Part 3She Abandoned Our Child

The next day, Diana walked through the corridors of the station. She noticed her colleagues looking at her with strange, distant expressions. She assumed it was just because she had been away for a few days.

Suddenly, her young deputy, Thomas, tapped her on the shoulder.

"Captain... I am so incredibly sorry for your loss."

"What?"

Diana's heart seized. For some reason, her mind flashed to a black-and-white photo of Finn.

Thomas looked at her face, his expression growing serious and confused. "Captain, you didn't know? The convict you wrongfully arrested years ago... he got out of prison. He kidnapped your son..."

An icy chill gripped Diana's spine. "Where is Finn?"

"The kidnapper killed him before the negotiators could arrive."

The color drained from Diana's face. She stumbled, grabbing Thomas's arm to keep her balance. "What did you say? Say that again!"

Her sudden scream startled Thomas. He stared at her pale, terrified face, realization slowly dawning on him. "Captain, you really didn't know? The entire department knows. Johnny was weeping in this very hallway. We tried calling you dozens of times, but you never answered. Didn't you notice that the Captain's office didn't call you in for shifts? We thought you were taking time off to grieve. We didn't want to disturb you. Did Johnny really not tell you?"

Diana stood speechless, her mouth opening and closing soundlessly.

Her mind flashed back to three days ago. Johnny had called her frantically, begging her to come to the hostage site. He said the kidnapper demanded to see her, or Finn would die.

She had rushed toward her car. But halfway there, Tristan had called, crying hysterically.

"Diana, my dad ran away again. I don't know who else to call. Please help me find him."

Tristan's father was a compulsive gambler who had ruined his family. He had even threatened to cut off his own fingers to quit, only to rack up an even larger debt elsewhere. Tristan had moved his father to the city to hide from loan sharks, keeping him locked inside. But the old man had jumped out of a window, nearly breaking his leg, and had escaped the hospital to gamble again.

Diana had helped Tristan find his father several times before. She knew exactly what the old man had done. She told Tristan that her son was in danger and that he had to search for his father on his own.

But Tristan had gasped.

"That can't be true, Diana. I just saw Johnny and Finn walking through the mall. I tried to wave, but Johnny ignored me."

Hearing that, Diana assumed Johnny had fabricated the kidnapping to force her home. Furious, she blocked his number and went to help Tristan instead.

Now, she had no energy to wonder if Tristan had lied to her.

She only knew her son was dead. Her only child was gone.

She grabbed Thomas's jacket, looking like a hollow ghost. "Where is his body? Take me to him. I don't believe you!"

Thomas's face fell. "The kidnapper shot himself after killing the boy. The case was closed quickly. Johnny already took the body to be cremated..."

Cremation.

The polished wooden box. The grey dust that had rained down on her head.

What had she said to him?

“Just throw it out. It looks like bad luck anyway.”

That was Finn's ashes. Her own son.

A wave of intense heat rushed up her throat, and veins bulged on her forehead. Suddenly, she coughed, spitting a thick spray of blood onto the floor.

Thomas panicked, catching her as she wobbled. "Captain! Are you okay? I really had no idea you didn't know. But maybe Johnny didn't tell you to spare you the pain. The kid... it was really bad..."

Thomas's hesitation felt like a lead weight dropping onto her chest.

She looked up, her chin covered in blood, her eyes so red they looked ready to burst. "What do you mean?"

Her voice was thick with the copper taste of blood.

Thomas quieted, lowering his voice. "To force you to show up, the kidnapper cut off pieces of Finn's body every thirty minutes and sent them to Johnny. First his ears, then his fingers, then..."

Diana couldn't hear the rest. Her body collapsed inward, curling onto the floor as if she could hide from the reality crashing down on her.

As a seasoned officer, she had handled horrific homicides. She had seen mutilated bodies.

The moment Thomas spoke, the images flooded her mind.

Her son. Her beautiful little boy, who had just started first grade.

How much pain must he have been in when those blades cut into him?

Now, that agony was ripping through her own nerves.

The world blurred, a chaotic mix of blood, tears, and cold sweat. In the dark, she could see Finn lying in a pool of blood, crying out for her.

She had always taught him: "Real men don't cry, Finn. You have to be brave."

And he had nodded, his small eyes full of determination. "I'm a brave man, Mommy. I won't cry."

But at the end, when the pain became too much, he must have wept until his voice cracked, his blood mixing with the dust.

"Mommy, it hurts so much! Where are you? Why aren't you coming to save me? Mommy, help me!"

With a dull thud, Diana hit the floor, her body shaking violently. Blood poured from her nose and mouth, a physical manifestation of a heart that had shattered beyond repair.