Chapter 14: The Traitor

I couldn't take my eyes off the photograph.

My brother looked... happy.

Not scared.

Not like someone running for his life.

He looked like he believed everything would be okay.

I turned the photo over again.

Someone has already betrayed us.

The words settled heavily in my chest.

"Who betrayed him?" I whispered.

No one answered.

Samuel reached for the photograph.

"Let me see."

I hesitated.

Then handed it to him.

The moment he looked at it, his expression changed.

"What is it?" I asked.

He pointed to the corner of the photograph.

"There."

I narrowed my eyes.

At first, I saw nothing.

Then I noticed it.

In the reflection of a nearby window, there was a third person.

Only half of the face was visible.

But someone had been watching them when the picture was taken.

"Can you zoom in?" I asked one of the officers.

The officer took the photograph and scanned it into his tablet.

Within seconds, the image appeared on the screen.

He enlarged the reflection.

Once.

Twice.

Three times.

The picture became blurry...

But one detail remained clear.

A silver ring.

A ring shaped like a snake eating its own tail.

Samuel froze.

"I know that symbol."

"What does it mean?"

He looked around before lowering his voice.

"It belongs to an organisation that officially doesn't exist."

"What organisation?"

"They call themselves..."

Before he could finish, a loud explosion shook the ground.

The police vehicles rocked violently.

Windows shattered.

Smoke rose into the air.

"Take cover!" an officer shouted.

Everyone dropped to the ground.

I covered my head.

The ringing in my ears drowned out every other sound.

When the smoke began to clear...

The evidence table was gone.

The notebook.

The photograph.

My brother's letter.

Everything had disappeared.

"No..." I gasped.

Several officers were already searching the area.

"They stole the evidence!"

Samuel grabbed my arm.

"Maya, look!"

I followed his gaze.

One officer was lying unconscious beside a patrol car.

Another was struggling to get up.

But it was the third officer who caught my attention.

He wasn't helping anyone.

He wasn't calling for backup.

He was quietly walking away from the scene.

Carrying the evidence bag.

He climbed into an unmarked black car parked beyond the flashing police lights.

The driver sped away.

Samuel's voice was barely a whisper.

"The traitor..."

"He was one of the police."

I stared at the disappearing car, my heart pounding.

If the people hunting us had someone inside the police force...

Then nowhere was safe anymore.