Cinders [Completed]

Chapter 29: The Truth | Part I

Orion doesn't let go of my hand. I grip it like a lifeline as the guards take us through a back door that I've never seen before. A few guards send me some questioning looks, but they don't say anything, and a few dark hallways later, we emerge into a large, round room.

Panels of wood stretch to the ceiling. Most walls are covered in shelves filled to bursting with books. A massive, ornate door is on the opposite wall, directly across from a wooden desk that is carpeted with semi-organized piles of paper.

"That was the scenic route," Orion explains, "security has been. . . extreme lately."

"Why?" I ask, still taking in the room. It's Orion's office, where he spends so much of his time. His scent is so strong here that I feel a little dazed. I breathe in the forest and chocolate smell and feel the anxiety lessen in my lungs.

Orion releases my hand and goes to a cabinet behind his desk. As he sifts though the drawers, he waves his hand in a dismissive gesture.

"My parents are too sensitive for their own good," he mutters under his breath.

I open my mouth to respond, but he suddenly stands straight.

"I thought you would want to see something."

He pulls out a Manila folder, and then another one, both filled to bursting. Then, he pulls out a picture that makes my breath quiet in my chest - it's a picture of Elia, smiling.

"This," Orion says, placing the stack down on the desk with a small thud, "is the investigation for Cordelia Dixon."

It's massive. On top of that, I see that several of the papers plastering his desk also have Elia's name written across it. Orion opens the top folder and begins looking through the pictures.

"I discovered it last night," he mutters, "they were holding it in her personal belongings, so I'd never seen it before. Here!"

He pulls out a lined paper that is crinkled and torn.

"It's addressed to you," Orion says, holding it out towards me.

"Oh," I whisper. I falter for a moment, feeling that, somehow, my fingers might make it crumble to ash. I swallow and take it from him.

It's a letter. Half of the lines are scribbled out so thickly that I can't see what they were supposed to be, but there are still some legible sentences. I try to scan over it, but before my eyes have even gotten through Dear Lee, my throat is clogging with emotion.

"It's okay," Orion murmurs, "You don't have to read through it right now. Take it with you. It's yours."

"I - I can keep this?" I croak, holding the paper to my chest.

"She obviously meant to give it to you," he whispers. And then he repeats, "It's yours."

"Orion," I begin, talking as quiet as him. I cast a look at the guards still standing at attention, nervous to say anything in front of them.

Orion understands without me having to say anything. "Braxton, Levitt," he says, using a voice different than the one he uses for me - one that is more commanding, "a moment, please."

The guards exit, leaving Orion and I alone.

"Thank you," I say, holding the letter carefully in my hands. "Thank you for this. I - I didn't know that you were doing so much work on Elia's case."

"I wanted you to know," Orion responds after a moment, "that we've been looking. We will find whoever it was that killed her. She'll have justice."