Scars Don’t Lie

Chapter 1 – Scars Don’t Lie

Main Characters:

Riley Evans (19) – The sheriff’s daughter. Effortlessly beautiful. She’s got that kind of charm that comes from not giving a damn. Sarcastic, fearless, survival instincts sharp as a blade, and a past that still bleeds. Has a discreet tattoo on her wrist with a meaning she never shares. Drives an old pickup truck, keeps a knife in her boot, and says exactly what she thinks.

Dominic Russo (21) – Smart. Calculating. Mysterious. Son of a missing mafia boss. Raised like a weapon. Now he's chasing the truth about his mother—and Riley’s right in the middle of it. Dangerously handsome. Ex-black ops. Calm even when bullets are flying.

Sheriff Nathan Evans – Riley’s father. War vet turned lawman. Tough exterior, broken inside. Hiding a secret that could destroy his daughter.

Harper Lane – Riley’s best friend. Lesbian hacker with a rebel soul. Funny, loyal, sharp. Works at the town bar and knows more than she lets on.

Miguel Alvarez – Sheriff's deputy. Former gang member turned cop. Loyal to Riley. Doesn’t trust Dominic for a damn second.

---

🌵 Bridgeville, Texas – 07:42 a.m.

The sun had barely climbed up the sky, and Riley was already elbow-deep in grease, fixing her truck’s engine.

“This piece of shit’s gonna blow up one of these days,” she muttered, kicking the tire.

She tied her hair into a messy bun, wiped her hands on her black T-shirt, and walked toward the barn, where her father was cleaning his gun like it was therapy.

“Someone die, or you just missing the good ol’ days when you could shoot people legally?”

The sheriff looked over his glasses.

“You slept out here again?”

“Beats waking up to people knocking on my bedroom door.”

“Or Miguel nagging you to eat breakfast like a respectable citizen.”

She smirked, but her eyes looked heavy.

There was something she wasn’t saying. And he knew it.

“What are you hiding from me, Dad?”

“Just enough to keep you alive.”

She didn’t answer.

But something in her gut said:

Truth was coming. And it was gonna hurt.

---

☠ Dominic Arrives – 10:30 a.m.

Dominic Russo hated small towns.

They felt like cages pretending to be communities.

As he stepped out of his rented car, his eyes scanned every inch of Bridgeville’s main square.

Nothing escaped him.

The jittery man behind the counter.

The old lady pretending not to take a picture.

And the girl leaning against the hood of a beat-up truck, chewing gum like the world was one big, shitty joke.

Riley.

She looked back—cold, assessing.

They recognized each other without ever meeting.

“Tourist or fugitive?” she asked as she passed him.

“Depends. You a cop?”

“Depends. You kill someone?”

He smirked.

“Only the ones who deserved it.”

She stopped.

That wasn’t flirting.

That was a warning.

And she loved warnings.

---

🧨 Downtown Bar – 3:50 p.m.

Harper was drying glasses behind the counter.

“So the new guy’s hot and shady? The type who could give you an orgasm or bury you in the desert. Possibly both in the same night.”

“I’m not getting involved,” Riley said, stirring her soda.

“Right. Like that guy from last year. What was his name again? Billy No-Boner Henderson?”

“You’re the worst.”

“But I’m your worst.”

Riley laughed, but inside... she felt it.

Something was off today.

And it wasn’t just Dominic.

It was the way Harper was tense too—like she knew something.

“Harp... is there something going on?”

“Bridgeville always has something going on.

But now it feels... bigger. And armed.”

---

🚔 Forced Meeting – 7:10 p.m.

The sheriff called Dominic in for an “informal chat.”

“So what exactly brings you to this God-forsaken town?” he asked, arms crossed.

“Looking into my mother’s history,” Dominic replied.

“Name?”

“Lucia Romano. Disappeared in 2007. Last known trace: here.”

The sheriff’s face hardened.

“Never heard of her.”

But Riley, eavesdropping from the stairs, froze.

Lucia Romano was the name on that old newspaper she found in the basement.

Next to her father.

And a child.

---

🌙 Final Scene – 12:17 a.m.

Riley lay in the back of her truck, staring up at the sky, when Dominic showed up.

“You like running or getting lost?”

“I like being where no one expects me to be. You?”

“I’m always where the truth tries to hide.”

He climbed into the bed of the truck beside her.

They sat in silence for a while.

“My mom’s dead. Or missing. Or… erased.

And I think your dad knows why.”

She turned her head slowly.

“If this is some kind of game—”

“It’s not. And if it is... we already lost.”

A distant light. A drone. A clicking sound in the air.

They dove under the truck just seconds before it exploded.

BOOM.

The vehicle went flying.

Smoke. Alarm. Dust.

Riley coughed and looked at Dominic.

He was bleeding from his shoulder.

But he was grinning.

“Now I know for sure—

Someone wants you dead.”

---

📌 Cliffhanger Ending

On a screen inside a dark warehouse, someone replayed the explosion.

A woman with a Russian accent whispered:

> “The sheriff’s daughter survived.

Next time…

Shoot her in the heart.”

Thank you very much to all of you who are reading my story, you are really helping me a lot, whoever liked it likes it so I can make the second episode, I love you all with all my heart and I will be grateful for everything❤️