Chapter 2: The Secret Inside The Badge
I barely slept that night.
Every time I closed my eyes, I saw the same scene.
The parking lot.
The rain.
Reed’s expression.
The moment he realized the officer he trusted was no different from the people we arrested.
At 6:15 a.m., my phone rang.
I stared at the screen.
Unknown number.
I already knew who it was.
I answered.
“Hello?””
“Tiana.””
Reed.
I sat up in bed.
“What do you want?””
“You sound surprised.””
“I’m surprised you waited until morning.””
A pause.
Then he said, “Meet me at the diner on Fifth.””
“No.””
“Tiana.””
“I said no.””
His voice became colder.
“You have three hours before I decide whether my report goes to Internal Affairs.””
My hand tightened around the phone.
“You’re blackmailing me.””
“No,” Reed replied.
“I’m giving you a chance.””
“That’s not what this is.””
Another pause.
Then, quietly:
“You don’t know what it feels like to watch someone you love get destroyed by the system.””
I frowned.
“What does that mean?””
But he had already hung up.
The diner smelled like coffee and old wood when I arrived.
Reed was sitting in the corner booth.
No uniform.
No badge visible.
Just a tired man staring into a cup of coffee.
I slid into the seat across from him.
“Start talking.””
He didn’t look up.
“My brother’s name is Caleb.””
“I know.””
“No, you know his file.””
He finally looked at me.
“You don’t know him.””
I stayed silent.
Reed pulled a photograph from his wallet and placed it on the table.
A young man stood beside him, smiling.
The resemblance was obvious.
Same eyes.
Same stubborn expression.
“He was seventeen when our father died,” Reed said.
I watched him carefully.
“He made mistakes after that.””
“Everyone makes mistakes.””
Reed’s fingers tapped against the photo.
“His mistake was trusting the wrong people.””
I looked away.
Because I understood that sentence too well.
“What do you want me to do?””
Reed leaned forward.
“I want you to look into his case.””
“That’s not how investigations work.””
“I know how investigations work.””
“Then you know I can’t just reopen something because you asked.””
His eyes narrowed.
“You reopened something for Andre.””
The words hit hard.
I felt my face heat.
“That’s different.””
“Is it?””
“Yes.””
“Why?””
Because Andre mattered to me.
Because Andre had saved my life.
Because I believed him.
But I couldn’t say any of that.
Reed watched my silence.
“That’s what I thought.””
I leaned forward.
“Careful.””
“Or what?””
The question hung between us.
Because we both knew.
He had the advantage.
I hated him for it.
But what scared me more was that part of me understood him.
“I need time,” I said.
“No.””
“Reed—”
“You don’t have time.””
He slid a folder across the table.
“My brother’s hearing is in two days.””
I opened it.
Inside were police reports.
Court documents.
Witness statements.
My eyes moved quickly across the pages.
Then I saw something strange.
A name.
A name that made my blood run cold.
Because I recognized it.
“This witness…” I whispered.
Reed watched me.
“What?””
I looked up slowly.
“This person wasn’t mentioned in the original report.””
His expression changed.
“You’re sure?””
I pointed at the page.
“They were added later.””
Reed leaned closer.
“So?””
I stared at the document.
A strange feeling crawled up my spine.
“Someone changed this file.””
The diner suddenly felt too quiet.
Reed looked at me.
“You think someone inside the department altered evidence?””
I didn’t answer.
Because if I was right, this wasn’t just about Caleb.
It wasn’t even just about my mistake.
Someone had been hiding something.
And now, somehow, I was standing in the middle of it.
My phone buzzed.
A message appeared.
Unknown number.
I opened it.
One sentence.
One name.
May you like
And the person who sent it knew exactly what I had done.
*“Ask Reed why his brother wasn’t the only one who was framed.””*
