Episode one

She was walking down the middle of the street when she suddenly stopped – a crowd had gathered, with cops standing guard, emergency vehicles parked nearby, and caution tape blocking off part of the road. Did something bad happen here? she thought to herself.

She overheard people talking around her:

"Wow, right? Whoever did this must’ve really hated the person..."

"They really went all out to get back at them..."

"No mercy at all from whoever did it..."

"Whoever did this is like a monster..."

Those were just some of the things Amanda heard. She wanted to peek at least once to see where it happened, but then she got scared – she probably wouldn’t be able to sleep later if she saw it. "Better not," she mumbled to herself and tried to walk away.

She had to get home exactly when Auntie Lucy said – if not, she’d get scolded again. Amanda was controlled by Auntie Lucy and her Uncle Mike, who worked as a detective. She had no say in anything; felt like a doll they were moving around however they wanted. Everything she wanted to do was forbidden by her relatives.

When she got home, Auntie Lucy was already there making dinner.

"Good afternoon, Auntie," she said softly.

"Afternoon. Go get changed and come back down so we can eat," Auntie Lucy said. She didn’t reply – what mattered was she’d heard the order. She headed upstairs right away to take a shower; she’d been at school all day. She was in Grade 12 and almost done with high school. Finally, she’d be going to college – she could leave her relatives’ house and study ARCHITECTURE. It had been her dream since she was little. She loved drawing and designing buildings, houses, and other things too.

After her shower, she went downstairs right away. Uncle Mike was already in the dining area.

"Amanda, there you are. Come on," said Uncle Mike, who worked as a detective agent.

Amanda nodded and sat next to him. She noticed he looked worried – probably had another tough case to work on.

"How’s school going?" Uncle Mike asked.

She paused mid-bite. "It’s okay, Uncle."

"Good."

Is it really okay? she thought. Who wants to study when you can’t do the things you care about in life?

"You’ll be going to college soon. What course do you want to take?" Auntie Lucy asked.

"Architecture, Auntie," she said quietly.

Auntie Lucy dropped her spoon right away. Amanda knew she wouldn’t like it – they wanted her to be a doctor.

"Amanda! Why that one?!" Auntie Lucy yelled. Figures, she thought. They always decided everything for her. If her parents hadn’t died in that car accident, she’d be free now – free to do whatever she wanted. The Millers were her family; Uncle Mike was her real mom’s brother. They had a son named Jackson, who was studying medicine in the city.

"That’s what I want, Auntie," she said softly. She was too shy to say she didn’t want to do medicine – not just because she didn’t like it, but she was scared of blood too.

"No! You’ll study medicine – that’s what’s right for you. And..."

"Auntie’s right, Mandy. Medicine is perfect for you," Uncle Mike added.

What else could she expect? Even though she was scared of blood and couldn’t stand seeing patients, there was nothing she could do. She felt like a bird stuck in a cage – no freedom at all.

"I really want to be an architect," she said a little louder.

"Medicine is what’s right for you, Mandy. Don’t worry – once you finish Grade 12, I’ll enroll you in the same school where your brother Jackson studied," Uncle Mike said.

She had no choice but to stay quiet and go along with it. She just swallowed hard – she was used to this by now.

"Uncle, I walked past a street earlier where something happened. Lots of people and cops were there," she started. She only brought it up to change the subject, so they wouldn’t see how upset she was about her course.

Uncle Mike looked at her with bright eyes. "Oh yeah?"

"Do you have any leads yet?"

Then she suddenly smiled – a smile that seemed to hold a secret.

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