CSI San Antonio

3

They were sitting in the car, the road ahead stretching endlessly toward San Antonio. Victoria gripped the steering wheel, her knuckles white from the tension building inside her. She had planned the trip carefully, leaving at noon to avoid the worst of the traffic, but despite her efforts, there was still a sense of inevitability that weighed down the journey. She knew they would need to stop and find a motel before it got dark—she hated driving at night, especially on unfamiliar highways.

In the backseat, her almost 16-year-old daughter, Samantha, sat with her arms crossed, her headphones on, and the volume turned up loud enough for Victoria to hear the faint thump of bass. It was a familiar act of rebellion—Samantha’s way of showing her discontent. The silence between them was heavy, filled with unspoken frustration. Victoria glanced at her daughter in the rearview mirror, her heart sinking at the sight of Samantha’s distant expression.

She tried to focus on the road, but her thoughts kept drifting back to the conversation that had set everything in motion, the one with her supervisor, Derek. It replayed in her mind, as vivid as if it had happened minutes ago.

"Victoria, you’re being transferred to San Antonio," Derek had said, his tone blunt and leaving no room for discussion.

Victoria had blinked, caught off guard. "What? Why?" she asked, trying to keep her voice steady, but the frustration seeped through.

Derek had leaned back in his chair, his expression unreadable. "One of their senior criminologists is moving to Sweden, and they need a replacement. They specifically asked for you."

"Why me?" Victoria pressed, her voice edged with disbelief. "There are others—more qualified, more respected than me."

Derek had shrugged, his nonchalance grating on her nerves. "I don’t know, Vic. All I know is they want you. Look, if it makes things easier, we can throw you a little farewell party after your last shift."

Victoria had shaken her head, feeling the sting of tears she refused to let fall. "No, thanks. Just tell everyone I appreciated the time here and that they’ve been like family."

Derek had given her a look of sympathy before nodding. "Of course. Do you need anything else?"

"No," Victoria had replied, standing up abruptly, the weight of the decision settling like a lead ball in her chest. She had left his office without another word, her mind already racing with thoughts of how to tell Samantha.

Now, sitting in the car, that conversation seemed like a distant memory, though the impact still rippled through her. She knew Samantha would hate the idea of moving, but the reality was even worse than she had imagined. The cold silence in the car was suffocating.

Victoria broke the quiet, her voice soft but strained. "Samantha, honey, I know this move is hard for you, but it’s an opportunity I couldn’t pass up."

Samantha didn’t respond. Her eyes were glued to the window, and her lips were pressed into a thin line. Victoria sighed, the ache in her chest deepening.

"I know you miss your friends," Victoria tried again, her voice quieter now, almost pleading. "But you’ll make new ones. The new school—Don’s High—it’s supposed to be one of the best in San Antonio."

Samantha finally turned to look at her, pulling her headphones down just enough to hear. Her eyes were red, and the tears she had been holding back glistened. "You don’t get it, Mom," she said, her voice trembling. "Everything I care about is in Phoenix. Why do we have to go? Why can’t we just stay?"

Victoria’s throat tightened. She wanted to explain, to somehow make Samantha understand the complexity of the situation, but how could she tell her daughter about the real reason they were moving—the secret she had been keeping for sixteen years?
"I wish I could make this easier for you, Sammy," she said, using the nickname she hadn’t used in years. "But sometimes, life pushes us in directions we don’t want to go. I promise I’m doing what I think is best for both of us."

Samantha shook her head, pulling the headphones back over her ears. "You’re doing what’s best for you," she muttered, the bitterness in her voice cutting through the air like a knife.

Victoria felt the sting of those words but said nothing. She couldn’t deny that part of the move was for her career, but it wasn’t the whole truth. If only Samantha knew how much Victoria was protecting her from—protecting them both from.

As they drove in silence once more, Victoria’s thoughts drifted to Alan Caine. The memory of their night together resurfaced, uninvited. The spark of admiration she had once felt for him, the way his words had drawn her in during that criminology convention in San Diego. She remembered the way they had talked for hours, their conversation flowing effortlessly, until the alcohol had blurred the lines between professional respect and personal attraction. What followed had been a mistake—a mistake that had brought Samantha into her life.

Victoria swallowed hard, her fingers tightening around the steering wheel. The idea of seeing Alan again, of possibly working alongside him in San Antonio, made her feel nauseous. What would he do if he ever found out about Samantha? What if he recognized her? So many years had passed, but the fear of that confrontation haunted her.

The road ahead seemed endless, just like the uncertainty looming over them. All Victoria could do was keep driving, hoping that once they reached San Antonio, they could find a way to start fresh. But in her heart, she knew that the past had a way of catching up, no matter how fast you tried to outrun it.