When My Sister Mocked Me for “Not Affording the Place,” Her Police Captain Welcomed Me Back Like Family—And What Happened Next Uncovered a Secret That Could Ruin Us All

Chapter 1: The Restaurant Incident

“CAN YOU EVEN AFFORD THIS PLACE?” MY SISTER SNEERED.

We were standing in line at Riverstone Grill, the most expensive restaurant in Crescent Bend, Washington—her choice, not mine.

My sister, Harlow, crossed her arms and smirked like she’d already won a battle I didn’t know we were having.

I ignored her.

Or tried to.

Then her captain approached.

Her police captain.

Captain Elias Ward.

“Welcome back,” he said warmly.

To me.

Not to Harlow.

His voice carried enough weight to turn heads.

Harlow’s smirk vanished.

“What do you mean ‘welcome back’?” she snapped.

Ward ignored her.

He put a hand on my shoulder.

“It’s been a long time, Officer Brooks. We’ve missed you.”

Harlow’s jaw dropped.

That was the moment everything changed.

She had no idea who I’d become.

And she definitely didn’t know why I left Crescent Bend eight years earlier.

But she was about to.

And so was the rest of the family.

Chapter 2: What My Sister Never Knew

My name is Riley Brooks, and eight years ago, at twenty-one, I left Crescent Bend in the middle of the night.

No note.

No forwarding address.

No explanation.

Everyone assumed it was because of the fight between me and Harlow.

It wasn’t.

It was because of what I witnessed.

What I reported.

What nearly got me killed.

I joined law enforcement in Oregon, working under a different name.

New badge.

New life.

I made detective in record time.

And I came back today for one reason:

A retirement dinner for my first training officer, Captain Ward—one of the only men who ever believed in me.

I planned to slip in quietly.

Celebrate.

Leave.

But then Harlow showed up.

Of course she did.

She couldn’t stand the idea of missing an opportunity to win.

Except this time… she had no idea what game we were playing.

Chapter 3: The Captain’s Warning

Once we were seated, Captain Ward leaned in.

“You weren’t followed, right?” he whispered.

My brows knit.

“No. Should I have been?”

He exhaled.

“There’s chatter,” he said. “Your name came up again.”

Harlow overheard.

“What name? What chatter? What are you two talking about?”

Ward shot her a look that shut her up instantly.

He slid a folder under the table.

“Look at it later,” he murmured. “Not here.”

My stomach tightened.

“What changed?” I asked.

“Everything,” he said. “And Riley—it’s starting again.”

The room suddenly felt smaller.

Hotter.

Wrong.

Whatever I’d left behind eight years ago wasn’t dead.

And whatever was waking up now… wasn’t subtle.

Chapter 4: The Disappearance

Dinner was barely over when Ward’s phone buzzed.

He looked at it.

Went pale.

Stood abruptly.

“Riley,” he said sharply, “you’re coming with me.”

Harlow scowled. “Why does she get to—”

Ward cut her off. “Because your sister is the only one in this room qualified to handle what I just saw.”

He turned to me.

“It’s your mother.”

My pulse spiked.

“What about her?”

“She’s been reported missing.”

The world dropped out beneath me.

Mom.

The woman whose voice I hadn’t heard in years.

Missing.

And not just missing.

Ward added:

“She left a note.”

My throat tightened.

“What did it say?”

He hesitated.

“It said, ‘Find Riley.’”

Harlow gasped.

“She hasn’t said your name in eight years!”

Exactly.

Which meant only one thing.

Something was very, very wrong.

Chapter 5: The House We Grew Up In

Mom’s house was exactly as I remembered it.

Too clean.

Too quiet.

Too full of memories that weren’t mine anymore.

Ward led us inside.

Harlow pushed past me, screaming Mom’s name.

Nothing.

Then Ward handed me a sealed plastic bag.

Inside was the note.

My name.

Written in trembling handwriting.

Riley, They’re back. Find the box. Do not trust Harlow. Do not trust the department. Run. Mom

Harlow read over my shoulder.

“What the hell does that mean?” she snapped.

I didn’t answer.

Ward looked sick.

“You know what she’s talking about, don’t you?” he whispered.

I nodded.

Because I did.

Eight years ago, before everything exploded, Mom had shown me a box hidden under the floorboards.

A box full of things I was never supposed to see.

Evidence.

Of what?

A conspiracy.

A cover-up.

A death everyone ruled a suicide.

A death I knew was murder.

And the man behind it?

Still alive.

Still powerful.

Still looking.

Chapter 6: The Box

Harlow watched me tear up the floorboards.

“What are you even looking for?” she demanded.

Mom’s note echoed in my head.

Find the box.

My hand froze.

There.

A wooden corner.

I yanked it out.

Inside:

Photographs
A VHS tape
A burner phone
A badge
A flash drive
And a single sheet of paper with a name:

JACOB MERCER.

My breath caught.

“No,” Ward whispered, stepping back. “He’s dead.”

“He’s not,” I said quietly.

Harlow blinked. “Who is that?”

Ward rubbed his face.

“Jacob Mercer was a Crescent Bend officer. Decorated. Respected. And secretly the most dangerous man this county has ever seen.”

Harlow frowned.

“Mom knew him?”

I didn’t answer.

Because the truth was worse.

Much worse.

Eight years ago, Mom didn’t just know Jacob Mercer.

She helped cover for him.

Until she didn’t.

Until she realized what he was doing.

And the day I found out…

The day I confronted him…

The day he threatened me…

I left.

Because Ward made me.

Because Mercer had eyes everywhere.

But now?

Now Mercer wanted the box back.

Which meant he wanted me.

And Mom.

I slipped the flash drive into my pocket.

“We’re not safe here,” I said. “We need to go.”

But it was already too late.

A shadow appeared in the doorway.

And a familiar voice drawled:

“Leaving so soon, Officer Brooks?”