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“I remember her voice, I remember the way drugs killed her slowly, and I remember how she wasn’t conscious enough to see what was happening to me. But I don’t remember her face. It’s blurry, and sad. I don’t want to remember her that way.”

Her lips find mine slowly, and I follow her. A kiss from her and all I can do is breathe her existence like it’s the only thing that matters. She stops and kisses the corner of my lips before saying, “Thank you for listening to me. You always listen.”

“Thank you for listening to me too.”

She smiles before going back to her place and focusing on the files sat on the desk like she would rather think about something else. And I let her, because I do need to focus on something else too. We stay there until late at night and she leaves for her room.

But I can’t stop thinking about what she said about her mother. And so I take the road at 1am to the house that hides the case I took when I arrived here.

When I’m there, I’m almost scared that my suspicions would be true. But then I see the picture of the file, the date of the suicide, it makes sense.

25th of December.

I call Kyle immediately after. “Hey, are you still with the team?”

“Yep, we just finished our day, what’s going on Damien?”

“Remember the file I sent you when I arrived? The mysterious suicide? Can you check something for me?”

“Guys let’s come back in, boss needs us,” he screams at the others before I hear them opening the door and sitting. “Okay what do you need exactly?”

“Put me on speaker.”

“Done.”

“Lena, can you check if the victim was Algerian, and I need you to see if she had a child.”

“Give me a second,” she says as she types.

“Asma Redouane, she came to Seraphin Bay when she was eighteen to study. Her mother is still living in Algeria.” That’s…“And apparently she did have a kid. I have a picture from her funeral. There’s a frame with her holding a little girl.”

“Thank you, Lena. Kyle, send it to me, and Lena, try to see if you can find the same of the kid.” A second later I see a picture on my phone and everything is clear. “Oh fuck…” I whisper

“Boss, I have a name⁠—”

“Mireya Vitelli…” I say.

I hear Lena saying, “How do you know that?”

But I can’t find the words.

“Thank you everyone, you can go now, I’ll take it from here.”

“Is everything okay, Damien?” Kyle asks.

“Are you still on speaker?”

“Nope, what’s going on, you’re scaring me?”

“Mireya Vitelli… She's the student who’s working with me on the case.”

“Oh fuck.”

“I have to go now. Let me know if there’s anything you find, keep working on her file, I want to know everything.”

“Okay, will do. Be careful, Damien.”

“I will, thank you…”