~~~Violet POV~~~

There was sourly sweet smile play on Zurie's lips. "Well, happy endings do happen ." Zurie's voice drifted through the air, her tone laced with a bittersweet edge.

I balled up my fist, my knuckles turning white as I drew closer to Zurie, my face flushed with anger. My eyes were locked onto her, and a low growl rumbled from my throat as I started to speak. "You better shut up before I smack that stupid....."

But before I could finish, Alvaro stepped in, his voice cutting through the tension with a firm edge. He placed a steadying hand on my shoulder, his eyes meeting mine with a mix of urgency and calm. "She's not worth it. We need to get Sydney out of jail."

Alvaro's posture was as straight as a dull s sword, his jaw set with determination. People were still whispering like a swarm of angry bees.

Seeing your friend getting arrested is like watching a beautiful porcelain doll fall from a high shelf. You can't do anything but watch as it tumbles in slow motion, knowing that something delicate and cherished is about to shatter. I watched as they lead her out the shop.

The fragile perfection, once admired, is suddenly DESTROYED

I reached in my purse to get my phone. Then I saw light red single Iris with a card tapped to it. In my purse

Since you've been so good, let me give you a view, A heads up about what the future holds for you.

Things are getting darker, and doom's on the rise,

If you don't find that file where the secret lies,

In Sydney's room, in thirty or less,

Or you'll find yourself in a whole lot of mess.

YOUR Fortune Teller

I looked around for someone suspicious....nothing. Sydney's arrest was the perfect distraction.

Then I saw Branson. All jokes and pettiness aside. That man is having the roughest year of his life. Imagine your sister is in the ICU and your ex-girlfriend you broke up a day ago. Is accused of a hit and run.

Of your sister

He looked as if the weight of the world, had suddenly landed on his shoulders, pressing them down with unspoken burdens. His face fell like a curtain in a theater, revealing the bleak emptiness behind the scenes.

He looked like a cow getting ready to get slaughtered, or a person who gambled away their fortune, or like he found out a family member is in the hospital... Maybe I went too far.

Long story short he looks broken

Alvaro tapped me on the shoulder. "We got to go." And like courage the cowardly dog . I bravely fled.

We escaped the store. We got in his car. People where still mumbling about the arrest. The town felt like a broken record, replaying the same shock.

Alvaro started to punch the steering wheel.

"Did you delete the video? from Zurie's phone. " I vomited out

He started the car as he nodded "yes."

I leaned forward in her seat. "Did you delete from the backups?" My voice was sharp, cutting through the silence of the car.

"Better. I factory rested her phone. She lost everything." He bit his lip. "But the was a lot of people in that store. I'm sure someone else was recording it and I'm sure the press will be all over it. it is the mayor's daughter after all."

"I know...but at least Zurie won't be touching herself to that video." We both chuckled, the sound a brief, nervous release in the tense air.

I crossed over her chest. "Before you go to the station drop me off at Sydney's house." I leaned slightly back.

His hands gripped the steering wheel a little tighter. "Why?" Alvaro asked while gripping the wheel. "You need me to wait for you?" He asked, his tone low but purposeful.

"I need to tell her parents. Certain things we can't discuss over the phone." I said, my voice steady but laced with urgency. He just nodded his head in agreement, his eyes focused on the road but his expression hardening slightly, as if processing the weight of what I'd said

We stopped in front of her house.

"She did it didn't she?" Alvaro cut through the silence, his voice sharp and direct. He didn't look at me, his eyes still fixed straight ahead.

I paused for moment to absorb his words.

"What?" I gasped, my voice flat, like the words barely registered.

"Don't play dumb with me," he said, his voice flat, no room for denial. "Remember that night you asked me to fix her car because she hit a deer? It was actually Candy, right?"

He paused, just a breath, as if he was waiting for me to react but I didn't. The question felt like it didn't even need an answer. We both knew what happened, what had always been there, unsaid, lingering between us. The silence after his words wasn't heavy. It just... was.

"Listen," I continued, my voice hardening, "you forget about that night. You never mention that night. I came to you because I trusted you."

The silence in the car grew thick, almost suffocating, as I leaned in closer, my words sharp. "Don't make me regret my decision. You'll be sorry if I do."

He held my gaze, but there was no challenge in his eyes, just a quiet understanding.

Álvaro might lean forward, his eyes intense, emphasizing his determination to get answers and his frustration at being kept in the dark. He chuckled leaned back and crossed his arms." so it was YOU and not her huh?"

"What you are blaming me now? it's deeper than you can imagine." I roared

"No, you can't just brush this off," Alvaro's voice was tight, each word forced through clenched teeth. "There's something you're not telling me, and I need to know what it is. You're involved, and that means I'm involved too. Don't expect me to just walk away from this!" His eyes locked onto mine, demanding answers, the air between us charged with unspoken weight.

"You really wanna keep this up?" I asked, my voice dead, like it didn't even matter. "Because I can make you regret it in ways you don't even want to imagine." I let the words hang, my eyes locking onto his with a coldness that left no room for hesitation. "Drop it. Now. Or I'll make sure you wish you never asked."

He sat there looking at me with his deafening silence. I could see his eyes yelling and shouting at me. Words his mouth wouldn't dare to say.

I said, cold and final. Without another word. "I'll find my own ride to the jail." Without a second word I slammed the door shut

The engine roared to life, and with a sharp squeal of tires, Álvaro's car darted away, leaving a cloud of dust in its wake. I could hear the purr of the engine growing fainter, the sound swallowed by the distance.

I made my way to Sydney's front door,

I knocked on it

The mayor opened the door.

I pulled my face up at him in confusion "Don't you have, people to do this for you?"

"The butler took a month off it was Sydney suggestion." he closed the door behind me.

He looked around. And whispered aggressive, " What are you doing here. Our meetings are next month." He gave me a grin " Thanks for warning, me about not placing money on Branson. he's usually the safest bet."

I gave him a brushing off gesture "He is but I had a personal score to settle. And I couldn't let none of our investors pay the price."

"But that's not important right now, Sydney got arrested and I need to get something upstairs." I ran upstairs."

"For what." Her dad yelled

"Apparently. for a hit and run for Candy." I believe this place might get raided"

"What. Honey call the lawyer." The mayor yelled. pulled out his phone. he walked down the hallway.

i bolted up the stairs into her room. I did not know what I was looking for. but I knew I was looking for something.

There was only one thing on the table. There it was the red file on her desk.

I opended the file to see what it was inside.

"NO" I gasped

Police

How much does she know? Cause it's all in here. the payments, the names, dates of races and locations. This is too lethal to get in the wrong hands.

Why on earth does he have records of this

Police

Just like that I was snapped back into reality.

I grabbed the file, feeling its weight in my hand, when my phone started buzzing in my pocket. I didn't need to check. I already knew who it was.

My eyes darted around, scanning for an exit, a way out of this mess. And then, there it was: the window.

It wasn't a decision. It was instinct. Without hesitation, I launched myself through it, the glass shattering around me as the world turned into a blur. For a brief, exhilarating moment, the air wrapped me in its cool embrace, a fleeting comfort.

And then splash.

The pool yanked me back to reality with a cold slap.

I dragged myself out, water streaming off me in rivulets, my clothes clinging to my skin. With no time to lose, I scrambled over the fence, ignoring the scrape of wood against wet skin, clutching the red file like it held the secrets of the universe.

I sprinted down the street, each step splashing water from my soaked clothes like desperate whispers fleeing my body.

The file in my hands felt heavier than paper—more like a crimson burden of secrets. I tore into it with savage intent, shredding its wet edges as if unraveling a past I could never let resurface. The soggy pages turned to pulp in my teeth, and I spat them out, each piece a confession scattered to the wind.

The street became a canvas of chaos, the papers spinning like broken promises, only to vanish in the gusts of fate. I ran until the file was no longer a file, its existence obliterated by my desperation.

Stopping to catch my breath, I looked back, knowing I had destroyed it completely. What was whole could never be rebuilt; what was scattered could never be found.

I pulled my phone from my pocket, heart racing as I checked the latest messages. They were from the fortune teller.

Message 1: bring me the red file. or else

Message 2: I'll give you a location later

Message 3: you will pay for what you did

Oh well that happened. Let me get home and change my clothes.

------

I walked up the street, the scent of smoke hanging in the air like a premonition. At first, it was just a thin wisp on the horizon, but as I drew closer, the scene unfolded like a nightmare.

A crowd had gathered, all of them watching the fire devour everything in its path, the flames reaching for the sky like greedy hands. The heat was palpable even from where I stood, the crackling of the fire a cruel soundtrack to the horror unfolding.

And then it hit me. My street. My block. My home. It was happening here.

I dropped to my hands and knees, as if the weight of the world had fallen on top of me. My voice cracked, a scream torn from the depths of me.

"No! No, no!" I yelled, as if calling the fire back would somehow make it obey. But it only laughed in the form of those roaring flames.

The fire department rushed in, but the house was already giving itself to the fire, surrendering to the destruction. A life, a memory, all reduced to ash and smoke. The house that once stood proud was now just another casualty of the world's relentless march.

When I saw someone getting pulled on a stretcher. "Wait mom!..." I pushed past. the people

"Get back." I felt someone wrap their arms around me.

It was a warmth, steady kind of warmth, like coming home after a storm. His hand moved gently across my back, as if trying to pass his calm into me, piece by piece.

I looked up to see it was a Leo the Jr detective. I danced with at the gala

"I just..." I began, my voice faltering.

"Shhh. I got you," Leo whispered, his words a soft anchor pulling me back to solid ground.

Confusion draped over my shoulders like a coat. Anger, on the other hand, was more direct. It tapped insistently on my shoulder, whispering that it was ready to take over.

Just like that, confusion was pushed aside, I knew who caused this.

And I just bit down on my tears, swallowing the ache that threatened to spill over.

I will not cry. Not here. Not now.

My head rested on Leo’s shoulder when I saw it a car driving past, slow and deliberate. My eyes locked on the driver’s window, and my heart stopped.

The mask.

The same one that attacked me. The same one that stood in my hospital room.

I buried my face in Leo’s shoulder, gripping his arm like a lifeline. His arms made me feel safe, but my mind raced, knowing safety was an illusion.

I will not cry. -------------

Author's note

I am finally done. With season 1 of hunted by the silence.

It has been fun writing this season. We will be back mid-March.

Hope you enjoyed the first season.

Hope you enjoy this festive season and New Years