While Felix was working his night shift at the convenience store, his phone buzzed with a message.

He frowned and reread it slowly, making sure he wasn’t imagining things:

The devil’s hand is at work again. A student from our school is missing—we can’t locate her.

His chest tightened. His fingers trembled as he typed back.

Who’s missing?

His thoughts immediately jumped to his sister. Thalia’s camp was near the same place where several young women had vanished without a trace.

Thalia… please, not you. He whispered a silent prayer.

His phone rang.

He answered instantly.
“Hello?”

“Your sister’s safe,” the caller said. Relief washed over him—brief but real. “But her classmate is missing.”

Felix exhaled sharply. The tension clung to him like a second skin.

“Ruth—no, Chesca—isn’t okay. At first, we thought she just wandered off…”

“Where was she last seen?” Felix asked, voice low, urgent.

“She was found unconscious deep in the forest. Good thing she had that tracker device in her pocket. It saved her.”

Felix nodded silently.
“Maybe the henchmen are already targeting one of Fuego’s daughters… How’s Mikaela?”

“She’s safe for now. Chesca is under the Dionson family.”

“I know.” Felix rubbed his face. “But you saw the crime scene. You know Chesca’s still in danger.”

A quiet pause.

“She’s my sister’s friend. If something happens to her, Thalia could be dragged into this mess.”

The teacher on the phone sighed heavily. This wasn’t just a missing-person case. It was deeper—darker.

“Does her family know?” Felix asked.

“Not yet. We can’t file anything official until the 24-hour mark. For now, we’re hoping she turns up on her own.”

Felix nodded, though the unease in his gut only grew heavier.

“You know what to do when the time comes,” the teacher reminded him.

“I do,” Felix said quietly. “Just make sure Thalia stays safe. I won’t abandon you—I still need to uncover the truth behind my parents’ deaths.”

“I understand,” the teacher replied. “I need to go. We’re searching for the girl before something worse happens.”

“Keep me updated.” Felix ended the call.

He ran a hand down his face, rubbing his temples. Exhaustion burned behind his eyes, but sleep wasn’t an option—not tonight.

The night shift was only his cover.

Felix worked in shadows. An informant. A watcher. Someone who quietly fed information to the police. The convenience store provided the façade of a normal life, something to support his siblings.

But behind the scenes, he forged documents—birth records, certificates, whatever the mission needed. He had never planned on this life. He got pulled in through Fernan, his cousin—another orphan doing everything he could for his family.

The organization they worked for handled death calls.
Targets.
Elimination.
Money.

Felix had joined, but he never had the heart to take lives. And that was when he met the siblings—
not two,
but four.

He helped two escape.
He hid the others.
He found a protector for them.

Fernan wasn’t so fortunate.

The mastermind discovered what they had done.

Fernan was killed.
His siblings too—murdered brutally inside their own home.

Felix remembered the scene vividly.
The blood.
The silence.
The horror.

He lived right next door.
He arrived just before the police did.
He never forgot.

That night, Felix made a promise to himself:
to uncover the truth behind his parents’ deaths
and to seek justice for Fernan and the sisters.

His shift neared its end. Dawn slowly began to break. He clocked out, grabbed his bag, and hopped on a jeep as the city started to wake.

When he reached their street, he asked the driver to stop near Fernan’s old house.

It was abandoned now.
No one dared rent it.
People claimed it was haunted—wailing, footsteps, whispers.

Felix didn’t doubt it.
Some spirits linger.

He walked home. The kitchen light was still on. Jenny had fallen asleep slumped over the table. Greg was curled up on the couch beside her.

Did they not sleep at all? he wondered.

He didn’t wake them. He headed to his room, pushing the door open quietly.

But before he could step inside—

“Brother?”

Felix turned. Greg was awake, his small face pale.

“Good morning, Greg,” Felix greeted softly.

Greg’s lips trembled. His eyes filled with tears.

“Brother…” His voice cracked. “I saw Brother Fernan. He told me… he told me to be careful when you go out.”

A chill ran through Felix’s spine.

Greg wasn’t lying.
He never lied about the things he saw.

“I got scared,” Greg whimpered. “They showed me—you were shot. I don’t want to lose you… not like Mom and Dad.”

Felix dropped to his knees and pulled his brother into a tight embrace. Greg trembled violently in his arms.

Felix closed his eyes, fighting the cold dread in his chest.

It’s true.
Someone killed them.
His parents.
Fernan.
And now…
They wanted to silence him too.

He said nothing more. He simply held Greg until the boy calmed down. Then he tucked him back into the couch beside Jenny, making sure both were warm.

Only then did he return to his room.

He lay on his bed, thoughts churning restlessly.

Finally, exhaustion pulled him under—
but no sleep tonight would be peaceful.