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CHAPTER FIFTY-FOUR , TILL THE BETTER END
*CONTENT WARNING* MENTIONS OF POSSIBLE SA PLEASE SKIP IF NEEDED!!!
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Maddie heard the scuffle in the background.
She never ended the phone call. Instead, she did what Emery had fought Joe for. She left the line open in order to track her location. Athena, Wren, and Romero were immediately on their way to the dispatch center as soon as Josh called them. This was the first lead they had since Chandler's house and it sounded legit.
"Maddie?!"
The brunette was already standing at the doors to greet the officers. "The call ended 2 minutes ago." Her voice was trembling. "I tried to keep it going for as long as it could—"
"Hey," Wren lightly touches both of Maddie's arms. Maddie focuses on Wren's face. Wren saw the tears and panic across Maddie's face. She was hardly there right now. Wren didn't know what Maddie heard over that call, but she could tell it hit her hard. "you did so good."
Maddie swallows, "I can show you guys the call a-and we can track it."
Wren inhales a breath and nods her head. She looks at Athena and Romero. They both had a look of relief.
They had a lead.
Maddie led them to her desk and sat down with the three officers. They all had headphones on and waited for Maddie to play the video. Maddie swallows the lump in her throat and her hand shakes. "Guys...before I play this. There's something you should know."
Wren pulls her brows together when she sees the heartbreak across Maddie's face. Wren didn't know what she was going to say. But she wasn't expecting the next words.
"Thomas didn't make it."
Wren keeps her eyes on Maddie. It didn't register until a few seconds later. But when it did, her heart sunk deep into her stomach until she felt ill. "Wh-what?" She croaks. "But he..." Wren trails off her words and her breathing quickens. What the hell could she possibly say? Her ears begin to ring and her throat tightens.
"T-Tom's dead?"
Maddie looks down at her hands. "Yeah, Emery said...she said it was just her." She exhales. "She sounded so tired and hurt."
Athena gently grabs Maddie's hand. "It's okay." She gives her a soft smile. "Play the call and we can get to her before anything else happens."
