4338.210 · July 29, 2018 AD
The Watcher and the Watched
After a sleepless night watching an empty house, Detective Karl Jenkins sees proof someone's inside—a face in the blinds at 6:47 AM. What follows is a cascade of transgressions: a neighbour who reveals mysterious deliveries, garbage bags that multiply overnight, and a broken window that changes everything. By the time Karl walks away with blood on his sleeve, he's crossed every line that separates detective from criminal, driven by obsession and fifteen years of unfinished business.
July 29, 2018. 6:47 AM. A face appears in the blinds.
Detective Karl Jenkins has been watching Luke Smith's house through the cold night, parked in his car, waiting for confirmation of what his instincts already know. Jamie Greyson is missing. His nephew Kain is missing. And this pristine, silent house connects them both.
Then his car horn goes off—an accident, a moment of clumsiness from exhaustion. And someone inside responds. A face at the window. Just a flicker between the blinds. Not enough to identify. But enough to confirm: the house isn't empty.
The exhaustion vanishes. Adrenaline floods his system. Someone is inside a house that shouldn't have anyone in it. And now they know he's watching.
What follows is a morning measured in small violations. A watchful neighbour in a tartan dressing gown who knows about a woman making deliveries in a truck. Black garbage bags visible through the back window—seven now, where there were four yesterday. Someone has been here. Someone is hiding something.
The fly screen gives way beneath Karl's fingers. His phone buzzes—Sarah calling—and he drops it. Glass shatters. Blood soaks through wool. And a decorated Senior Detective realises he's become exactly what he's supposed to prevent.
This quest unlocks three chapters tracking Karl's descent from observer to trespasser, from detective to criminal. You'll witness the face that changes everything, the neighbour who reveals too much while saying too little, and the moment a good man crosses a line he can never uncross.
Three chapters. One morning. The transformation of obsession into transgression.
