?Chapter 1281:


    He dabbed at his forehead, his voice shaky. “I… I’m truly sorry, Ms. Hudson. There’s been a problem with our surveince system. It went down this morning. Maintenance is on it, but they say it’ll be at least two days before it’s up and running again.”


    Malcolm had shown up suspiciously at Nirvana earlier, and now Tina was gone.


    Even the cameras had “conveniently” failed.


    Too many ‘idents’ piling up—Sadie wasn’t buying it.


    She could sense that someone had carefully wiped away every clue, leaving nothing behind.


    But who would go to such lengths? Was Alex involved—or was it someone else entirely?


    Sadie refused to finish the thought, a cold shiver creeping up her spine and settling at the base of her neck.


    Suddenly, a young server burst down the stairs, panic etched across her face.


    “Sir, we have a problem. The cleaningdy found a woman’s and a man’s bodies in the river out back. The police are on their way!”


    The news hit Sadie like a physical blow, leaving her stunned. For a moment, her knees buckled, and her world blurred at the edges.


    A quick-thinking bodyguard caught her before she copsed. “Ms. Hudson, are you okay?”


    Sadie shook off his arm, her eyes burning, and raced toward the river without a backward nce.


    No. It couldn’t be Tina.


    It absolutely couldn’t be Tina.


    A silent scream echoed inside her mind, drowning out reason, but the fear pressed down on her, refusing to let go.


    Every fiber of her being prayed that her worst fears wouldn’te true.


    Bright yellow tape already wrapped the riverbank in a warning, making it impossible to miss the police presence.


    g?lnσν???s?c?m is packed with great reads


    Humidity clung to everything, mingling with the unmistakable scent of fish and something less pleasant.


    Arriving on the scene, Sadie spotted uniformed officers clustered at the water’s edge, their faces serious as they methodically went about their jobs. Each gesture they made showed extra caution, as if any mistake would matter too much.


    Crowds of reporters hovered just beyond the barrier, their shouts and camera shes punctuating the tension.


    Sadie winced every time one of those harsh bursts of light caught her eyes.


    A crowd blocked most of her view, but her focus remained fixed on one patch of riverbank that seemed to draw all attention.


    A body was there.


    Forcing her way past onlookers, Sadie nearly lost her bnce in the mud, propelled by a desperate urgency.


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