Chapter 1 

"Mamaaaa! Do you need to work today?" Layla 

pouted. 

"Sweetie, we've talked about this," I said softly. "You 

stay here while I go do some... adult stuff." 

"Uhgggg... that's so boringggg!" She threw herself 

onto the fluffy carpet in the middle of the room, 

limbs splayed out dramatically. 

I smiled. Pleasant memories of my baby girl 

appeared in an instant. They grow up so fast. What I 

would do to go back in time and not miss a single 

second of that playful child. 

Bzzz bzzz. 

I grabbed my phone, and my heart instantly started 

racing. The warmth of the moment vanished. I 

quickly stood up and headed for the front door, 

grabbing my coat on the way out. 

“I'm leaving for work!” I yelled back to my sweet 

daughter. 

As soon as I arrived at the secondary scene, the 

gravity of the case hit me all over again. “Did 

forensic experts find the identity of the woman 

yet?” I asked in a soft voice. I gripped my notebook 

tightly, my knuckles turning white. I was so angry. 

How could a person do this to someone's body? There 

were clear signs of torture left all over this woman. 

“We don’t know yet, Alyce,” Gregory sighed, shaking 

his head. 

“Chief, detective... We found something,” Alex 

interrupted, calling us over. 

We quickly moved to the left side of the property, 

where a massive tree stood with a cord dangling 

from a thick branch. A man was hanging from it, 

lifeless, with a bloody knife lying on the floor 

directly beneath his dangling feet. 

“Another puzzle to the game,” I said, the words 

coming out so softly that nobody else could hear 

them