MURDER IN RIO'S PALACE
THIRTEEN YEARS AGO
Gunshots ripped through the air, each one louder than the last. A man raced down the stairs, clutching a little girl in his arms. Sweat drenched his face as he reached the freezer and gently set the girl down, his eyes screaming urgency.
“Lylah, you have to do exactly what Daddy says, okay?” he whispered quickly, stroking her ponytail with trembling hands. She shook her head, gripping him tighter.
“Daddy, I’m scared. Don’t leave me,” she pleaded, her voice shaking as tears streamed down her cheeks.
Another gunshot cracked, closer this time, and the man’s face hardened. Without a word, he lifted her and opened the freezer door. He pressed a phone into her tiny hands and kissed her forehead, his breath unsteady but his eyes never leaving hers.
“In ten minutes, call 911. Don’t come out until then. Do you understand?”
Lylah hesitated, her eyes wide with fear, but nodded. The man swallowed hard and gently closed the freezer door behind her.
Suddenly, the front door exploded open. Armed men stormed in, their boots pounding against the floor. The man dove behind the couch, gripping his gun—but it was too late. One of the men, clearly their leader, sneered and signaled his crew to surround him.
“You’re too late, Marino,” the leader said, his voice cold and thick. “Let’s finish this quickly.”
One of the men threw a heavy punch across Marino’s jaw, sending him crashing to the ground. Marino spat blood, his voice low but defiant. “You think this ends with me? The family… they’ll hunt you down.”
The leader smirked, pulling out a knife. “Not when you’re a traitor. You forget, I make the call.”
With brutal swiftness, he plunged the blade into Marino’s throat twice, his glare fixed on the man’s eyes as he stabbed again, more viciously than before. Marino collapsed, blood spreading around him.
Lylah gently cracked the freezer door open, her heart pounding. Her breath caught when she saw her father’s lifeless body sprawled on the floor. Tears streamed down her face, but his words echoed in her mind. She couldn’t move. Even though she tried.
Her body trembled as the icy air wrapped around her, the cold seeping into her bones. She dialed 911, but her vision blurred. She struggled to stay awake, her small hands shaking, until her body finally gave in. She collapsed inside the freezer, the phone slipping from her grasp.
The boss said nothing, but one of his men stepped forward, pulling out a dagger. He sliced off Marino’s thumb; a token to remember his betrayal.
Without a backward glance, the men set the house ablaze. Flames crawled across the walls, swallowing the home whole. They vanished into the night, leaving behind only smoke, fire, chilling silence...
and little Lylah in the freezer.
---
PRESENT DAY (THIRTEEN YEARS LATER)
Lylah walked down the hall, jealous eyes following her every step. Those looks didn’t bother her anymore. If anyone thought she became the head of Team-1 just because she was the Chief’s adopted daughter, she let them believe it. Let them all believe it.
She spotted Shawn waiting beside her desk. Bracing herself for another long talk, she was surprised when he simply placed a file in front of her.
“We have a new case,” he said, setting out photos across the desk. “It’s the Mano Della gang again. The entire security team and staff were massacred.”
“They killed all of them?” she exclaimed, slamming her palm on the table. “Did Peter call?” she asked, dragging a chair closer.
“No. The last message from him was at 11 p.m. yesterday. He hasn’t beeped since.”
She massaged her forehead and reached for her phone. “He was supposed to call today. He’s never late.”
“We need to be careful,” Shawn warned. “We can’t push it unless he reaches out first. We can’t afford any mistakes this time.”
Lylah picked up one of the photos and studied it closely. Her eyes widened, and she leaned in. “Don Mako?” she whispered.
“You know him?” Shawn asked.
“Yes. He was Papa’s friend. He visited us once or twice.”
“The bus is here, ma’am,” a voice interrupted from behind. The both of them stood and headed out.
They arrived at the scene fifteen minutes later. Mark was already squatting beside one of the lifeless bodies, his eyes scanning the area with a mix of curiosity and concern. Lylah stood by the boundary tape, her gaze sweeping the crime scene.
“Any sign of the cause of death?” she asked firmly, crouching beside Mark.
He sniffed, his dark brows furrowing. “Well, looks like fate’s got us tied up again,” he muttered, sarcasm in his tone. “This makes four times in three months. Quite the coincidence, don’t you think?”
Lylah shot him a sharp look. “I’d rather pull the trigger on fate itself than indulge in small talk, Mark. Let’s focus on the case.” Her eyes scanned the area again, searching for the man from the photo.
She pulled out the picture and shoved it toward him. “I don’t see this corpse anywhere.”
Mark’s smirk was a mix of amusement and annoyance, but Lylah was unfazed. He stood and offered her a hand; she ignored it and walked ahead.
The Rio Palace—a luxury hotel where only the wealthiest men lodged—was now a bloodbath. Over forty bodyguards, each killed with a single, calculated headshot.
Mark stopped in front of one of the corpses, his hands on his hips. “This is Don Mako, the real owner of Rio Palace. My gut says he was lured here… then executed.”
Lylah’s eyes narrowed, her mind racing. The real owner of Rio Palace had always been a secret, known only to a few. He had been her best lead to Rocco, her main target. But she hadn’t expected it to be Don Mako, her father’s old friend.
Now he was dead, and her only lead gone with him.
Suddenly, she spotted Peter lurking in the shadows. “Peter?” she whispered.
Before she could react, he bolted. Lylah sprinted after him, Mark close behind, but she was faster.
She flew down the back stairwell, bursting into the parking area on the lowest floor where Peter had disappeared. The lights flickered once and then went out completely, plunging her into darkness.
Lylah drew her pistol, every sense on high alert.
And then, a hand clamped over her head.
Before she could react, everything went black.
She crumpled to the ground.
