CSI Texas

Chapter One

Victoria Stewart scrubbed at a coffee stain on the counter with a paper towel, not really seeing it. The kitchen was quiet except for the low hum of the fridge and the distant chatter of teenagers on the sidewalk outside. Sunlight streamed in through the window, casting a warm glow over the tile, but her mind was elsewhere — miles away already, in San Antonio.

She glanced at the envelope lying half-folded on the counter, HR’s bold letterhead peeking out like it was taunting her. It still didn’t feel real. She’d built a life in Phoenix: a good job, a house with history, and above all, stability for Samantha. Uprooting now felt like yanking the rug out from under both of them.

From the hallway came the familiar shuffle-thump of her daughter’s Converse on the floor. Victoria braced herself.
“Sam?” she called out. No answer. She tried again, louder this time. “Can you come here for a minute?”
Samantha appeared, oversized hoodie slipping off one shoulder, earbuds still dangling. Her phone was in her hand, thumbs tapping rhythmically. “What?” she mumbled, not looking up.
Victoria took a deep breath and folded the towel, buying herself another second. “Sit down. I need to tell you something.”
Samantha’s brow furrowed, and she flopped into a chair at the kitchen table with the theatrical sigh only a fifteen-year-old could deliver. “Am I in trouble or something?”
“No,” Victoria said gently, pushing the envelope toward her. “But… this is serious.”
Sam glanced at the paper but didn’t touch it. “What is it?”
“I’ve been transferred,” Victoria said, her voice calm but measured. “San Antonio. They need someone to take second position to lead — as the previous one is relocating to D.C., and they offered me the position.”
There was a pause. A blink. Then —
“What?”
Victoria kept her tone soft. “We’ll need to move. Probably within the next month.”
Sam stared at her like she’d just grown a second head. “We’re moving? Like, actually moving? To Texas?”
Victoria nodded, already regretting every word. “Yes. I know it’s sudden, and it’s a lot to take in — ”
“Are you serious right now?” Sam interrupted, voice rising. “Mom, I have school. I have friends. Swim meets are coming up. And I’m working on my spring collection!”
“I know, honey. Believe me, I’ve thought about that — ”
“Apparently not hard enough!” Sam pushed her chair back, standing abruptly. “You didn’t even ask me. You just decided.”
Victoria stood too, hands open in a calming gesture. “It wasn’t just a decision. It’s my job. It’s... complicated.”
Sam snorted. “It’s always your job. When are we ever going to be more important than your crime scenes and late nights?”
That one landed deep, and Victoria winced. “Sam, that’s not fair.”
“You’re right,” Sam snapped. “It’s not.” She stormed down the hallway, but Victoria followed her, speaking through the open bedroom door. “I’m doing this for us. Better position, better salary — it’s a chance for something more secure.”
From behind the door came a muffled, “I don’t want "more secure". I want just normal.”
Victoria leaned her forehead against the wall, breathing in slowly. “We’ll find a good school. One with a pool. You’ll still have your swimming, and your sketchbooks. I’ll make sure of it.”
There was silence, then a softer voice. “What if they don’t have a design club? What if it’s just some boring school with metal detectors and vending machines that only sell chips?”
Victoria smiled faintly despite herself. “Then we’ll start your own club. You can teach them what real fashion looks like.”
Another pause.
“It won’t be the same.”
“No,” Victoria admitted. “It won’t.”

She stepped back toward the kitchen, suddenly exhausted. The move itself would be hard enough. The house in San Antonio was half-unpacked, a mishmash of boxes and dated wallpaper. And on top of everything, she’d be walking into the same building as Alan Caine —a man she hadn’t spoken to since that single, unforgettable night sixteen years ago. He had no idea she’d had his daughter.
Victoria rubbed her temples. She didn’t regret having Samantha — not for a second — but she had no idea how she’d kept it hidden this long. And now?
Now the walls were closing in.
She turned the envelope face-down and picked up her coffee, reheated twice already. It tasted burnt. She drank it anyway.

“Mom?” Sam’s voice came from the hallway, quieter now.
Victoria turned. “Yeah?”
Sam stood there, arms folded tight across her chest. “If I have to go… I get to pick my room. And I want a dog. And I mean it this time — not like the fish we forgot to feed.”
Victoria blinked. Then smiled. “A dog?”
“A big one,” Sam said, chin lifted in defiance. “A protector. And it has to like water.”
Victoria laughed softly. “You’re already designing it in your head, aren’t you?”
“Maybe,” Sam mumbled, already thinking.
“We’ll see,” Victoria said, voice dry. But inside, something eased. “Deal on the room, though.”
Sam gave a single nod and disappeared again.
Victoria leaned back against the counter. One small victory, maybe. But in San Antonio, bigger battles were waiting — new cases, new secrets… and one man who could shatter everything.