Ezra flopped on his bed.
He has new suspects but no new leads and this was still his self mandated break. He deserved the rest.
He sat up, pulling off his jacket. His mind still buzzed with questions but for now, he allowed himself to breathe, to let the world outside fade into the background.
That mont of peace didn't last.
The door to his room burst open, and Gen stord in, her expression tense with urgency. "Ezra, we have a problem." She said, her voice clipped.
Ezra stood up imdiately, the calm that had briefly settled over him evaporating in an instant. "What's going on?"
Gen moved quickly to where he was, a datapad in hand. "A conspiracy theory reporter, one of the more popular ones, just published an article claiming that Hyde was murdered."
"And the worst part? He's going viral. People are eating it up. Also, he was able to report that the police force doesn't have Hyde's body anymore as it has been stolen and that has stirred up his fellow conspiracy theorists."
"Shit." Ezra cursed. "How could he have known that?" He demanded, taking the datapad and scrolling through the article.
"I don't know." Gen admitted, "but it's out there now. He's also hinting at a police cover-up. The story's spreading fast."
Ezra clenched his jaw. This was exactly the kind of exposure they couldn't afford.
If the human public started questioning the circumstances of Hyde's death, especially with information this accurate, the consequences will be on his head.
He had to keep this contained or everything he had worked for would be at stake.
"Get the article taken down and take care of the rumors of Hyde's body being stolen." He ordered. "We can't let this get out any further. I'll deal with the reporter myself."
Gen nodded, already turning toward the door. "I'll handle it."
Ezra didn't waste any ti. He quickly teleported to the entrance of the peacekeeper HQ, going in through the security checks to find info.
In a few minutes, he had what he was looking for. The location of the apartnt owned by the reporter in question. Without hesitation, he teleported into the area.
He scouted around the district, scoping for any vampire presence. The only way the reporter could have gotten all his info is through a vampire, specifically a peacekeeper vampire, and who knows if they were still around.
Ezra sniffed as he ca nearer to the apartnt. The area was a bit run down, the kind of place where the disillusioned and paranoid holed up to write their wild theories.
He walked quickly up the stairs, moving from shadow to shadow.
He finally reached the reporter's apartnt door, the faint light shining from beneath the crack confirming soone was inside.
Without knocking, he reached out with his Aura, his bubble of vitality extending through the door and wrapping around the man's mind like a cold, invisible hand.
Inside, the reporter, a middle-aged man with disheveled hair and a gaunt face, froze, his fingers hovering over the keys of his laptop.
His breath hitched, his heart rate spiking as he felt the foreign presence slip into his mind. He was more sensitive than most.
Ezra stepped into the room, the door swinging open silently as he moved toward the man. "Don't be afraid." He said softly, wrapping the compliance in his Aura around the man. "I'm not here to hurt you."
The reporter blinked, his eyes glazed over, his body stiff as the influence of Ezra's Aura overpowered his resistance. His lips parted slightly, but no words ca out.
Ezra circled him slowly, his boots echoing on the floor as he walked. "You've written sothing that you shouldn't have. Information that you couldn't possibly know. I want you to tell where you got it."
The reporter's head tilted slightly, his expression blank as he struggled to answer. "I don't know who it was." He said, his voice flat. "They reached out anonymously… sent the details… they knew everything."
Ezra's eyes narrowed. "You don't know who they were?"
The man shook his head slowly, his movents robotic. "No… they sent encrypted ssages. Said it was important… said I had to expose the truth."
Ezra frowned. Whoever this anonymous source was, they were feeding this reporter information, knowing full well that it would lead to the public questioning Hyde's death.
Coupled with the fact that Hyde had been killed and left for the general public to find, this had to be Hyde's killer.
He understood now. Everything they did had been public to a degree. Hyde's death, the fire at the Forge Trust, the reporter's leak, everything pointed to an attempt to bring so kind of truth to light.
But why? Ezra wondered, his grip tightening slightly on the man's mind. "What did they want? What did they say was so important?"
The reporter blinked, his voice distant. "They said… that the truth was buried… that soone powerful was covering it up… that Hyde was murdered."
This was confirmation. It had to be Hyde's killer. They weren't trying to hide what they had done. They were trying to reveal it. To expose sothing.
And that made one thing clear. Whoever had killed Hyde couldn't be Countess Lana. She had everything to gain by keeping this quiet and she'd done exactly that by not even allowing Ezra to investigate.
This ant that whatever it was, the killer wanted to expose it and everybody else wanted to keep it hidden. Why had Jas even wanted him to investigate alone?
Ezra shook his head. This wasn't the ti for this. He crossed his arms, leaning closer to the reporter.
"You're going to forget all about this eting. You won't write any more articles about Hyde's death. Slowly, over ti, you'll forget it ever happened. Do you understand?"
The man nodded weakly, his mind pliant under the grip of Ezra's Aura. "Yes… I understand."
"And if this person, the one who fed you this information, contacts you again, you'll reach out to imdiately. You won't speak to anyone else."
The reporter's eyes flickered with faint recognition. "Yes… I'll contact you…"
Satisfied, Ezra withdrew his Aura, releasing the man from his grip. The reporter slumped slightly in his chair, his eyes unfocused as he stared blankly at the screen in front of him.
Ezra straightened, glancing around the room one last ti. Whoever had been behind this leak was still out there, and they weren't done yet.
They had planted the seed of suspicion, and now they were waiting for it to grow. But Ezra wasn't going to let that happen.
Maybe it was ti for him to start looking into his own peacekeepers.
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