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. "May I know who it is?" Sam ask carefully while rolling his eyes.Dakota nodded. "You should have known it, 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," said Sam.Dakota pushed the laptop in front of Sam, letting him see the screen where he has shared several photos. "First, you might need to investigate the people in the police department; 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, D

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 rather blur five-second video of a woman looks like his mom fell from a balcony, but the person behind her wasn’t clearly visible. This video might be the closest evidence he had now that his mom didn’t die by suicide; someone might had pushed her.He opened his email 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. “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 could also be related. Whoever they are, they’re trying to find this because they thought I might have it in my apartment.”“What makes you think of that, Dax? Where did you get that information?” Sam asked. Dakota p

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, he couldn’t feel the tips of his toes. According to the doctor, this was normal, considering he was exposed to AB, which attacked the nerves before his heart and brain. He might only be temporarily paralyzed because he could still feel Sam’s strong hands massaging his legs.“Does it hurt?” Sam asked, pulling the blanket from Dakota’s feet and massaging both of his legs.Dakota nodded. “It doesn’t hurt, but I can feel it,” said Dakota.“So, 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 makes it numb, so you don’t feel pain when they pull out your tooth.” Dakota thought for a moment, furrowing his brow again as he looked at Sam and

Click. The door opened and closed. It was Dakota's apartment. Dakota had been allowed to return home with outpatient care. "Easy, come here," Sam said, stretching his arm around the young man's shoulder to help him get up from the wheelchair to the bedroom. Dakota raised his eyebrow to Sam. "Sam, what are you doing?" Sam frowned with big eyes."What else? Helping you. What did you think I was doing?" he asked, still in the same position. Dakota pursed his lips; he admitted, he did need Sam's help to get to his bed. His legs were still very weak, couldn’t even stand, not even for a walk. Dakota wrapped his arms around Sam's neck. Carefully, Sam lifted him from the wheelchair to the bed. "Come on, lucky for you that you’re skinny, Dax, you're more like a skeleton now. After this, you need to eat a lot; I’ll cook something delicious every day," said Sam eagerly."Your cooking isn’t that great, Sam, don’t even try," Dakota replied. Sam pouted. "Come on, you can still eat