Kendrick
The silence in my office was suffocating.
It wasn’t the kind of silence that brought peace. No, this silence was laced with tension, with frustration so thick it felt like the walls themselves were caving in. The air was heavy, oppressive, pressing down on me as I sat at my desk, my fingers curled into fists.
Kimberly had been gone for days.
Days.
And yet, despite all my resources, despite the men I had sent searching every corner of the country, she had vanished.
Not a single lead.
Not a trace of her whereabouts.
It was as if she had disappeared into thin air, and I hated it.
I had underestimated her.
I thought that by giving her a taste of freedom, she would begin to see me differently. That she would start to trust me.
That she would realize I wasn’t the monster she
