Edward opened the envelope.He found a tape titled: "The Death of Natalia James."He froze. His hands trembled. His heart pounded as if hearing his mother's name for the first time… all over again.
He wanted to play it immediately, but something inside him whispered:"Go back to your office… face it there."
On the way, he opened the second envelope — a family photo:His mother, his father, and his younger brother... standing in front of a hotel he recognized.He froze again.The same hotel, the same night... the day his mother died.
He remembered… he had stayed at his grandmother's that day,Refused to join them on a "business trip",And that evening, the news came:"Your mother died... from a heart attack."
But this photo…And this tape…It was like the past was slapping him with the truth.
There was a small note attached, which read:
"You're drowning in blood...Yet you still play the hero.The fire is about to begin...Don't worry."
Everything inside him collapsed.
📍 In the office…He locked the door, pulled the curtains shut.Sat down.Played the recording.
It was his mother's voice—screaming:
"I saw them! They killed her! You know this! Why are you silent? I'm going to the police!"
His father's voice responded, angry:
"Forget it! You don't understand anything! Shut up!!"
Then a violent thud…A painful moan…And the cry of a little child:
"Daddy… why? Why did you do this?"
Suddenly, a new voice entered:Calm. Chilling.
"Should we kill you now?"
Edward whispered:
"That... that's Maya's father's voice..."
His father replied in the tape, begging:
"No one saw anything… and my son won't remember… please..."
Then, a gunshot.Not fatal — just a warning.Then silence.
Edward tore the headphones off,Threw them aside,And broke down in tears.
He dropped to his knees.Slammed the floor, shouting:
"That's why you worked at that company...That's why I became a police officer?I've been running down a road paved with my mother's blood?!!"
Then, he grabbed his phone,Scrolled to a contact saved as "👠 Maya."
He just wanted her to answer. To talk. To ask...
But the phone was off.
The phone was off.
He shouted:
"Why, Maya?!You show me everything... then leave me alone?!"
📍 At the family home…
He barged in.His father and brother were sitting at the table.
He looked at them with eyes stripped of trust.Threw the tape on the table and said:
"Play it… now."
His father denied it.Lied.Claimed it was fake.
But his younger brother was trembling.He spoke with a choked voice:
"I… I was little, but I remember…I remember Mom's blood… I remember her scream..."
Edward snapped.
He slammed the table, shouting:
"You're all liars!! I'm the child of a crime!! A child of death!!"
Then, with deadly calm, he said:
"I won't stay silent…I'll bring you down… one by one."