Closing the Net

Eloise

The hard drive weighed almost nothing in my hand, yet my arm trembled as though I carried an anvil. I’d stared at the footage three times already, each time hoping I had misinterpreted shadows or movements. But no—Jadeline’s face remained there, sharp in the grainy security recording, her body hunched over the hood of my mother’s car, her fingers slipping inside where the brake line ran. Deliberate. Calculated. Murder precisely planned..

That night I drove home knowing Max needs me more than anything now.

The next morning, the city was washed in the morning light, the streets outside damp from last night’s drizzle. I dressed simply,...