Essence

Prologue

As sirens blared throughout the building, it wasn't long till word reached Kiwimina that her sister, Romelle, had been found dead in her office. No one had even known Romelle was dead for hours until poor Cecilia had gone to Romelle's office to deliver some files, only to find Romelle's dead body face first and motionless in a pool of blood. Romelle was known to spend hours in her office, but she always opened the door to visitors. Cecilia recounted that she found it unusual when she knocked on the door and there was no response. She assumed that maybe Romelle wasn't in her office, so she decided to let herself in to drop the files off on her desk, but when she opened the door, she found Romelle dead. Of course, with Cecilia being the one to find Romelle's body, she was the first suspect, but Cecilia had no motive to do such a thing and she was too sweet. Camera footage also showed no evidence of Cecilia being near Romelle's office when Romelle was murdered. What was strange was that the camera in Romelle's office had been disabled before she was killed, but there was no evidence of someone breaking into the office or of any struggle. There was, however, DNA all over the scene, DNA which belonged to none other than Ketch Capere, a well-known criminal that law enforcement has never been able to catch.

After Romelle's death, Alexandra, the vice-regional leader, and Romelle's closest friend, was meant to take Romelle's position as regional leader. Alexandra, however, believed she wasn't fit for the role and selected Kiwimina to take her place as regional leader.

"Are you sure?" Kiwimina questioned.

"You're the only person truly fit for the job," Alexandra stated.

Kiwimina paused and thought, then nodded determinedly. "I'll do it."

"Are you sure? It's a big responsibility."

"I can handle it," Kiwimina reassured her. She tried to maintain her confidence, but deep down she doubted herself. Yet, she had to do it—for her sister and her people. And while doubt swam inside her, there was one thing she was absolutely certain of: she would do everything in her power to bring her sister justice, and that meant putting Ketch behind bars.