Ember's POV

Eldoria is a country known for its beautiful countryside landscapes. The breathtaking mountainous range was a perfect backdrop among the beautiful green shrubbery; it was nothing like the bustling, drab cityscape. That's actually where I come in.

It was another boring Friday in the precinct, and my stepmother Vanessa kept blowing up my phone. She needed someone to watch the twins.

After the incident, my mother took refuge in abusing substances. My father, who was my biggest supporter, remarried the wicked witch of the east, and of course, she put on an act in front of my father.

My fingers wrapped around the half of a pendant that hung around my neck. My amber eyes skimmed across the screen of my smartphone. "If you don't come home this instant, then I'm throwing your bed in the pool." I read the text in my head and scoffed; my eyes rolled out of habit. She was all talk and no bark. She didn't believe I'd leave the precinct so she could go out drinking with her friends and spend my father's hard-earned money, did she?

"Chase, I need you to stay late again. We got a report on a wolf eating a grandmother, and I need you to go through the case file," my boss, Mr. Stiltskin, stated before he threw the reports on my desk. "It's a strange one."

"I'll get to it right away," I replied, looking over it, The only witness seemed to be the granddaughter, a little girl in a red cloak named Carol. The poor girl must have been traumatized. She mentioned that her grandmother would complain about a hunter who would kill her cats. Strange indeed.

There was nothing wrong with being a records analyst, but I wanted to be out on the field. Be the one who actually did something to make a difference in people's lives, not slaving away over paperwork. I'm quite sure I would make a decent detective. Victim or suspect? I mean with no living relatives inheritance will go to none other than the granddaughter. "I want it on my desk first thing Monday morning."

Maybe I could find the little match girls who seemed to be going missing. Grace would be proud if she were still here. Hell, she'd probably be the first on the case; she's always loved a good mystery. I suppose I have her to thank for this job.

"Sure, a thing, boss," I replied, fiddling with the loose thread hanging from the sleeve of my navy blouse. My natural kinky curls were held up in a nice, neat ponytail. "Actually um... Mr. Skin I had a question?" I stammered wringing my wrists together.

He looked around before his eyes landed on the clock on the wall, "You have a minute of my time."

"I'm good at my job right?" I asked as he gave a slight nod.

"The best analyst we got, what's your point?"

"I want to go on the field, imagine how much time we'd save if I was on the scene."

"I'm sorry but I can't do that," he coldly stated.

"But why not?"

"If I allow a kid to go out on the field then the company will become a joke, let alone a girl." Sexist.

Minutes turned into hours, and before I knew it, it was half past eleven. My bag that sat at my feet was now on my desk as I gathered everything before I drank the last little bit of the mango smoothie I had gotten with lunch.

Many of my colleagues had already left. I overheard some of them talking about going to the bar after work. I however rather not get into legal trouble for publicly drinking underage.

Being the youngest employee here sucked. No one ever took me seriously. My ears perked up at the sound of the copy machine whirling and hushed whispers. Someone's getting frisky.

I cringed at the foul language that was used. Jasmine and honey filled my nostrils; it was the secretary's signature scent. She was a married woman I knew for a fact that whoever she was with wasn't her husband. Not my business. Her annoyingly pushy voice was accompanied by the new hotshot accented detective. I put in an earbud to drown out the obscenities.

The heels of my ankle boots clacked against the floor as I walked passed the copy room to exit the precinct. Eldoria was the crime capital, but lucky for me, I didn't live too far away and always kept a taser and mace in my bag. I didn't want to end up like one of the girls who got sent to the morgue.

(TW: Blood)

I crossed the threshold for Cinderella Enterprise. They made some of the most stylish footwear and apparel for women. It was suspiciously quiet with the only voices that were heard were the faint ones from the roof of CE. Having some sort of rich people party. The hair on the back of my neck stood up. It was just about midnight, and my intuition kicked in, telling me something bad was about to happen. Quickening my pace, I stopped abruptly when a woman fell in front of me. Her blood splattered on my new boots and slacks. I let out a scream and nearly jumped out of my skin.

****

Kai's POV

"Happy Half-Birthday!" My uncle and aunt shouted in unison while they waited for my cousin Lee to blow out her candles. They thought celebrating half-birthdays was more extravagant than the real deal. More expensive if you asked me since they happen every six months instead of once a year.

After the accident, they took me in as their own. Of course, Aunt Mei was five months pregnant with Lee at the time. "Lirahn!" Aunt Mei called out. She's been calling me her little Lirahn since I moved in. Lirahn meant starlight in her mother tongue. A language my parents never got the chance to teach me.

"Yes, Emomi?" I replied, and a forced smile appeared on my face.

"You look preoccupied. Is everything alright?"

I ran my hand through my silky, dark brown hair. Her dark brown eyes locked onto my own and filled with concern. "Just preoccupied with work," I replied.

Honestly, though, work was the least of my worries. The closer it got to the anniversary of my parents' deaths', the more I thought about how the scumbag who killed them was still out there running free. Probably murdered more innocent people by now.

"It's just after seven," uncle Jim said as the news played in the background. "I wonder if they found those missing kids... yet," he mumbled.

"Papa," Lee began as she handed him a slice of cake. "Kai really is the best baker. It looks professional, look at the flowers spelling out my name,"

"I'm glad you like it, Leeann," I replied, flashing her my signature smirk that was only reserved for her.

"Don't call me Leeann, Kaiya!" she huffed, crossing her arms over her chest. I frowned, My mother named me Kaiya because she wanted a girl.

I turned to leave the room but stopped in my tracks. The words that came out of the news anchor's mouth caught me off guard. "Ella Glass, CEO of Cinderella Enterprise was pronounced dead early midnight this morning..."

"Lee does not need to see this sort of thing," Aunt Mei said, turning the knob on the television.

I made my way to my room and logged onto my desktop computer. Crime and mysteries have always interested me. I thought maybe if I paid enough attention, I could figure out who killed my parents by looking at the clues they left behind. That was before they deemed it a cold case.

There was this website I discovered, called; 'Show Crime' It's where mystery junkies like myself discuss local crimes amongst themselves. I made quite a few friends there, but no one was like MangoSmoothie07. She claimed to live in the same state as me.

She was offline. She was probably at work; I wonder where she worked. I sent a quick message for her to see later.

PeachRiscotto12: So an heiress died this morning; people are saying it was suicide. What do you think happened?

The green dot next to her icon appeared, symbolizing that she was on for a split second and disappeared without reading my message.

I closed my browser and scrolled through a news website. 'Local cannibal woman arrested before eating neglected children.' "Good for them," I muttered, 'Children continue to go missing, as a local gang known as 'The Lost Boys' are yet to be identified.'

"Kai?" Lee asked as she knocked on my closed door.

"Yes?" I answered, closing the browser before going to answer the door.

"It's time for me to go sell matches," she began as I nodded.

It was Saturday, and because she wasn't a teenager yet, the only way she could make pocket money was by selling matches. "Let me get out of my pajamas," I began. "It'll be best to avoid Uptown. It will be swarming with cops."