Chapter 1 - The Shattered Porcelain
I stared at the heavy ceramic piggy bank in my trembling hands.
It was a bright pink pig with a smiling face, just like the ones you buy at a dollar store.
The police officer standing on my porch crossed his arms and waited.
"Break it on the concrete, ma'am," he ordered in a cold voice.
I raised the ceramic pig above my head and smashed it down onto the porch steps.
The sound of shattering porcelain echoed sharply through the quiet morning air.
I expected to see pennies and dimes scattering across the concrete.
Instead, tightly rolled wads of hundred-dollar bills spilled out into the sunlight.
The cash was stained with a bright, violent splash of red dye.
It looked exactly like the explosive dye packs banks use during a robbery.
Mixed in with the bloody-looking money was a sleek, silver USB drive.
I looked up at the officer in absolute confusion.
"Where is Adele?" I asked him softly.
He stepped closer to me, blocking the morning sun.
"Her house is completely empty, and there is a massive pool of blood on her kitchen floor," he replied.
I gasped and took a step backward toward my front door.
"We need to call an ambulance or send a search party," I pleaded.
The officer reached into his duty belt.
But he did not pull out his police radio.
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He pulled out a heavy black pistol and aimed it directly at my chest.
"Pick up the drive and give it to me, right now," he whispered.
