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The Lover Who Sent Me to Prison - FULL | DramaReel
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00:02Eight years ago, the serial murder case I handled was overturned.
00:06The victims' enraged families stabbed me multiple times outside my parents' home,
00:10demanding I pay with my life.
00:12My family ashamed of me, cut off all ties.
00:15I was imprisoned for eight years on charges of gross misconduct.
00:19After my release, I hid in a small coastal town in Maine,
00:22became a fisherwoman, and finally found something like peace.
00:25Then, Lucas Drake arrived and shattered that peace.
00:27He was already a celebrated police commissioner,
00:30famous throughout the state for cracking impossible cases.
00:33Outside my small wooden shack,
00:34reporters packed in front of the door and shouted at the top of their voices,
00:38Mrs. Voss, Commissioner Drake hasn't married in eight years.
00:41Has he been waiting for you to come back?
00:43I looked at him standing there in the crowd,
00:45wrapped in all his glory and all his medals, and I almost laughed.
00:49Nobody knew that the man behind the wrongful conviction,
00:52the one who had manufactured false evidence to earn his mistress a commendation,
00:56then pushed me out front to take the fall,
00:58was this very same, devoted Commissioner Drake.
01:01The wooden door stayed shut.
01:03At the sight of it, the reporters only grew louder on Lucas' behalf.
01:06Lucas himself remained composed.
01:08Boss Frank heard the noise outside, getting worse,
01:11and came out of the shack, bowing slightly toward Lucas.
01:14Commissioner,
01:16we're all law-abiding people here.
01:18We haven't done anything wrong.
01:19This little place can't accommodate someone of your standing, sir.
01:23If you and all these people don't leave soon,
01:26we won't have a business to run tomorrow.
01:28Serena, Commissioner Drake came all this way to find you.
01:31Come out and say hello.
01:33There's no need.
01:34Don't pressure.
01:35At the sound of that voice,
01:36my hands went still over the fishing net I was mending.
01:39The sharp nylon cord had already cut a deep line across my fingers.
01:43Even after all these years,
01:45that voice still reached right through me.
01:47Based on everything I knew about him,
01:49the idea that Lucas Drake had lingering feelings for me
01:51was as absurd as the sun rising in the west.
01:54But I knew him well enough to know he wouldn't leave
01:56until I showed my face.
01:57Thinking of Boss Frank,
01:58who had always been good to me,
02:00I let out a long breath,
02:01set down the net,
02:02and walked out.
02:03The moment I appeared,
02:04the reporters...
02:05Mrs. Boss,
02:05how does it feel to go from a decorated genius detective
02:08to a fisherwoman?
02:09Commissioner Drake clearly still cares deeply for you.
02:11Are you avoiding him because you're still resentful
02:13to uphold the truth back then?
02:14We've heard your former apprentice
02:16has refused to marry for eight years,
02:17waiting for the commissioner.
02:19What do you make of that?
02:20The reporters surged closer,
02:21and a microphone jabbed against my face more than once.
02:24My gaze traveled over their heads
02:26and locked with Lucas's cold eyes
02:28from across the distance.
02:30Every muscle in my body went rigid.
02:32I opened my mouth.
02:33Nothing came out.
02:34The reporters,
02:35getting no answer,
02:36grew more aggressive,
02:37several times nearly knocking me off my feet.
02:40Then,
02:40he moved through the crowd
02:41and stepped in front of me,
02:42blocking...
02:43Everyone,
02:43this is a private matter
02:44between the two of us
02:46and is not open for comment.
02:50These people work hard for a living.
02:52Don't interfere with their livelihood.
02:54Please go.
02:54The reporters scattered,
02:55grumbling.
02:56I exhaled
02:56and was about to turn back to the shack.
02:59Lucas spoke.
03:00Serena.
03:00I forced my body to stop trembling
03:02and looked up at him.
03:02Is there something you need,
03:03Commissioner Drake?
03:04At the title I used,
03:05he paused,
03:06then asked slowly,
03:07These past years,
03:09have you...
03:10been all right?
03:11That question coming from him
03:13was genuinely absurd.
03:14I wanted to laugh
03:15and couldn't find it appropriate.
03:16He took another step toward me
03:18and raised his hand.
03:19I instinctively stepped back
03:20and didn't notice the stone at my feet.
03:22I went down hard,
03:24all four limbs in the air,
03:25the wound on my finger scraping the gravel,
03:28blood welling quietly.
03:29He rushed forward,
03:30his expression genuinely alarmed.
03:32Are you all right?
03:33Here, let me...
03:34I scrambled backward on my own
03:35and got myself up against the wall.
03:39I'm fine.
03:40Commissioner Drake,
03:41if there's nothing else,
03:42I'll head back in.
03:42I need to be out on the water
03:43before sunrise tomorrow.
03:45Lucas's expression flinched.
03:47Serena,
03:48does it have to be this formal between us?
03:50You don't know.
03:51These years I've...
03:52He was cut off by a voice.
03:53Daddy!
03:54Mommy and I missed you so much!
03:56A child of about eight or nine
03:57launched themselves into Lucas's arms.
03:59Stella Holt followed behind,
04:01supporting my parents as they walked.
04:03She took Lucas's outstretched hand
04:04and gave him a reproachful look.
04:06Lucas,
04:07how could you come visit my mentor
04:09without telling me?
04:10Mom and Dad were worried sick
04:12about you coming all the way out
04:13to a place like this on your own.
04:15She turned and smiled at me,
04:17a smile with just the faintest edge
04:19of condescension.
04:20No offense, Mantor.
04:21The little one just misses her daddy so much.
04:24And with this one,
04:25making things lively,
04:27she just wants to be close to Lucas.
04:29My eyes moved without meaning to,
04:31to her flat abdomen.
04:32I thought of what the reporters had said
04:34and felt the bitterness of it.
04:35Lucas Drake hadn't married in eight years,
04:38waiting for me to come back.
04:39Yet he had two children with Stella Holt,
04:41one of them already this old.
04:43I thought back to before my imprisonment,
04:45when Stella had been wounded on duty
04:46and spent a year recovering
04:48at a rehabilitation facility.
04:49By a convenient coincidence,
04:51Lucas had been assigned away
04:52for a year at the same time.
04:54Most likely they had already
04:55started something then,
04:56and I had been the last to know,
04:58still running cover for Stella,
04:59giving her credit,
05:00protecting her blindly.
05:01Before I could say a word,
05:02my parents turned on me.
05:04Serena Voss,
05:05how do you have the nerve
05:06to still be breathing?
05:08You've dragged our name through the dirt.
05:11Three years ago,
05:12your father had a stroke.
05:14If Stella hadn't been checking in
05:16on us regularly
05:17and gotten him to the hospital in time,
05:20he'd already be in the ground.
05:22I looked at their white hair
05:24and weathered faces.
05:25All these years,
05:26unable to be at their side,
05:27a wave of sorrow moved through me.
05:29Watching how fiercely they defended
05:31Lucas and Stella,
05:32made it cut even deeper.
05:33If they knew,
05:34if they knew that the people
05:35they were grateful to
05:36were the very ones
05:37who had destroyed their daughter,
05:39I wondered what they would feel.
05:41Lucas,
05:42a woman this ungrateful
05:43isn't worth a second of your concern.
05:45After what she did,
05:46I'd be too ashamed to show my face.
05:49You don't need to go chasing after her.
05:51We don't have a daughter anymore.
05:53Stella is our daughter,
05:55and you're still our son-in-law.
05:56Boss Frank looked for my parents'
05:58venomous expressions to me,
05:59and his eyes went strange.
06:01After everything they said,
06:02I found I had nothing left to say.
06:05My hands,
06:05trembling slightly,
06:07gave me away.
06:07Lucas noticed.
06:08He said in a tone of weary patience,
06:10These years,
06:11people have been blaming them too.
06:13Don't hold it against them.
06:15He soothed my parents gently,
06:16and before leaving,
06:17turned back to me,
06:18one last time.
06:19What happened back then?
06:20I have always owed you for it.
06:23My number hasn't changed.
06:24Call me if you need anything.
06:27After my parents and the rest of them were gone,
06:29Boss Frank's wife found me,
06:30and put a hand on my shoulder.
06:32Her expression was complicated.
06:34In the end,
06:34she said nothing,
06:35but I knew something had shifted.
06:36Sure enough,
06:37the next day on the water,
06:39I was assigned the most barren stretch of sea.
06:41Serena,
06:42it's not that I'm not looking out for you.
06:46Yesterday's scene was too much,
06:47and you,
06:48you came out of prison.
06:50The others don't want to work near you.
06:52There's nothing I can do but send you out alone.
06:54I nodded in silence,
06:56held the heavy nets in hand,
06:57and walked toward the small boat
06:58that looked fragile against the waves.
07:00A sadness moved through me.
07:02The quiet I had built,
07:04Lucas Drake,
07:04tore it apart with his own hands.
07:07For days,
07:08I did the hardest work for the lowest pay.
07:10Then,
07:11one week later,
07:12Boss Frank found me,
07:13and pressed a thick envelope into my hand.
07:15He avoided my eyes.
07:16Serena,
07:17I'm doubling this month's wages.
07:19Try your luck somewhere else.
07:22Was it Lucas?
07:23Boss Frank let out a long sigh.
07:25Don't blame me.
07:26You know what kind of man
07:26Commissioner Drake is.
07:29I'm just a regular person
07:30with a family to feed.
07:31How could I afford to cross him?
07:32Take a friend's advice.
07:34Make peace with him.
07:35A woman as sharp as you,
07:37someone who broke the cases you broke,
07:39you shouldn't be rotting
07:40in a place like this.
07:42The commissioner only wants
07:43what's best for you.
07:44What's best for me?
07:45Those light,
07:46hollow words
07:47landed on me like a mountain.
07:48I stood there,
07:49holding the cash,
07:50fingers cold.
07:51I didn't argue.
07:52I didn't beg.
07:53I turned,
07:53packed what little I had,
07:54and left the coastal town
07:56I had barely lived in for a year.
07:57On the third day of being turned away,
07:59everywhere I went,
08:00Lucas called.
08:01Serena,
08:02I've arranged a civilian
08:03administrative position for you
08:04at the Harlow City Police Department.
08:06I'm sending someone to bring you in.
08:08You start in three days.
08:10Commissioner Drake,
08:12I cannot accept your generosities.
08:15I only ask one thing,
08:17please leave me alone.
08:20Leave you alone?
08:21Lucas's voice stayed even.
08:23I'm only trying to help.
08:25There's no reason to treat me like a threat.
08:27I remember who you were,
08:29the pride of the force.
08:31If it weren't for...
08:32He paused.
08:33I know you hate me,
08:34but you can't go on
08:35destroying yourself like this.
08:37If a desk job doesn't appeal to you,
08:39come and consult for Stella instead.
08:41She just made deputy commissioner.
08:43It's a busy time for her.
08:45You were her mentor.
08:46It would be natural for you to guide her.
08:49I clenched my teeth and refused.
08:51I appreciate the thought.
08:53I only want a quiet life.
08:55He didn't engage with that.
08:57I understand you're still holding on to the past.
08:59But this isn't the moment for stubbornness.
09:02You'll understand my intentions later.
09:04Your intentions?
09:06Do you mean for me to go on being an accomplice
09:09in your wrongful convictions?
09:12Or to keep taking the fall for Stella Holt?
09:15Serena Vos!
09:17Watch what you say.
09:19This consultant position,
09:21you will take it whether you want to or not.
09:23Unless
09:25you want your parents to end up homeless in their old age,
09:28with no one to care for them.
09:30Of course.
09:31He always knew exactly where to press.
09:35On the third day after I returned to Harlow City,
09:38someone came and brought me to a venue.
09:41Camera shutters exploded from every direction.
09:44It was a press conference.
09:46Stella Holt sat at the front table.
09:49Behind her,
09:49a large screen displayed the event title.
09:52Thank you all for attending today.
09:54This press conference is a statement of our department's commitment to justice,
09:59rehabilitation,
10:00and second chances.
10:02She turned toward me.
10:03This is my mentor,
10:04Serena Vos.
10:06Though she once made a grave error,
10:08the law has rendered its judgment.
10:11We believe every person deserves the chance to begin again.
10:14Her gaze lingered on my pale face,
10:17her tone grave.
10:18As officers of the law,
10:20we do not abandon those who are willing to reform.
10:22Following a decision made jointly by Commissioner Drake and myself,
10:25we are pleased to appoint Ms. Serena Vos
10:27as a civilian forensic consultant to the Criminal Investigation Division.
10:30We hope she can contribute her experience and expertise to the community.
10:33The reporters erupted,
10:35feeling as though I had been stripped bare and put on display.
10:38She walked to me.
10:41Mentor,
10:42a small gesture from me.
10:44Please accept it.
10:46Think of it as a welcome gift.
10:47The posture looked like deference.
10:49It was condescension worn as generosity.
10:53I watched the flash of triumph in her eyes
10:56and felt my stomach turn.
10:57While the room filled with murmurs of admiration for her grace,
11:01I became the backdrop that made them shine.
11:03That evening,
11:04the news cycle moved fast.
11:06I watched the notifications flood my phone and laughed.
11:10Once again,
11:11they had nailed me to the post of public shame,
11:13this time in front of the entire city.
11:17After the press conference,
11:19my parents came by from time to time.
11:21Every time,
11:22they looked at Stella with warm,
11:24maternal eyes.
11:25Every time,
11:26they looked at Lucas with grateful tenderness.
11:29Lucas,
11:30you've done so much.
11:31To still be managing this ungrateful girl,
11:34that's above and beyond.
11:37Serena,
11:38look at Stella.
11:39Look how far she's gone.
11:40If you had even half her worth,
11:42we could die in peace.
11:44My mother would even take Stella's hand.
11:46Stella,
11:47you're caring now.
11:49Don't overwork yourself.
11:52If Serena gives you any trouble,
11:54you tell me,
11:55and I'll deal with her.
11:57I watched this scene.
11:59My heart had gone so numb,
12:01it couldn't register pain anymore.
12:02Oh,
12:03by the way,
12:03mentor,
12:04we've recently apprehended a gang of fugitives.
12:06Their leader seems to be connected to your old case.
12:10He's the younger brother of one of the victims
12:12from the serial murders you investigated.
12:15He's apparently had a grudge against you all this time.
12:18Says he's going to find you
12:20and make you pay.
12:22What?
12:24Is that true?
12:26My father slammed at the table and pointed at me.
12:29That's what you get!
12:33His brother died horribly because of you.
12:37Of course he wants revenge.
12:39That's only right.
12:42Stella,
12:43Lucas,
12:43you have to do something about this!
12:47Whatever happens to her,
12:48she brought on herself.
12:48We just can't let it come back on you two.
12:51Mom,
12:51don't worry.
12:52With me and Lucas here,
12:53nothing will happen to mentor.
12:56We've already had a word with them.
12:59And her eyes swept over me
13:01with a look that wasn't quite a smile.
13:03Something inside me went cold.
13:06What are Lucas and Stella planning now?
13:09In the days that followed,
13:11the area outside my apartment
13:13grew increasingly hostile.
13:14At first,
13:15scattered shouts.
13:17Then,
13:17pounding on the door.
13:19Death threats!
13:20The families of the wrongly convicted
13:22poured all their pain and fury onto me.
13:25I sat inside and listened to the crash of fists against my door,
13:31the curses seeping through the walls.
13:33Each impact felt like it landed on my chest.
13:37One afternoon,
13:38my parents came.
13:39They stood at the door
13:41and didn't step inside.
13:46Serena,
13:47how many more problems are you going to cause?
13:49Those people out there make noise every single day.
13:53The neighbors are all talking.
13:54You've made us a complete embarrassment.
13:59I'm begging you.
14:00Go out and talk to them yourself.
14:04Apologize.
14:05Make them stop.
14:06You can't be under this kind of strain.
14:08If anything happens to her or the baby,
14:10how do we face Lucas?
14:12I looked at her.
14:13This door is precious.
14:15My chest tightened until I could barely breathe.
14:18Go and talk to them?
14:20In front of people blinded by grief and rage,
14:23that was the same as asking me to walk into my own death.
14:27Mom.
14:28Dad.
14:28My voice came out raw,
14:30the last of my effort.
14:32Have you ever once considered that I was innocent?
14:34What happened back then,
14:36it was Lucas Drakes and Stella Holt who...
14:40Enough!
14:42Enough!
14:43Even now,
14:44you refuse to own what you did.
14:46You want to drag Stella and Lucas through the mud
14:48after everything they've done for us!
14:50They've been better to us than you ever were.
14:54Stella saved your father's life.
14:57You have no conscience left.
15:02Say another word against them
15:04and we'll pretend we never had you!
15:06Then, Stella's voice drifted in from the hallway.
15:09Mom.
15:09Dad.
15:10Why did you come here?
15:12It's not safe.
15:14My parents,
15:15the moment they saw her,
15:17softened completely.
15:19Stella,
15:19this is no place for you in your condition.
15:22Be careful.
15:23How are you and the little one?
15:25And Lucas,
15:26please take care.
15:27They surrounded her.
15:28Every murmured word of care was a pin
15:30pressed quietly into my skin.
15:33I stood and watched this scene of family warmth
15:36that had no place for me.
15:38The last trace of hope I'd kept for them ran out.
15:42Stella soothed them and guided them back down the hall.
15:45As she passed me, her eyes moved over mine.
15:48There was a satisfaction in them, barely hidden.
15:51A few days later, my mother called.
15:53Her voice, for the first time in years, was soft.
15:58I really craved the honey cake from the old bakery at the southern end of the town.
16:04Could you go buy some?
16:06I went out.
16:07Just as I turned into a quiet side alley,
16:10several figures rushed out from behind.
16:11A bag went over my head.
16:14The world went black.
16:17A tremendous force drove me into the ground,
16:20the back of my skull hitting cold pavement.
16:23You filthy animal.
16:25We finally got you.
16:27Pay for the ones you killed.
16:30Fists and boots became like hailstones.
16:32I curled in there, trying to protect my core,
16:35but each blow drove through me.
16:36Every breath brought a sharp, metallic pain.
16:40I lost track of time.
16:42Eventually, I was dropped onto the ground.
16:44The bag was torn away.
16:45The dim light made my eyes ache.
16:49A younger man with red-winged eyes lifted a broken body.
16:52My brother was only 19!
16:55His whole life was ahead of him!
16:57You took it!
16:58If you hadn't closed the case so fast,
17:00the real killer wouldn't have run free for years.
17:03The evidence wouldn't have been so hard to find!
17:05And here you are.
17:08Still alive.
17:10Why?
17:11Why should you be?
17:12Hot blood poured from my arm.
17:14Bet you didn't know it was your own mother who helped lure you out here.
17:18All they asked was that we leave Lucas Drake's and his family out of it.
17:23You're pathetic.
17:25Even your own parents gave you up.
17:27My consciousness blurred at the edges.
17:29My mother's voice calling me out the door with her soft request still echoed somewhere.
17:35I hadn't misread her.
17:36I had just wanted too much to be forgiven.
17:40The blood loss and pain started making me shake uncontrollably.
17:44The warmth leaving my body.
17:46Above me, they raised an iron bar.
17:48I looked at it, and I closed my eyes.
17:50Being alive is too exhausting.
17:52My parents' contempt.
17:53My ex-husband's betrayal.
17:55My apprentices' calculated destruction.
17:58In the blur of it, I drifted back to being small.
18:01When thunder shook the house at night and I was scared, my father would quietly get up
18:05and leave the light on.
18:06My mother would sit beside me and pat my back in slow, steady strokes.
18:09Her voice was the most reassuring sound in the world.
18:12It's okay, baby.
18:13Mommy and Daddy will keep you safe.
18:15Don't be scared.
18:16That voice seemed to get clearer, not fainter.
18:19Tears moved down the side of my face.
18:21My lips moved without sound.
18:23Mom, I'm not scared.
18:25A strange peace spread through every limb.
18:27If my dying would finally give them rest, maybe that was all right.
18:31The bar swung toward my skull.
18:33In the final second before it hit, a voice rang through the space.
18:36Stand down!
18:37Police!
18:38Outside, the shriek of sirens tore through the night.
18:42That shout, stand down, was clear and certain.
18:45A man's voice.
18:46Then the sirens came.
18:48Red and blue light strobing through the broken warehouse windows.
18:50A figure broke through the door first.
18:53Fast, clean, no wasted motion.
18:55When he turned, I stopped breathing.
18:56It was Ethan Solis, State Bureau Investigator, my junior from the police academy.
19:01Nobody move!
19:02Ethan had his weapon trained on the ringleader, his gaze steel-edged.
19:05The officers behind him flooded the space and took control.
19:08The men were pressed to the floor, cuffed.
19:10Ethan crossed the warehouse in quick strides, crouched beside me, and assessed my injuries.
19:14When he saw my arm, the torn skin, the blood, his eyes went red at the rims.
19:19He controlled it.
19:20He pressed to the wound with practiced efficiency.
19:23Stay with me.
19:24The ambulance is on its way.
19:25His voice was quiet.
19:26Underneath it, barely there, was a tremor.
19:29I tried to pull together something like a smile.
19:31Ethan Solis, what are you doing here?
19:33Later, he said simply.
19:35His eyes didn't leave the wound.
19:38At the hospital, Ethan used the investigation as his reason to stay.
19:41Once the medical staff were gone and only the two of us remained in the room, he spoke.
19:45Serena, after I transferred back to the State Bureau, I never stopped watching your case.
19:51I always felt something was wrong with what happened eight years ago.
19:54He set an encrypted drive on the nightstand.
19:59This is everything I've gathered quietly over the years.
20:01It can't fully prove your innocence yet, but it shows clearly that the case was full of unanswered questions.
20:06Why?
20:07Because I know you.
20:09I know who you are.
20:10I know you would never have done what they said you did.
20:13I've been waiting for the right moment.
20:16Then the door opened.
20:17Lucas Drake walked in.
20:18Stella Holt a step behind him.
20:19When they saw Ethan, both of their expressions shifted.
20:22Just for a second.
20:24Lucas recovered first.
20:27Investigator Solis, what brings you here?
20:30Executing official duties, Commissioner Drake.
20:32The State Bureau has decided to open an investigation into the assault on Mrs. Voss.
20:37Stella moved quickly to the bedside, voice full of concern.
20:41Mentor?
20:42Are you all right?
20:43Lucas and I were up all night worrying.
20:45Her performance made my stomach clench.
20:47Ethan glanced at her once, coldly, and said nothing.
20:49Serena, you have my word.
20:50This will be investigated fully.
20:53And how will that investigation proceed, Commissioner Drake?
20:56The way you closed things eight years ago?
20:58Or will you be looking for another substitute?
21:00The room went silent.
21:03On Ethan's insistence, I was moved to a hospital designated by the State Bureau.
21:07He arranged for a protective detail and personally oversaw my recovery.
21:09One evening, he wheeled me through the hospital garden at dusk.
21:12You can't keep disappearing into yourself like this.
21:14He paused beside a bench.
21:16Do you remember the oath we took at the academy?
21:20That no matter what we faced, we would see to it that justice reached the victims?
21:24I looked at the sun lowering at the edge of the sky and said nothing.
21:27Eight years had trained me to carry everything alone.
21:29Ethan crouched in front of me to meet my eye level.
21:31Serena.
21:32Give me a chance.
21:33And give yourself one.
21:36Let's find the truth together.
21:37His eyes were clear and steady.
21:39And they brought back the image of a younger version of him.
21:41Always one step behind me in the academy halls.
21:44Asking question after question.
21:45He'd grown into a man who could carry a room on his own.
21:47But that stubbornness had never changed.
21:49Just then, my parents appeared at the garden entrance.
21:51They hovered at a distance.
21:52Uncertain, not quite able to approach.
21:54Ethan stood and spoke in a tone that was calm.
21:56But left no room for argument.
21:57Mr. and Mrs. Voss, Serena needs rest.
22:01If you genuinely care about her, please give her time.
22:03My mother nodded, crying quietly.
22:06We understand.
22:08Ethan, thank you for looking after her.
22:10My father bowed deeply, tears running down his face.
22:14I'm sorry, Serena.
22:15We never thought they would go that far.
22:18Looking at them, at their guilt and their grief, I felt something complicated move through me.
22:21Ethan quietly wrapped his hand around mine.
22:23The warmth was something I had almost forgotten existed.
22:28Slowly, under Ethan's encouragement, I began to look back at the case.
22:32We moved apart from everyone at the city department.
22:34And with old Ray's quiet assistance, gathered evidence in secret.
22:37Look here.
22:39Late at night in the hospital room, I pointed to the case photos on the laptop screen.
22:43When the third victim's body was found, the soil samples from the scene didn't match the soil of the location
22:49where the body was dumped.
22:51Ethan leaned in close.
22:53His hair brushed against my cheek.
22:55Which means that wasn't the primary scene.
22:57How did the original investigation completely miss something this significant?
23:01It wasn't missed.
23:02Someone deliberately overlooked it.
23:04We looked at each other.
23:05We both saw the same conclusion in the other's eyes.
23:08As the investigation deepened, more inconsistencies surfaced.
23:11Missing physical evidence.
23:13Contradictory testimony.
23:15Altered forensic records.
23:16One evening.
23:17I found the forensic technician who handled the original scene.
23:21Three months after the case closed, he resigned and moved abroad.
23:25And his bank account received a large, unexplained transfer around the same time.
23:29Can we trace where the money came from?
23:31The funds were moved through multiple channels.
23:33They end in an offshore shell company.
23:36He paused.
23:37But I noticed one detail.
23:40That company was registered at the exact time Stella Holt made her first official overseas study trip.
23:46My phone lit up with a message from an unknown number.
23:49Stop the investigation.
23:51Or your parents will suffer the consequences.
23:55The threat didn't stop us.
23:57If anything, it made us more certain.
23:59Ethan arranged for my parents to be moved somewhere safe.
24:02We chose a different line of approach.
24:03We went back and spoke to the original victim's families.
24:06In a bare, simple rental apartment, we found the mother of the first victim.
24:10Eight years later, this woman was still drowning in the loss of her son.
24:13He was a good boy.
24:14She held his photograph as she spoke.
24:16He never went out alone late at night.
24:19That evening, he left because of a phone call.
24:21That detail had never appeared in the official case file.
24:25Do you remember anything about who called?
24:27Ethan asked gently.
24:28The woman shook her head.
24:29Only that I heard him say,
24:32Sure, Stella.
24:34When we left, Ethan held my hand without letting go.
24:37We both understood what we had just found.
24:39As the interviews continued, more and more threads pointed towards Stella Holt.
24:43Yet every time we seemed to reach the truth, key evidence would vanish.
24:47Witnesses would change their accounts.
24:50Someone is actively working against us.
24:52Ethan said one night, exhausted, pressing his fingers to his temple.
24:56And whoever it is knows everything we're doing.
24:59I looked at the lines of tiredness in his face and felt a weight of guilt.
25:02I'm sorry for pulling you into this.
25:06He raised his head.
25:07The light in his eyes was unwavering.
25:09I chose this.
25:10And I believe justice finds its way eventually.
25:15Then, the unexpected happened.
25:17On a rainy night, Lucas Drake came to my door alone.
25:20He was soaking wet, his face the color of ash.
25:25Serena, I...
25:26He saw Ethan sitting in the room and stopped.
25:29I'll make some tea.
25:30Lucas called after him.
25:32Investigator Solace, stay.
25:34This concerns you too.
25:37These years, I have lived with the guilt.
25:39The truth is, I did hide things back then.
25:42I think it's time I gave you both an answer.
25:46Neither Ethan nor I spoke.
25:47Lucas continued.
25:49The night it happened, Stella did go out.
25:53When she came back, there was blood on her clothes.
25:57She told me she'd come across a traffic accident, but...
26:00But what?
26:02But...
26:03The next morning, the murders were reported.
26:05Stella realized I had noticed something.
26:09She came to me on her knees and begged.
26:13There was already a child.
26:16I told myself I was protecting the family.
26:20So...
26:20When she suggested altering the forensic report,
26:24I let her.
26:26Why are you telling us this now?
26:29Because I found out.
26:32What?
26:32She may be connected to other cases.
26:35This is beyond what I can cover for anymore.
26:38Just as Lucas slid a folder of key evidence across the table,
26:41the sound of tires screeching to a stop came from outside.
26:45We moved to the window.
26:46Several black vehicles, figures in dark clothing moving fast toward the building entrance.
26:51Lucas had gone completely pale.
26:54They know I'm here.
26:55Ethan made the call instantly.
26:57The service stairwell.
26:59Now.
27:02Ethan got us to a State Bureau safe house before dawn.
27:04The evidence Lucas had handed over wasn't enough to close the case.
27:07But it pointed the way forward.
27:09We need a DNA sample from Stella Holt.
27:12Ethan said, spreading the files across the table.
27:14If we can compare it against the biological material recovered from the original crime scenes,
27:19it's over.
27:20For the first time in eight years,
27:22I could feel the shape of something solid beneath my feet.
27:24Then old Ray called with news that hit like ice water.
27:28Stella Holt had filed for emergency leave.
27:31She booked an international flight for tomorrow morning.
27:34She's running.
27:35I said it before I'd finished the thought.
27:37No time to push through a formal arrest warrant.
27:39We have to get to the airport.
27:41We drove through the dark without speaking.
27:43The highway was empty.
27:44The only sound was the engine and my own heartbeat, steady and low.
27:48We were there before first light.
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