Chapter 3

3.

Sienna was too busy helping Cade win his first case to care about our marriage.

I sent her the divorce papers, and she signed them on the spot.

Once the legal work was done, I went to the Chief's office to quit.

Before I could enter, another family arrived with a new victim.

The scene was identical to the previous one. My instincts screamed that it was the same killer.

I stepped forward to offer help, but Cade grabbed my arm and shoved me back.

"A man like you shouldn't touch her. You're filthy."

"Listen to me," Cade said to the grieving parents. "This is the creep everyone was talking about on the news. He's just a security guard now."

The parents looked at me with pure hatred.

"It's you! You tried to tell me you wanted to 'examine' my daughter!"

"You just wanted to take advantage of her because she was beautiful! You sick bastard!"

"Disgusting! I won't let a predator touch her body!"

Cade smirked. "Don't worry. I'll handle everything. I respect the privacy of the deceased, unlike some people."

Looking at their cold eyes, I realized I didn't care anymore.

I was quitting. This disaster wasn't my problem.

I turned to leave, but Sienna arrived with her team.

"Jace, Cade is starting the autopsy. Go in there and wipe his brow or hand him the tools."

"I demoted you to work, not to sit around and collect a paycheck."

Cade heard her and stuck his foot out.

"Actually, Jace, come over here and clean my shoes first."

"Then go get two buckets of sterile water. You remember the rules for a clean environment, right?"

I let out a cold laugh. "Sure. I'll clean them for you."

I grabbed the dirty floor rag and shoved it right into Cade's mouth.

I didn't hold back. I punched him twice, hearing his jaw pop before I let go.

"You psycho! Jace! Stop it!"

Sienna pulled her gun and aimed it at my head.

"He asked you to assist him, and you assault him? You've really lost it!"

A chill ran down my spine.

Sienna was willing to point a gun at me for Cade.

In all her years on the force, she had always been the most level-headed person I knew.

A year ago, when I was kidnapped by a gang, she had been calm.

She told the kidnapper, "Go ahead and shoot. An examiner is replaceable, but once you pull that trigger, there's no turning back for you."

Today was the first time she'd pulled her weapon for personal reasons.

To stay alive, I knelt down and wiped the dirt off Cade's shoe.

Cade sneered and ground his heel into the back of my hand.

The skin tore against the floor, but Sienna just watched.

"You need to learn your place. Thinking you can compare yourself to Cade? What a joke."

He didn't move his foot until I heard a faint crack in my hand.

To prove his brilliance, Cade performed the exam right there in front of everyone.

Anyone with eyes could see the injuries were from a violent struggle.

But he concluded it was a suicide.

My old assistant, Sarah, whispered to me later.

"Jace, you noticed the connection to the case from six months ago, didn't you?"

I nodded calmly as I walked toward the Chief's office.

"I did. But it's not my concern anymore."

The day my resignation was approved, Cade came to brag about his new watch.

"Jace, I have to say, you're pretty pathetic. You couldn't solve this for weeks, and I closed it in days."

"The latest victim is the daughter of a billionaire. They specifically asked for you, but Sienna gave the case to me. They just sent over a massive 'thank you' bonus."

Sienna leaned against him, looking at me with pity.

"If he had done the autopsy, we'd all be in trouble for his incompetence."

"He's just a fake who got lucky for a few years."

I paused. I remembered the family who begged me for help yesterday.

So, they were the city's elite.

I didn't tell them that I hadn't lost the case to Cade. I had let him have it.

I grabbed my box of things and kept walking.

"Then I wish you both the best of luck."

At the precinct gates, I walked past a team of federal agents.

The lead investigator was shouting at Chief Miller.

"This is the fourth victim! Why is your department filing these as suicides? Where is Jace? He's the only one who handled the first case. We need him now!"

I didn't stop. I got into my car and headed for the airport.

I'm done cleaning up their messes.