Who's the Real Detective Here?

I stared at the screen, hands shaking as Jenna's interview played.

Reporters swarmed her. She just smiled, calm as ever.

"I have a special ability," she said. "I can see from a killer's perspective. That's how I found the serrated knife and tracked him down."

The crowd went wild.

"No wonder Detective Blake's unstoppable!"

"With her around, criminals don't stand a chance!"

Then a reporter cut through the noise:

"Since you joined, Detective Mercer hasn't solved a single case. What do you think about that?"

I froze. So did my team, eyes locked on the screen.

Jenna gave a sweet smile.

"Detective Mercer doesn't have my abilities, so of course she's slower. But she's always been my senior. Even before I graduated, she'd bring me tough cases to work through. That's why I got better so fast."

The room blew up.

On-screen comments flew like bullets:

[Poor Jenna! Used by Kate and still thanking her? What a fool.]

[She's been cracking cases on her own while someone else stole the credit—heartbreaking.]

Then the mob turned on me:

[Kate Mercer, how dare you ride someone else's work? Zero shame.]

[Audit every case she touched—bet they're all stolen.]

[Reported her already. How did a fraud like that become CSBI captain?]

I sat at my desk, hands trembling, vision swimming. Tried to breathe, but when I glanced up, the whole office was staring. Doubt in every look.

"Cap... what Jenna said... is it true?"

My nails cut into my palm.

"You don't believe me either?"

Silence. Not one of them met my eyes.

Danny snatched up the scraps I'd used last night.

"Look—what Cap wrote matches exactly what Jenna said today!"

The paper passed from hand to hand. Every stare—accusing, disgusted, shocked—landed on me.

I opened my mouth to explain, but a voice cut through the tension outside.

"Enough! What's with the yelling? This place isn't a circus!"

Chief Doyle stormed in, face like thunder. He yanked me up by the arm.

"You're coming with me. Now. You're going to that interview site and clearing this mess. If you don't, it's not just the Bureau's name—it's your career on the line."