Chapter 1: The Silent Return
The rain had been relentless, a steady downpour that blurred the lines between the past and the present. In the dim light of his apartment, Alex Hayes stared out the window, watching the drops streak down the glass, each one like a fleeting memory, slipping away before he could hold onto it.
It had been two years since he walked away from the force. Two years since he left behind the badge, the cases, and the people who still haunted the dark corners of his mind. He wasn't the kind of person to reflect on his choices, but tonight, the quiet was unbearable.
He stood up and paced across the room, his fingers running over the back of his neck. The sound of a ringing phone cut through the stillness, sharp and sudden.
Without checking the caller ID, Alex picked up. "Hayes," he muttered, his voice hoarse from disuse.
"Alex, it's Sarah."
He froze. Sarah Wells. His former partner. The one person who had always understood him. The one who never questioned why he left until now. She had always kept in touch, but this call felt different.
"Sarah, what is it?" His stomach tightened.
"I need you to come down to the station," she said, her tone clipped. "We've got a case... a personal one."
Alex's pulse quickened. He didn't need to ask any more questions. He already knew the answer.
---
He could hear it now, the faint tremor in her voice. The feeling in his gut was unmistakable. The case had to do with someone close to him someone he hadn't heard from in years.
He grabbed his coat and walked to the door, the weight of the situation settling over him. The world outside was a blur of lights and rain, but in his mind, the images were sharp. Faces. Names. The choices that led him here.
As he drove to the station, the streets seemed to stretch on forever, a labyrinth of memories and regrets. He couldn't shake the feeling that his past was closing in on him, pulling him back to something he had tried so hard to forget.
When he arrived, Sarah was waiting outside the station, her expression unreadable. She looked almost as tired as he felt, but there was something else in her eyes a hint of fear, maybe. Or something worse.
"Come on," she said, leading him inside. "I'll fill you in."
They walked through the sterile halls of the station, the sound of distant voices muffled by the thick walls. Alex couldn't help but notice how little had changed. It was the same building, the same faces, but something was different. The tension in the air was palpable.
Sarah led him to a small, dimly lit room at the back of the building. Inside, a stack of papers lay on the table, the case file open. But it wasn't the file that caught his attention it was the name on the top of the page.
David Hayes.
His brother.
---
Alex felt his breath catch in his throat. His brother. The man who had vanished from his life years ago. The one person he never expected to see again.
"This... this is impossible," Alex whispered, his voice thick with disbelief. "David's been gone for years."
Sarah didn't meet his eyes. Instead, she slid a photo across the table. It was blurry, but the figure in the picture was unmistakable. A body, lifeless, abandoned on the side of the road. The face was half obscured, but it didn't matter. Alex already knew who it was.
His brother. David was dead.
The room spun around him as the reality of the situation hit him. This wasn't just a case it was personal. His past, his demons, they had all come rushing back in one fell swoop. Alex's hands gripped the edge of the table, trying to steady himself, but it was no use. He was already falling back into the abyss he had tried so hard to leave.
"I need to know everything," Alex said, his voice hoarse. "Every detail. I'm not leaving until I have answers."
Sarah's gaze softened for a moment, but she didn't hesitate. "I knew you'd say that."