Scars of her Blood • Shadowhunters

Chapter 25: Daunting Discoveries

>Same time in Álvaro's office<

Adriana was pacing up and down in front of Álvaro's desk, that stern look on her face that he only knew too well.

"I know exactly what you guys are doing and to be honest: I find it disgusting!"

Álvaro sighed:

"What am I supposed to answer to this, Adriana?"

"How about you tell me the truth?"

"You know I can't do that... It's my duty to protect the members of this task force."

Adriana rolled her eyes:

"This here goes beyond duty!"

"It does not.", Álvaro countered, "Adriana, these people are my family!"

"Oh, and what about my family, my brother?!"

Álvaro bit his lip:

"I am sorry. You know I am."

"You always tell me that!"

Álvaro stared at her. He did not know what else to say without hurting her feelings. Suddenly Adriana spoke up again, a strange undertone in her voice:

"You know, Esteban would be disappointed in you..."

Álvaro growled:
"Leave him out of this."

"... he always believed that you would do the right things...", Adriana continued, ignoring Álvaro's threatening tone.

"Leave him out of this!", this was going too far, "are you seriously guilt-tripping me right now with the one good relationship I had with a Warlock?"

Adriana gasped:

"A good relationship?! He trusted you! He gave you his magic!", she crossed her arms and took a deep breath, "and what about me by the way... You had so many ties to the Warlock community, Al... Do you even realize how this whole thing destroys your reputation?"

"That's a prize I'm willing to pay if it means protecting someone else's reputation."

Adriana stared at him with a mixture of disbelief and pain. Then she whirled around and stormed out of the room.

Álvaro sighed again and ran his fingers through his hair.

>In Celia's room<

When Celia stepped out of her bathroom, still drying off her hair with a towel, her phone chimed. Álvaro wanted to talk to her. Urgently. Celia slipped into a fresh set of clothes and went left her small room. Outside in the hallway, she ran into Benicio.

"Hey, did you also get an ominous message from Álvaro?", he asked. Celia nodded:

"Maybe just another mission..."

"Let's hope for that.", Benicio mumbled, "I don't need more news like Adriana is going to interrogate us today..."

Celia nodded. She was not in the mood for any more surprises like that either. There was never really a dull day when you work in a special force. But still, there were days that just cost too much adrenaline needed and when there were too many things to juggle.

Benicio and Celia entered Álvaro's office, where he waited for them already with Rubi. Both of them had a very concerned expression on their faces. Celia's hopes for just another mission were immediately gone:
"What happened?", she asked.

Álvaro sighed and pushed a piece of paper across the table. It was an autopsy report.

"I did not say anything yet, because we weren't sure if it wasn't just a coincidence..."