The rooftop hadn't changed.
Same rusted pipes, same broken vents, same view of the city that looked so honest from far away. Jack leaned on the railing, lit a cigarette, and watched the glow of neon graffiti pulse against the fog. It looked like a heartbeat. Distant. Artificial.
The skyline hadn't moved. But he had.
He heard the door creak open behind him.Kael Dray stepped out slowly, his coat too clean for someone claiming to be off-duty. His hair was shorter now, and his eyes were heavier. Like guilt had found a permanent home there.
Jack didn't turn. "You said this was off the record."
Kael approached, stopping a few feet away. "It is. Or I wouldn't be here."
"Then don't lie to me."
A beat passed.
"I saw the photo," Kael said finally. "The relic. The Raven symbol. You're in deep again."
Jack exhaled smoke through his nose. "I was never out."
Kael looked down. "I told them you were gone. That you'd moved on."
"You told them whatever they needed to hear so you could keep your job."
"That's not fair—"
"It's true."
Silence cracked between them like cold thunder. Jack turned now, slow and deliberate. Their eyes met. Years of partnership, loyalty, and buried betrayal coiled in the space between them.
Jack held out the photo. Kael took it without protest.
"You know what this is," Jack said.
Kael nodded. "I do."
"Then tell me why it's back. Tell me why the same artifact Elara died over is resurfacing—two years after you helped close her case in under seventy-two hours."
Kael's jaw twitched. He looked down at the relic's image like it might come alive.
"I never believed she died," he admitted.
Jack froze.
"What?"
"I ID'd the body," Kael said, voice strained. "But there were things that didn't add up. Height was off by two centimeters. The blood type wasn't in the report. I brought it up, but…"
"You were shut down," Jack finished.
Kael nodded. "Internal told me it was done. They said the report was good enough. Said you were too close to her. That you were compromised."
"I was compromised," Jack said bitterly. "Because I loved her."
Kael looked pained. "I know."
Jack paced, agitated now. "So why didn't you say something?"
"I tried. You think I wanted you kicked off the force? You think I didn't fight?"
Jack spun. "You lied under oath."
"I protected you," Kael snapped. "The Raven Circle had eyes everywhere. They still do. The moment you made noise, they'd have buried you literally. I thought if I played quiet, I could keep you breathing long enough to find out the truth."
Jack stared at him.
Then laughed once, bitter and humorless. "And? What did you find?"
Kael held out another photo from his coat pocket. One Jack hadn't seen.
It was grainy. Surveillance footage. A woman walking through a street market in Istanbul. Hooded. Back turned. But the posture—too familiar. That long stride. That tension in the shoulders.
"Elara?" Jack whispered.
"We don't know," Kael said. "But this was taken three months ago. Five more images like it. All matching her biometrics. If she's alive…"
"She never died," Jack breathed.
"Which means someone staged her death. Someone powerful enough to forge autopsy records and manipulate the chain of custody on a high-profile artifact case."
Jack's mind raced. "Why show me this now?"
"Because I'm tired of running circles," Kael said. "And if you're chasing ghosts again, then we're in the same hell."
Jack stared out over the city.
If Elara was alive, everything changed. The betrayal. The grief. The way he'd self-destructed. And worse… what if she had orchestrated this herself?
"What's your plan?" Kael asked quietly.
Jack's voice was steady. "Same as always. Follow the trail. Find the truth."
"And if you find her?"
Jack looked over his shoulder, eyes sharp.
"Then I ask her why she let me bury her."