Dakota turned to Sam. "That’s why I asked you and Rina to come to my birthday party, because the culprit will be there." Sam didn’t budge, another puzzle. Even though he was a pretty sharp detective, he still found it hard to dive into Dakota's train of thought. "Can I know who it is?" Dakota nodded. "You should already know, Sam. Why are you asking me again?" Dakota seemed annoyed, which was rare since Sam always acted foolishly in front of him. "Okay, the woman, but you don’t have solid proof, Dax. We don’t have strong evidence, it’s all just hidden and vague traces." Dakota pushed the laptop in front of Sam, letting him see the screen where he has shared several photos. "Investigate the people in the police department first; we have spies here." Sam looked at the photos, which were none other than pictures of his own team, even the chief and the deputy, all filling the screen, including Thomas, Dakota's partner. "You’re not joking, are you, Dax?" Dakota neither

As midnight approached in Dakota's apartment. Dakota sat on the edge of the bed in the dark, just sitting quietly and thinking. He pulled out his phone and replayed a five-second video where a woman resembling his mom fell from a balcony, but the person who pushed her wasn’t clearly visible. This video might be the closest evidence he had now that his mom didn’t die by suicide; someone had pushed her.Dakota opened his email on his phone and sent the video to Sam's email address. It didn’t take long for Sam to call back. “Is this the video from yesterday, Dax? Are you sure you want to investigate it?” Sam asked. Dakota nodded. “Well, I’m not sure, Sam, but this might be connected to the murder at the hotel. This video was sent during the incident, and the break-in at my apartment might also be related to it. Whoever they are, they’re trying to find it because they think it might be in my apartment.” “Why do you think that, Dax? Where did you get that information?” Sam asked. Dako

Police headquarters. Rina and Aris were in the interrogation room, questioning each witness and colleague who had seen BigPapa last. Among them was Albert, the finance director of BigPapa and Co. A sharply dressed man whose hair seemed to be stiff from an excessive amount of hair gel that made it shine. In his fifties, he still had a keen interest in fashion, sporting a complete outfit of a dark brown suit made from high-quality merino wool. The latest Dolce shoes, and a small wallet that he always carried to hold his Apple phone and a first-class mini cigar. All of these items were undoubtedly expensive; even a police captain might struggle to afford them on their monthly salary. "This isn't a prostitution ring, but a professional escort service, you understand what that means, right? Or should I explain it further? And please note, BigPapa is not a pimp; that might have been the case in the past, but since we established BPC (BigPapa and Co.) two years ago, we’ve been running a p

Dakota fell silent, staring off into the distance, looking at his feet covered by a blanket. Since waking up from the coma, she couldn’t feel the tips of her toes. According to the doctor, this was normal, considering AB attacked the nerves first before hitting his heart and brain. He might only be temporarily paralyzed because he could still feel Sam’s strong hands massaging his legs.“Does this hurt?” Sam asked, pulling back the blanket from Dakota’s feet and massaging both of his legs.Dakota nodded. “It doesn’t hurt, but I can feel it.” “Is it like, you’re numbed but can still feel your tooth being pulled?” Sam asked. Hearing this, Dakota furrowed his brow. “What do you mean? What does that feel like?” Sam pursed his lips. “You know, when you go to the dentist, they inject anesthesia into your mouth that numbs it, so you don’t feel pain when they pull your tooth.” Dakota thought for a moment, furrowing his brow again as he looked at Sam and shook his head. “Um, may

Click. The door opened and closed. It was Dakota's apartment, and that afternoon Dakota had been allowed to return home with outpatient care. Arriving in Dakota's room. "Easy, come here," Sam said, extending his arm around Dakota's shoulder. Dakota glanced at the young man for a moment. "Sam, what are you doing?" Sam frowned. "What else? Helping you get from this chair to your bed. What did you think I was doing?" he asked, still in the same position. Dakota bit his lip; he really did need Sam's help to get to his bed. His legs were still very weak, he couldn’t even stand. Dakota wrapped his arms around Sam's neck while his friend lifted him from the wheelchair to the bed. "Come on, lucky for you that you’re skinny, Dax, you more like a skeleton now. After this, you need to eat a lot; I’ll cook something delicious every day." "Your cooking isn’t that great, Sam, don’t even try," Dakota replied. Sam pouted. "Come on, you can still eat, right? It’s not that bad."