the Walker family

After Jason left, Autumn sat frozen, her face drained of all color. She couldn''t bring herself to look Mr. Walker in the eye. She knew exactly what pushed his buttons and this was it.

Before she could figure out how to exin, Mr. Walker spoke first. "Go upstairs and get some rest. Don''t overthink it. I''ll have someone look into what happened."

Autumn bit her lip, hesitating. "Mr. Walker..."

"If you didn''t do anything wrong, nobody can pin this on you. I''ll get to the bottom of it," he said, though even he sounded uncertain. He''d just called Mr. Taylor, and now the case was stuck in limbo.

He wanted to pretend everything was fine, to shove all his doubts down deep and forget about them.

But Rowan''s confession had pulled Autumn into the mess. If this blew up any further, it''d be impossible to contain.

Mr. Walker wasn''t worried about his own career-he was far more anxious about Autumn''s safety.

In the end, Autumn kept her mouth shut.

While Mr. Walker was defending her just now, the thought of divorce shed

through Autumn''s mind. Maybe that was the only way not to drag Mr. Walker down with her.

He''d worked almost thirty years to get to where he was. Autumn couldn''t bear the thought of ruining his future.

Alone in her room, Autumn''s mind spun in circles. She had no idea what to do next.

Einsberg Police Department

Jason and Hank barely set foot in the station before Jason got called straight into the chief''s office.

Hank waited outside, bouncing on his toes with nerves.

Jason was gone a long while before finallying out. Hank hurried over, wide- eyed. "Well? What happened? You''re not getting fired, are you?"

Jason pped him on the shoulder. "Rx. You worry too much. The boss just wanted an update. I''ve got ns tonight, so you''ll have to handle the report on the dismemberment case."

He wasn''t telling the truth—no point scaring Hank, who spooked easily as it was.

The chief''s message had been clear as day: stop digging. He''d even said outright that Rowan was just trying to smear Autumn.

Trantion: don''t cross Mr. Walker, don''t cross Autumn, unless you''ve got a death wish for your career.

Jason changed into civvies and left the station, driving around the city with nowhere particr to go, Finally, he stopped in front ofthe Franco family''s house.  s

Sitting in his car, Jason lit a cigarette just as his phone buzzed.

It was Herman. "Got a minute to meet?"

"Sure," Jason said. "Just left the station. Tell me where, I''lle."

"Willow Teahouse," Herman replied.

As soon as the call ended, Jason was about to start the engine when someone tapped on his window.

He turned, surprised to see Monica standing there.

She''d juste from her parents''. Ever since Chase broke his leg, Abby had

been looking after him, and Monica stopped by every day.

She must''ve seen Jason''s car, hesitated a bit, then finally came over.

Jason rolled down the window and straightened up. "You''re back."

"Yeah," Monica said, tilting her head. "Want toe in for a bit?"

They weren''t officially together anymore, but honestly, not much had changed.

Jason shook his head. "Not today. I''ve got something I need to handle."

Monica''s face fell. "Detective Lu, always busy. With all those cases, it''s a miracle you found time to loiter here at all."fne159 Get full chapters from FindN0vel/fne159

Her words were pure sass.

Jason said, "There''s been a break in Anastasia''s kidnapping case. Rowan came forward and dragged Autumn into it. Herman wants to talk."

Just hearing Anastasia''s name, Monica''s mood flipped. "Wait, what?

Rowan kidnapped Ana? What''s Autumn got to do with it? thought

Rowan saved Anast time-she

told me so herself."

to s

Monica''s head was spinning. This was all tangled up and going sideways fast.

But whenever it was about Anastasia, Monica was always all in.

Jason exined, “The kidnapping was Autumn''s idea. Rowan did save Ana, but he killed someone to do it. Now he''s got to face the consequences."

Monica bristled. "Okay, maybe this isn''t the most righteous thing to say, but those guys deserved it. Rowan''s not the bad guy here. If he hadn''t stepped in, Ana wouldn''t have just been nearly assaulted her whole life would''ve been ruined. And those photos still haunt her. Once your name''s dragged through the mud, there''s no way to scrub it clean-not even with a hundred exnations."  s

The Novel will be updated first on this website. Come back and

continue reading tomorrow, everyone!