Miller residence, The Netherlands

***Adriana Anderson POV***

The flashing blue and red lights rendered it impossible to see what was in front of me, the men and women in the dark blue and green uniform swarming the grey roofed house, the yellow tape wrapped around the edge of the building as the light were all turned on, giving me a darkened shadow of all the people in the house.

The neighbours had decided to come outside and pay a visit to the sudden commotion around Jenna's house, their robes keeping their bodies warm underneath the coldness of the midnight sky, the dark heavy clouds covering up the bright moon as their voices melted into one.

I held my breath, scanning the crowds of people from a safe distance as Aiden stood by my side, in front of our car. Hermione's spine-chilling call shook me, the fear surging from inside as she informed me that Jenna was dead. After that, Aiden and I quickly drove to her place, praying that she was alright.

"Your dad." Aiden spoke, his eyes looking in the direction of a tall man with raven hair

I didn't hesitate another second to run across the street, staying behind the line of people as I panted loudly. What was dad doing here? And if his visit was surprising, The Director was standing right beside him, talking in with the detective who was in charge of the murder.

"Dad!"

My voice immediately caused him to sharply turn in my direction, his eyes widening at my appearance as The Director also turned to look at the source of the sound. I ran into his arm, into his protective embrace as my body crashed with his, making him stumble back a little, my head against his chest as his hands gently rested on my back.

"What are you doing here?" He asked, gripping my shoulders as he pulled me away from him, his eyes widened the entire time as he looked at me with surprise at my appearance

"Hermione called." I answered, his hands leaving the fabric on my body as he turned to look at The Director

The 2 men exchanged glances, The Director shaking his head as my dad seemed disappointed. My dad didn't want me here, his eyes were screaming the words his mouth couldn't. But, what was he doing here? If anything, he shouldn't be here.

If this night couldn't get worse, the loud commotion of the neighbours drew my attention to what was happening. The men and women in the bright blue and green uniforms were bringing out a person strapped to the stretcher, a white sheet covering their body as the shedded blood soaked through it. It was Jenna.

Oh my god

"Where's Hermione?" I gulped, my eyes frantically looking over the crowd as gasps and flashing of the lights cut through the air

"Inside." The Director answered, his eyes darkening under the night sky as his blonde hair was partly wet

I turned to look at Aiden, who was standing by my side, his hand on my lower back as his eyes met my dad's. I could feel the tension growing between the 2 of them, both of them having a blank expression on their face, though Aiden's emotions were slipping through his weak facade.

I heavily stepped forward on my feet, sliding past the crowds of people whilst Aiden stayed right behind me. I crossed the yellow tape around the crime scene, running across the lawn and through the open door as the police and investigators talked indistinctly.

"Hermione?" I muttered, squinting my eyes at the dishevelled figure sitting on the stool in the kitchen

I quickly walked over to Hermione, walking past the forensic experts who were taking pictures of the wreckage of the living room and the detectives standing in the corner of it, scribbling on their notepads; the entire floor was crowded.

I halted a couple of feet from her, my eyes remaining stuck on her solemn expression which was plastered on her face. Her hands tightly interlocked with each other, holding onto the many balls of tissues as her teary eyes looked down at the wooden floor, down at the detective's feet who sat across from her, asking questions.

"Was there anybody else in the house when you came?" The young women's soothing voice drawing my attention to her

I scanned the detective, their curly hair parted in the middle as it stuck to their head, their chocolate brown skin standing out from the mix of the warm-white lights hanging from the ceiling.

The woman wore a pair of skin-tight black jeans, the same coloured shirt with a dark blue jacket, the logo 'NPD' resting on the left side of her chest. Her posture was straight, her piercing gaze looking over at the young woman across from her as her fingers spun the pen in her hand rhythmically, the motion speeding up at Hermione's silence.

"Hermione." I spoke gently, getting her attention

Their heads shot up in my direction, their eyes looking at me as the detective tried to make sense of what I was doing in here. Before she could protest, Hermione came crashing into my arms, her hands gripping my hoodie tightly as I looked down in horror.

I had never seen her like this. I had never seen Hermione so broken before. The tears were streaming down her face like a waterfall, the blood staining her clothes, Jenna's blood. She cried softly in my embrace, her mouth buried in my shoulder as she kept her body glued to mine.

This was Horrible. Hermione didn't deserve this. She didn't deserve to come home and find Jenna dead, murdered by Josephine. They were both meant to grow up, settle down, start a family of their own. They were so happy, so thrilled to build a life together. But the dreams had come crashing down.

"She's gone. Jenna's gone." Hermione cried out, making the detective stand up from her chair, her eyes softening towards the red-head as she sympathised her

"It's ok." I soothed her, the palm of my hand gently rubbing her back up and down

This wasn't happening. Hermione was like the light of everyone's life, but that light was long gone now. Seeing her like this broke me, my heart shattering into a million pieces as I breathed heavily.

"Hermione, come here." Aiden called out from behind, my eyes landing on him as he held out his hand for her

Hermione left my embrace, slowly walking to Aiden where he wrapped his large arms around her small frame, his brows furrowed as his blue orbs overflowed with compassion. He didn't waste another second before leading Hermione upstairs, away from the wreckage of the room which had already traumatised her enough.

"Detective Edith Parker, NPD." The detective introduced herself, her hand outstretched in-front of her which I shook, her firm grip like rocks against my skin

"Adriana." I replied, my eyes looking up and down her face as she held onto a file tightly in her grip

"Did you know the victim?"

"She was my friend's girlfriend."

The detective shook her head in confirmation, pulling out a pen as she quickly jotted down something on the white piece of paper. My eyes scanned over the destruction of the house once again, the place turned upside down as crimson blood decorated the white painted walls.

"I'm sorry, but, why are you here?" I asked, my eyes narrowing at the woman in-front of me as my brows knitted

Her fingers came to a halt as she looked down at the paper, taken aback by what I said. This didn't seem right. In the supernatural world, murder was more common than natural death. Because of that, The Bureau's had a team of highly trained witches who could handle the matter of someone's death.

But, the police officer's here meant someone human had informed the authorities of Jenna's death. This could end up wrong. If Jenna's autopsy ended up revealing that she was a supernatural, an all-out war could break between the 2 species. The humans would become terrified of us, retaliate with forces. And without the help of vampires once again, we wouldn't be able to stop them.

"This is an open crime scene investigation. The neighbour called in saying there was a murder here. He walked into your friend's house after he heard her crying loudly, and called the police." She answered, her glare sending a chill up my body

This all wasn't making any sense. The Bureau's team should've arrived by now, they had placed a team of witches in every region of every country. The Director and dad stood outside, not doing anything. This could get out of hand any minute.

"I think you should leave." I convinced her, using my hypnosis power's for the first time

The detective looked up at me with awe, her dark brown eyes glimmering under the light as she slanted her head slightly. She clicked her pen, shoving it in her back pocket as she gripped the file in both hands, letting out a deep sigh. A small smile slipped at the corner of her lips as she stood tall, her long, prominent cheekbones adding more beauty to her features.

The detective stepped forward in my direction in response, her head going just a little over mine as her darkened features made a shiver crawl up my spine. And the answer she gave me terrified me.

"I don't think I should."

Her tall body slightly brushed against my small one as she walked past me, her shoes thudding loudly against the ground as the snapping of the camera shutter's provided a sense of comfort in this mess.

What the fuck?

She was human. She had blood pumping throughout her entire body and her mind was weak as the other humans, leaving all of them vulnerable to be compelled. If humans could be influenced, to be mind-controlled, then why didn't it work on her? Even if she was a supernatural - a witch - it still should've worked on her. Unless she was something else.

She couldn't be a vampire, she wasn't. I couldn't feel it. Vampire's hearts beat slower than human ones, a lot slower, but hers was pounding in her chest like a loud drum. There was life in her, she had the warmth, the compassion of a human.

I turned my head, scanning the detective's every movement as she talked intently with the man in front of her, their eyes going back and forth on the piece of paper and the pictures they had taken across the house. Was she really a supernatural? I didn't know, I couldn't tell. The only other person who could tell was The Director.

I turned around to completely face her, her eyes landing on me as a small nerve-wracking sly smirk moved its way on her full lips, a couple of her curly strands falling by her sides. I tensed up, gulping visibly as I bit the inside of my mouth from saying anything else.

She could be like Paige. Paige was able to resist the influence of mind-control, an ability she gained after the downside of discovering her magic so late. Paige was mentally strong, I couldn't look into her mind or influence her, and I was in the same situation here. I couldn't look into the detective's mind and influence her.

Deciding to bite the bullet, I turned away from her, leaving the detective and the other police officers alone to do their work. I climbed the set of stairs which Hermione and Aiden previously climbed, when she was sobbing softly, her eyes puffy and red as her cheeks were dried with tears.

"Aiden?"

I halted at the top of the steps, scanning the open floor, my eyes landing on Aiden who was kneeling in front of Hermione who sat on the white chair. Hermione's hands were stained with crimson blood, something I hadn't noticed earlier. She was shaking, her hands constantly fidgeting as she dug her nails into the skin on her hand, trying to keep the tremors hidden.

I stood with a large distance between us, remembering to keep my presence unknown as I looked over at Aiden who comforted the Brunei in vain. Hermione was still crying, sobbing as she sniffed loudly, her eyes stuck on the blood. Aiden had a wet cloth in his hand, his fingers pressed against her knuckles as he cleaned the red liquid from her palms.

"It's okay." Aiden whispered into the darkness of the night, the bright moon shining through the window behind them

"It's all going to be ok."

I pressed my body against the wall, my fingers gripping the banister of the sunroom as I took a peek into the room. I listened to them talk, mostly Aiden comforting Hermione, giving her hope whilst Hermione kept her lips sealed tight, not a sound slipping from her.

She was numb. She had suppressed her emotions, caged them like an animal, refusing to let them out. I had seen her like this - her face gone blank as she refused to put down the facade - many years ago.

"Josephine killed her." Hermione repeated as she did on the phone, the words rolling off her tongue without a single emotion

"She said that they're doing what is expected of them."

The silence took over the room as I listened closely, pressing my back against the wall, my fingers fidgeting in the pocket of my hoodie. Were they doing what was expected of them? We didn't expect them to kill an innocent person, or torture them before their death.

I peeked once more, looking over at Hermione whose eyes met with Aiden, their mouths sealed tight as all of us tried to make sense of what she said. But we couldn't. I couldn't make sense of this. Josephine didn't kill Jenna because of hatred, or jealousy. Josephine barely knew Jenna. Josephine killed Jenna because of something else, something big.