PART 4 - THE CALL BEFORE DAWN REVEALED THIS WAS MUCH BIGGER THAN CHLOE

I forwarded every photograph from the house.

The dented refrigerator.

The blood on the handle.

The broken glass still lying across the kitchen floor.

My official identification remained inside my pocket.

I never mentioned my position.

Not yet.

One deputy glanced over the evidence before quietly saying, "This is becoming much bigger than we expected."

"It already is," I replied.

Just before dawn, my phone vibrated.

The caller ID displayed my mother's name.

When I answered, she wasn't crying.

She sounded furious.

"You've ruined this family," she snapped.

"No," I said calmly.

"I only stopped pretending it was whole."

The line went silent.

Then another call appeared.

This time it came from the State Attorney General's Special Investigations Division.

The director had personally reviewed the preliminary report.

His first words made every hair on my arms stand up.

"Karina... don't go back to that house."

I frowned.

"Why?"

There was a long pause before he answered.

"Because

what happened to Chloe isn't the only crime we've just uncovered."

THE END.