Chapter 4

People saw right through it.

My evidence was far more complete than August's, and my account of the investigation was far more coherent.

August, on the other hand, looked every bit like someone who'd spent the last three years living a comfortable life. There wasn't a trace of someone who'd risked his life infiltrating a criminal organization.

Letters flooded the police department, demanding that August be fired and that the commendation be awarded to its rightful recipient.

Just when I thought I was finally about to earn my way back to Major Crimes, August started a live broadcast. Looking straight into the camera, tears streamed down his face.

"Graham is my little brother. I wanted to keep this quiet for the sake of our family, but now he's trying to twist the truth and steal my credit. I have no choice but to tell everyone what really happened.

"I spent three years undercover, risking my life to gather evidence against the organization. Graham, meanwhile, had been working with them all along. He conspired with the syndicate to steal my complete evidence file."

My mother held up photos of me laughing with the crime boss during my undercover operation in one hand and my police ID in the other.

She declared, "I can prove it! Graham has been working with that criminal organization for years. I have plenty of pictures of him with their leader. He's a traitor to the police and a disgrace to this family!"

Beside her, Brendan wiped away fake tears and chimed in, "I'm Graham's best friend. I can back that up. I saw the syndicate transfer money to him more than once. I even caught him coming out of the crime boss's bedroom with her, half-dressed."

I stared at the livestream. It felt as if my heart were being crushed over and over until I could barely breathe.

Again and again, I posted comments explaining the truth. No one ever saw them. They disappeared beneath tens of thousands of hateful messages.

"Graham is disgusting. He's even trying to steal his own brother's credit!"

"And this guy wanted to be a cop? Fire him already!"

"Fire him? That's too good for him! Graham worked with criminals. Lock him up!"

My phone lit up.

I exited the livestream and opened the message from the police department with trembling hands.

"Graham Rodriguez, you have been terminated from the department. Effective immediately, your badge has been permanently revoked."

I stood frozen. It felt as though I'd been shot straight through the heart.

It was all gone. My badge. My career. Everything.

Over the past three years, I'd continued investigating the case despite direct orders to stop. I had no way to prove my contact with the criminal organization had been part of an undercover investigation rather than evidence of corruption.

Now my own family and my closest friend insisted I was a traitor.

Who would believe that parents would frame their own son? No one would ever believe me.

As I stood there in a daze, I looked up and saw a familiar figure running toward me. It was Denise. She stumbled to a stop in front of me and gently wiped the tears from my face with her thumb.

"Graham, don't be afraid. I've gone through your case carefully. If you turn yourself in now, you can still receive a lighter sentence. August just received a major commendation. If he pleads for leniency on your behalf, it'll help.

"You'll serve eight years at most. When you get out, I'll come pick you up myself. I'll convince Mom, Dad, and August, and we'll all live together as one family."

A bitter chill seeped into my bones.

I'd sacrificed everything in pursuit of justice. I'd done nothing wrong. So why was I the one being sent to prison?

I shoved Denise away. Tears streaming down my face, I ran all the way to the roof of an abandoned high-rise.

From the rooftop, more than three hundred feet above the ground, I started a livestream.

As hateful comments flooded the screen, I smiled into the camera.

"I've documented every investigation I've worked over the past three years. Every piece of evidence, every scar on my body… They all match.

"I'm willing to stake my life on my innocence."

Then I closed my eyes and let myself fall backward off the roof.