Emi?! Did he say Emi?

My heart raced. My hands trembled. I tried to stay focused, but everything inside me was screaming. How the hell did he know my daughter?  

I jumped to my feet. My blood boiled in my veins. Confused, consumed by rage, I grabbed that bastard by the collar, lifted him with force, and shoved him against the wall.

— Where is she?! Where did you see her?! Tell me now!

The man cried. Cried like a frightened child.

Without thinking, I punched him. His head snapped to the side, but he kept crying, repeating the same phrase.

— My family.

The black ooze dripped heavier from his eyes and mouth, hitting the ground like oil. I kept punching him, out of control, repeating the only question burning in my head. Where was Emi? Where? But the bastard just cried and looked at me in horror.  

Yuki grabbed my arm. Her hard, serious eyes said it all: _“What the hell are you doing?”_  

I let go of the man, and he collapsed on the floor like an empty sack.

He kept crying. Quiet. Shaking.  

— I thought you were good... But you’re bad... just like all of them...

He stood up, staggering. Yuki immediately put her hand on her gun and ordered him to sit, but he ignored her, repeating nonstop:

— You’re bad.

The phrase echoed like a twisted, broken mantra. The lights above began to flicker. My chest tightened, my heart pounded even faster.

— You’re bad. You’re bad.

Then, slowly, he walked, turning to face the wall. He widened his smile, and then came the dry thud, the impact of him against the wall...

Yuki tried to restrain him, desperate. He was strong. Incredibly strong. She held on with everything she had, trying to stop him, but it seemed useless.  

The laughter weakened, his movements slowed... until everything stopped.

His body fell, lifeless.

The black ooze kept flowing from his eyes and mouth, as if his life itself had drained away through it.

Yuki and I exchanged a silent look.

I left the room.

Nervousness consumed me. My entire body shook. Nothing made sense in my head. I pulled out a lighter and lit a cigarette with sweaty hands. The image of my daughter struck me with force. Only one question echoed in my mind: _Is she alive?_

I could barely breathe. It felt like something was choking me, like an invisible hand wrapped around my throat.

I went outside the precinct, trying to catch my breath.  

Yuki followed me. She looked visibly worried. She stood in front of me and gently lifted my face.

— Breathe... Calm down, Haru — she said, serene.

I obeyed.

I pulled in air hard. Slow. And little by little, my body began to slow down.  

I sat on the ground, still panting. I looked at her, scared. Terrified.

— How did he know about her? How?

I held my head in my hands, trying to organize my thoughts. But everything was a blur.  

Yuki sat beside me and hugged me. She stroked my hair as if I were a lost child.

— You need to calm down, old man. Otherwise, you won’t be able to solve this case — she said, with that half-maternal tone I hated to admit calmed me.

— I have to. Now, more than ever, I have to solve this. I need to solve this case.

I stood up, determined. I had to understand all of it. Every detail.

A policeman called for Yuki to handle the paperwork for our “mysterious man’s” death.

Yuki looked at me and said:

— Today’s been rough, and you look really shaken. I think you should go home. We’ll talk tomorrow. Okay?

I just nodded.

I called a cab and went to my palace of perdition. Grabbed a can of beer and drank. One. Two. Three. Until I lost count. Until I simply blacked out.

When I opened my eyes, I was lying on the bed of my old house. The silence was thick, almost sacred. I felt a gentle touch on my face, soft as a memory. I turned slowly... and there she was.

Beautiful.

Her long black hair, her skin soft as if time had never touched it, and that rose fragrance — the same that still lingered in the forgotten corners of my memory.

My wife.

I kissed her lips, slow, full of longing. Real longing. The kind that tears your chest in silence. A kiss that wasn’t just love — it was grief, it was despair, it was the desperate wish to turn back time.

A meeting I never thought I’d have again after losing her... but for a moment, I did.

I looked at her, and she just looked back, saying:

— She’s alive. And you’ll find her. Because I know you won’t give up.

I woke up for real this time to the sound of the cell phone ringing on the floor. My head throbbed from the beer.  

I answered. It was Yuki, desperate:

— Turn on the TV — Yuki exclaimed.

When I turned it on, I saw something that gave me a headache far worse than the one I already had. Every news channel was covering the disappearance of Aokusa’s mayor.

One single thought crossed my mind.

Shit.