CHAPTER 202: WHO OR WHATEVER YOU’RE PROTECTING, I’M GOING TO FIND OUT

"Someone murdered Liam. And I’m going to find out who. If you know something and you keep it from me?" His eyes locked onto mine. "You’ll go down with them."

Fuck. Fuck. What if he already knows it was the Coil? What if he knows about what Dom and his friends did?

I forced myself to breathe, to keep my face as steady as I could manage, but inside...I was breaking apart.

"Ash," he went on, "we’ve been digging. This isn’t just about Liam. This goes back to that night at the party...the night you got also stabbed, and witnessed him pushed off the roof."

My stomach flipped. My mouth went dry.

He kept going.

"Liam ended up in a coma. Both of you tied to the same night. The same people. The same place." He leaned in closer. "And now Liam’s dead."

My hands were really shaking. "I... I already told you everything I know about that night," I muttered, but it sounded weak even to me.

My knee bounced under the table.

Harris’s eyes didn’t move. "Did you? Because we’re still looking for the guy who stabbed you. He’s not a ghost. He was at that hospital. And our cameras caught something." He flipped open another file and slid a blurry still frame toward me....two shapes running down a dim hospital corridor.

My heart stopped. It was me and Dom. You couldn’t see our faces clearly, but I knew.

Harris tapped the photo with his finger. "The hospital’s main security cameras were fried, like someone wanted them gone. But one camera, an old maintenance unit, caught this. You and Dominic. Running after someone who left on a motorbike. Do you remember that?"

My breath hitched. I tried to answer but my voice caught. "I..uh, yeah but it...it wasn’t like..."

"It wasn’t like what?" he asked softly, leaning in further.

I stared down at the table, sweat sliding down my forehead to my eyes.

Shit. Shit. He’s piecing it all together.

He dropped his voice even lower. "Ash, we know what’s happening. We’ve been watching. All of it."

My head shot up. My chest tightened. "You... you do?" My voice cracked.

"Yes," he nodded, like it was a fact he didn’t even need to explain. "We’ve been watching you. You, Dominic. We know more than you think."

Panic surged through me. What does he know? Everything? The Coil? Ren? Ian?

I forced a laugh, but it came out shaky, not even close to real. "If you’ve been watching me, then you already know I don’t have anything to do with Liam’s death."

"Don’t play games with me, Ash." Harris’s tone sharpened. "I’m not saying you killed him. But you know who did. Or you know something that leads to them."

I stared at the table, my fingers gripped the edge so hard.

Don’t slip. Don’t slip. Don’t say their names. Don’t say Dom’s name. Don’t give him anything.

"I..." I steadied my voice this time. "I don’t know who killed him. I swear I don’t."

But Harris just watched me, like he was waiting for me to break.

Harris leaned back in his chair, arms folded, still studying me. "You know, Ash... I’ve been in this job long enough to tell when someone’s lying. And you...." he pointed at me,"you’re choking on something."

"I’m not." I tightened my grip.

"You are," he said evenly. "Your eyes twitch when I mention Liam. You can’t sit still when I bring up the hospital. And right now, you’re sweating bullets."

I wiped at my forehead, too quick. Shit. He’s right.

"Let me ask you plain," Harris continued. "Why were you and Dominic chasing that man out of the hospital the night Liam died?"

Think. Think. Don’t say too much.

"I..I don’t know who he was," I stammered. "We just... saw someone running. It was instinct.."

"Instinct?" Harris cut in. "You’re telling me you just decided to chase a stranger, in the middle of the night, in a hospital? You expect me to buy that?"

My chest tightened. "It’s not that simple..."

"Then make it simple," he pressed. "What connection did that man have to Liam?"

"I don’t know!" The words burst out of me too loud. My own voice startled me. "I don’t know who he was, okay? I just... I just know he didn’t belong there."

Harris narrowed his eyes. "Didn’t belong there? Interesting choice of words. So you did notice him before. You knew something was off."

My chest tightened. Damn it, Ash. Careful. Careful.

My leg bounced uncontrollably under the table. My lips parted before I could stop them. "I..."

Stop. Don’t say it. Don’t give him their names. Don’t mention The Coil. Don’t...

"I... I think I saw.." I choked, catching myself mid-sentence. My breath came fast. "But I can’t be sure. It was dark."

"You think you saw." Harris repeated my words slowly. "And you’re too scared to tell me who."

My chest was heaving now, every instinct screaming at me to shut up, but I was teetering on the edge, one wrong push from spilling everything.

Harris sat there, eyes locked on me like a hawk. "You’re good, Ash. Really good. Most kids your age would’ve cracked by now."

My palms were almost dripping, nails digging into my knees under the table. Breathe. Don’t shake. Don’t blink. Also don’t sweat. Even tho I can’t control that.

"But you’re not as good as you think." His voice dropped. "You and Dominic think you’re ghosts. You’re not. Two high schoolers can’t outsmart us."

I stared at him. "We have no experience to do that sir." My voice came out shaky.

He smirked, leaning back. "Oh really?" His eyes glinted like he was enjoying this. "We know about you two. The little thing you have going on is no longer a secret."

The air in my chest vanished. My head jerked up, eyes wide. "H-how do you?"

"Come on, Ash." He tilted his head. "Do you know how many years I’ve been doing this?"

My throat burned. Ohmy God. They know. They know about me and Dom.

Are they going to announce it to everyone?

He leaned forward again. "You’re not telling me the truth. You’re either protecting someone... or something. And I’m going to find out which."