is just an investigation — clean, no loose ends.”

Junior sniffled, his soft whimpers filling the room.

She slammed her hand against the table and sprang up, fed up. “Don’t start with your pack of tricks, Junior! You’ll stay locked in this office until you’re ready to talk.”

Without another glance, she stormed out.

Since they’d arrived at the station, she’d been trying to get Junior’s testimony. But he wasn't talking.

###𝐒𝐨𝐩𝐡𝐢𝐚’𝐬 𝐒𝐩𝐚𝐜𝐞]

“Why is he so stubborn?” Breanna hissed, stepping into Sophia’s small office. “Does he think we’re playing here?”

“Relax,” Sophia said with a faint smile as she slumped into the only empty chair there, arms folded, eyes burning.

“How can I relax when he’s purposely delaying the investigation?”

“Investigation?” Sophia repeated calmly. “Remember, he’s only a kid.”

“Six and a half,” Breanna specified.

“Even so, it changes nothing.” Sophia exhaled, leaning back in her seat. “You don’t have to enforce your code of ethics on him.”

“I’m not enforcing anything.” Breanna objected. “He’s just— whining too much.”

“He’ll talk when he’s ready,” Sophia said softly. “Maybe not to you, but he will.”

“Then get someone else to handle his stubbornness,” Breanna waved a hand in dismissal. “If I go in there again, I might lose it. He's just impossible.”

Sophia’s lips curved with quiet irony as she stood.

“He really takes after you— it runs in the blood.”

The words struck deeper than Breanna would admit. She turned sharply, shooting Sophia a warning glance.

“Um… I’ll just get someone to talk to him,” Sophia stammered, slipping out of the room.

Meanwhile, The detention room on the second floor confined Nevena.

She stood still, each breath trembled through her chest — knuckles white from clenching the bars for too long.

She still clung to the faint hope that he’d show up— he always did.

To her right was a student sized mattress, and on her left— a drinking dispenser.

The clicking of soles on the marble floor echoed.

Her heart lurched—but it was only another worker going about with their business.

“Please… what’s the time?” she managed to ask when he got close.

He paused and glanced at his watch.

“Eleven fifty-one.”

Her shoulders sagged, all her anticipation draining like air from a balloon.

“Thanks,” she whispered, voice ghostly, as she walked to the bed.

She pulled the thin duvet over her body. What's the point of waiting? It was already late and he wasn't going to show up.

Moreover her ticket for tonight has expired.

Under the sheet, hot tears trail down her face. She blamed herself for everything.

Not once had she asked who his mother was. And when Antonio told her to stay in the car—

“Why did you step out, you wretch…” she soliloquized.

She tossed and turned, but sleep had gone visiting some distant cousin.

By morning, her face was all sullen — eyes swollen like they'd caught an infection.

Seeing no hope that morning, she curled into herself and faced the wall.

Junior himself had been tucked into bed the night before in the HQ’s dispensary.

His eyes fluttered open at the sound of his mother’s voice.

“Is he awake yet?” she whispered, drawing the curtain aside.

At the soft rasp of the curtain on the rail, Junior squeezed his eyes shut and listened, pretending to sleep.

“No,” came the physician’s curt reply.

“Oh.” Breanna sighed. “About last night— did he say anything at all?”

“Not really. He only sniffled at every approach until he fell asleep.”

“That’s bad.” Breanna yawned. “I can’t detain her forever.”

“I’ll try to get him to talk today,” the physician offered thoughtfully. “But if he doesn’t budge… what happens then?”

“She’ll be granted bail eventually —Detention drops after twenty-four hours if no charges are pressed.”

Junior waited until she left before stirring.

The physician coaxed him gently out of bed.

“Let’s get you ready.”

After brushing, He asked Junior,

“What should we have this morning?”

His aim was to make the boy comfortable enough to talk.

“Anything,” Junior murmured.

“Okay" the man nodded, turning to the makeshift kitchen “How about we make some oats and pancakes?"

No response. He just watched the man move— steady, practiced. First the oat, and then the pancakes.

Soon, the room filled with the warm, buttery aroma of mouthwatering breakfast.

“Let’s dig in,” the man said, rubbing his hands.

Junior flashed a smile and picked up his spoon. “If she really abducted me… what would happen?”

A ghost of a smile crossed the physician’s face, one the boy was too innocent to understand.

“Depends,” he began, setting his spoon down. “If you can give your testimony, your mom will handle the rest.”

“But will she be detained in New Mexico— for the meantime?” He asked keenly. “Considering that she's from another country… is it possible?”

“Yes,” the physician replied. “Until investigations are over, she can’t leave. Her passport’s been seized.”

“Wow” Junior gasped coarsely. He tugged at the cuffs of his jacket. Uneasy.

“So do you wish to share what happened?" The man asked but he shook his head in denial.

“I need to go to Mommy.” He spoke, fingers tapping against his spoon.