Chapter 1: PROLOGUE
The rain came hard that night in Cebu City, drumming on the tin rooftops like impatient fingers. Naomi stood at the edge of the pier in the South Road Properties, the salty wind stinging her eyes as she clutched the worn envelope to her chest. Inside were half-burned documents—copies of something her brother had left behind. Something someone didn’t want her to find.
He vanished two years ago. No goodbye. No trace. Only questions that rotted in her mind like slow poison.
Behind her, the city glowed—neon signs flickering in the wet streets, shadows moving too fast or not fast enough. Somewhere in those lights, someone knew the truth. And Naomi was done waiting for it to come to her.
She turned and walked into the night.
Not knowing that every step forward would unravel everything she thought she knew.
And that some truths don’t set you free.
They bury you.
