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Two days later, the headlines hit like a sledgehammer.
> "Detective Cade Arrested in Connection with Serial Case"
Eden City Gazette, Front Page.
You stare at the article from inside a holding cell, your wrists red from the cuffs, your jaw tight with disbelief. The air in the station is stale. The walls feel smaller now, like they're closing in on you. Betrayal has a weight, and you're wearing it like chains.
It started that morning—Reyes storming into your apartment with a search warrant and a dozen uniforms in tow. You barely had time to throw on your coat before they were tearing the place apart.
On your desk, they found the notes.
Not just the two "E" left you—but three others. Ones you've never seen before.
> "Her silence was a song. I gave it harmony."
"Beauty demands sacrifice."
"The city is my canvas. I am the brush."
Each one written in the same hand. Each one folded, tucked into evidence bags like they were waiting for this moment.
You tried to explain. You never saw those notes. Someone planted them.
But then Reyes showed you the kicker: footage.
Black-and-white security cam stills. A figure in a trench coat. Your coat. In the print shop. Masked. Gloves. The clerk swore it was the same man.
You know it isn't you—but the grainy stills say otherwise.
"I vouched for you," Reyes said, coldly. "But this? This is too much. You're being set up, Cade… or you've lost it."
Now, you sit on the other side of the interrogation table, a suspect in your own investigation.
Garcia bursts into the room, fury in her eyes. "This is bull. I checked the timestamps. Those notes? Ink's less than 24 hours old. Cade's been with me all morning."
Reyes walks in behind her, face pale. Silent. He places a file in front of you.
Inside: a photo of a woman. Another body. Chrysanthemum on the chest.
Time of death? Three hours after you were arrested.
> "Even caged, you're predictable."
— E.
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End of Chapter 3
You've been framed. The killer's always a step ahead. And now, the hunter has become the hunted.
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