CHAPTER TWENTY-THREE

Ava arrived home at 5:28 and thanked Ethan for the ride. As he headed back to the party, Alva went inside, feeling frustrated and confused. She began hitting her head against the wall, wondering how she'd managed to make a fool of herself.

"Okay, okay, fine," she admitted to herself. "I don't know what happened, but I kind of liked Ethan." She felt crazy for admitting it, but she couldn't deny the attraction she'd felt.

"He is so handsome," she thought, remembering Ethan's glowing face and charming smile. Despite her growing feelings, Ava knew that work was work, and she wasn't sure if Ethan would be interested in her.

She sighed, feeling uncertain, and then went to get a glass of water. Afterward, she lay down, wondering if she should go to church since it was a Sunday.

"Church can wait," she decided. "I'll go next Sunday. I just want to sleep." And with that, Ava drifted off to sleep.

Kira was worried about Ava and decided to call her, but the phone rang with no answer. Feeling down, Kira sat in a corner, collecting her thoughts. She blamed herself for encouraging Ava to take the call, which led to her getting drunk and disgracing herself.

Ryan approached Kira, asking, "Hey, you're ava's friend, right?" Kira looked up, recognizing Ryan from the station. "Oh, I saw you at the station. You must be one of her junior colleagues."

Ryan nodded and asked if he could join her. Kira agreed, and Ryan sat down. Kira expressed her frustration and anger, feeling responsible for Alva's actions. Ryan tried to reassure her, saying, "I know she'll come around. Just give her some time."

Kira mentioned she didn't know where Ava was, and Ryan informed her that Ethan had taken Ava home. Kira breathed a sigh of relief and, feeling a bit better, agreed to dance with Ryan.

The party ended, and Ava headed towards her car, speeding off towards ava's home. She opened the gate herself, parked her car, and walked towards the apartment. She knocked on the door, but to her surprise, it was open. She entered, finding Harvard sleeping on the sofa.

Ava got a blanket and covered Harvard, then later, in the afternoon, Harvard woke up to the scent of delicious food. She went to the kitchen, finding the food already arranged. Alva said, "I'm bribing you with this. Can you please eat and forgive me? I'm so sorry about what happened."

Ava's expression softened, and she said, "It's okay, it's okay." Ava took a bite of the food, and her eyes widened in delight. The food was heavenly, and for a moment, she forgot about her problems.

Ethan received an email from a client requesting a hit on someone. The meeting was set for night, and Ethan headed to the victim's house. As a skilled killer, he didn't hesitate, needing the money to fuel his motives.

He snuck into the heavily guarded house, snapping the necks of bodyguards who noticed him. Ethan used gas to incapacitate the others outside and hid behind a table to take out those inside.

Before the hit, Ethan had instructed Sam to hack into the security cameras, ensuring no footage of the incident would be captured. With the bodyguards eliminated, Ethan killed his victim and escaped undetected.

***********************

The next morning, Ava went to work, aware that her colleagues had seen the drunken confession video. She ignored their stares and met with Ethan and Ryan. When she saw Ethan, she quickly looked away.

Thompson arrived with a report, revealing that the Shadow Killer had struck again. Alva asked about the victim, and Thompson replied that it was Mister Desmond Williams, president of HO Limited, killed the previous night.

Alva suggested, "Maybe we should look into getting the CCTV footage to catch the Shadow Killer." Thompson replied, "That's exactly what we did. We tried to obtain the footage, but it didn't capture anything. It's as if someone had hacked into it."

Alva's frustration grew. "Why can't we just catch this Shadow Killer once and for all?" she exclaimed.

Thompson shrugged. "There's nothing we can do. We've sent our team to inspect the crime scene, check the footage, and investigate. But there's no trace of the killer. No evidence, no leads. It's like the killer vanished into thin air."

Ava arrived at the crime scene with Ryan and Ethan,where the investigation revealed the victim was killed in his private office within his house. Initially, no evidence was found. However, upon closer inspection, Alva spotted a roundish object and picked it up. It was a wristwatch she had seen Ethan wear before, but she hadn't paid much attention to it at the time.

Now, her mind racing, Ava wondered if this could be a crucial clue. She took a picture of the wristwatch and carefully placed it in an evidence bag. Instead of handing it over to Ryan, Alva decided to hold onto it personally, intending to examine it further for fingerprints and other potential evidence.

Ryan rushed over to Ethan, saying, "A wristwatch was found!" Ethan's eyes widened as he exclaimed, "A wristwatch?" He quickly recalled the struggle with the victim and realized that the wristwatch must have fallen off during the altercation.

Ethan's anxiety grew as Ryan informed him that Alva had taken the wristwatch to examine the fingerprints personally. Ethan's fear intensified, knowing he had worn the wristwatch to the station multiple times.

Ryan's voice dropped to a whisper, "What if Ava links the wristwatch to you? What if she asks for your fingerprints to compare with the ones on the watch?" Ethan's eyes darted around, his mind racing with the implications. His cover was on the verge of being blown.

As ava left the crime scene,Ethan secretly followed her.

Ethan held his breath, watching as Alva handed the wristwatch to the lab technician. He remained hidden behind the row of shelves, his eyes fixed on the technician's hands as they carefully accepted the evidence.

The technician began processing the wristwatch, and Ethan knew he had to act fast.

As ava handed the wristwatch to the lab technicians, instructing them to process it for fingerprints and run tests to identify the owner.

She observed from a distance, her mind racing with possibilities. She had seen Ethan wear a similar wristwatch, but she wasn't ready to jump to conclusions. Maybe it was just a coincidence, or perhaps the victim owned a similar watch.

Ava's eyes narrowed as she pondered the evidence. She needed concrete proof before accusing anyone, especially Ethan, who seemed so innocent. The technician's findings would be crucial in unraveling the mystery.

The lights in the lab suddenly flickered and went out, plunging the room into darkness. The technician let out a startled cry, and Ava's voice rang out, "What's going on?"