Detained

17.

❝A Fractured Breaking Point❞
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Two days later, June 2016
San Antonio, Texas

"That was nice of Mr. Himber to stop by, wasn't it?" Janice asked, glancing at her daughter, who remained unresponsive.

Moira's heart raced as she watched the detective's retreating figure head towards his marked vehicle. Detective Himber had delivered the grim news she already knew from the beginning: the Comcast technician, Reese Darnley had been found dead in a local landfill, his final resting place. The autopsy revealed a cervical fracture from blunt force, but the cause of the injury was inconclusive. Was it an accident, or was there foul play involved? The pathologists and police were still investigating, but Moira knew the real truth—and it sickened her.

Her parents had rushed over as soon as they learned the detective would be visiting, and now they were settled in her living room—a little too comfortably for Moira's liking. They had come to offer assistance with the officers, but their presence only heightened her sense of suffocation. Moira had explicitly asked for space, and forty-eight hours was nowhere near enough to give her the solitude she needed.

"I think it goes without saying that I'd still like to be alone," Moira said sharply, cutting off Janice as she was about to speak. Her mother's mouth fell open in surprise, and she stared at Moira, stunned, before closing it and silently rising from the couch. Her father, who seemed like he was forced to go along with her mother, followed suit without protest. The frustration and hurt was evident on Janice's face, but Moira's need for solitude was dire.

For whatever reason, Moira decided to offer a small olive branch just this one time. "Thank you for calling Rowan and Ah'Misha down here to see me; I was glad to see them," she said sincerely as they moved towards the front door. She was irked that they had ignored her request to be by herself for a bit but she chose to keep that frustration to herself. Her parents paused and turned back, both managing smiles of appreciation, though Janice beamed with a certain sense of accomplishment.

As the Neverson couple stepped outside, the house fell into an eerie silence, punctuated only by the soft click of the front door closing behind them. Moira stood there for a moment, taking in the quiet before her breath caught in her throat as she glanced toward the hallway leading to the bedrooms. The faint sound of shuffling footsteps reminded her of the two brothers who were still hiding out in her home. Marcos emerged first, his face etched with curiosity.

"You think you'll be off their radar now?" he asked, his tone laced with uncertainty.

Moira shrugged, her mind trailing back to the sticky situation the Amores brothers got her in. She wasn't sure where the investigation could go—whether the case would eventually clear her name or spiral into something that could land her in prison, she'd have to wait and see, and that seemed more nerve-wracking than anything else.

Her thoughts were interrupted by the sound of a door opening down the hallway. Santiano stepped into view seconds later and leaned against the wall, his expression inscrutable. "All we can do is hope," he said, his gaze flickering to Moira, who still stood by the front door, her arms wrapped around herself as she avoided meeting his eyes.

Marcos gave a brief nod before heading towards the kitchen, leaving Santiano and Moira alone in the living room. The air between them was thick with unspoken tension and Moira's pulse quickened under Santiano's unwavering gaze.

The two had shared countless glances for as long as the Amores brothers had taken over her home, but tonight, the silence between them was charged with an intensity that was impossible to ignore. Moira tried to steady her breathing, to dismiss the growing anxiety she felt, but Santiano's look was hypnotic and consuming. When their eyes locked, she felt a shiver run down her spine.