Three suspects
on site. Treat them as dangerous.”
Internet & Telecom
Wyatt let out a nervous, high-pitched laugh. “Captain? What the hell are you talking about?”
I rose to my full height, stepping out of the shed to face them. For years, they had mistaken my quiet nature for absolute weakness.
I smiled, the expression entirely devoid of warmth. “You really should have asked what kind of government job I actually do.”
Part 2: The Crimson Badge
Sirens were still distant when my mother finally recovered her voice, her face twisted in desperate denial. “She’s bluffing! Peyton has always spun lies to make herself feel important.”
I calmly reached into my suit jacket, pulled out my leather credentials, and flipped open the gold shield she had never bothered to ask about: State Bureau of Investigation, Major Crimes Division.
My father’s face drained of every ounce of color.
Wyatt immediately turned,
attempting to slip back toward
the house. I stepped directly into his path, my hand resting firmly on the utility holster beneath my coat.
“Don’t even think about it, Wyatt.”
“You can’t hold us here without a warrant!” he shouted, his voice cracking with rising panic.
“I can legally secure a scene to prevent the destruction of evidence during an active life-threatening emergency,” I replied coldly. “And the digital warrant is being signed by a circuit judge right now.”
For the past six months, my elite state unit had been systematically investigating a massive, underground white-collar syndicate. They targeted vulnerable, wealthy elderly individuals through forged competency orders, fraudulent family trusts, and heavily bribed medical evaluators.
Family
Three specific shell companies in our primary investigation ledger traced directly back to Wyatt’s asset portfolio. One transaction alone had secretly transferred two million dollars out of my grandfather’s estate.
I had come home
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