Where the Map Ends

Jessica sat at her desk, absentmindedly rolling a half-empty glass of whiskey between her fingers. The office was quiet, the only sounds were the distant hum of the ceiling fan and the occasional scratch of Leanna flipping through a case file. The Black Orchid Investigations board was nearly bare, save for a few uninspired sticky notes detailing mundane cases—cheating spouses, missing heirs, background checks. Nothing like the work they used to do.

She exhaled heavily and took another sip. The burn was familiar, grounding.

Things had been slow.

Since Christmas, since Ryan, since the revelation that Vanguard wasn’t some shadow they could outrun, Jessica had found herself drifting. Surviving rather than living. Work kept the lights on, but it wasn’t fulfilling. Olivia buried herself in research and reporting, and Leanna, ever the scientist, had thrown herself into every side project imaginable. Jessica had spent too many nights arguing with whiskey and losing every round..

The baby blessing in Miami had been one of the few bright spots. Jessica Marie Donnelly—her goddaughter. A tiny, perfect life untouched by all the madness. It had felt almost normal, standing with Kevin and Hannah, the three of them laughing, recounting old stories. But it hadn’t lasted. When she returned to Belize, reality settled in again like an old, unwelcome companion.

“Jess,” Leanna’s voice broke through her thoughts. She glanced up to see her friend watching her with mild concern. “Maybe you should go hit the gym instead of hitting the bottle.”

Jessica snorted. “What’s the point? Gonna spar with ghosts?”

“You’re wasting your talent.”

Jessica didn’t answer. She tossed back the rest of her drink and leaned her head back against the chair. She didn’t need a lecture. She needed a distraction.

Right on cue, Olivia burst into the office, phone in hand, eyes sharp with the glint of a lead.

“Get your boots, boss. We’ve got ghosts in Mexico,” she said, dropping into her seat and pulling up an email on her laptop. “Just got a call from an old contact of mine—Rodrigo Mejía, investigative journalist out of Mexico City. He’s onto something weird.”

Leanna arched an eyebrow. “Weird how?”

Olivia clicked on a file and spun the screen toward them. A blurry satellite image flickered to life. “A town. In Mexico.”

Jessica narrowed her eyes. “And?”

Olivia leaned forward. “A town that wasn’t there a month ago.”

Jessica frowned, shifting to get a better look. The image showed a small settlement nestled in an arid landscape. Rows of houses, a church, a main street—ordinary at first glance. But something about it felt off.

“There’s no record of it existing,” Olivia continued. “No documentation, no history, not even a damn dirt road leading up to it. Rodrigo says the government denies it ever being there. And here’s the kicker—everyone inside? No one remembers how they got there.”

Jessica exchanged a look with Leanna. That was new.

Leanna tapped the screen. “Satellite data?”

Olivia nodded. “Before last month? This place was nothing but desert.”

Something cold settled behind her ribs. The kind of cold that didn’t go away. A familiar feeling—the kind that used to send them chasing after ghosts and conspiracies. Still, she hesitated. They had seen too much. They had lost too much.

“This could be a trap,” she said, leaning back in her chair.

Olivia shrugged. “When isn’t it?”

Leanna sighed, rubbing her temple. “Any idea what’s keeping these people in? If there are no roads—”

“There’s a fence,” Olivia cut in. “Surrounding the entire perimeter. Chain-link, eight feet tall. No gates.”

Jessica’s stomach twisted. “Someone built that. Someone put them there.”

Silence settled over the room. They all knew what this felt like. Another experiment. Another cover-up.

Jessica exhaled. “We need to see it for ourselves.”

Leanna nodded, already pulling up flight routes. “Mexico’s not far. We could be there by morning.”

Jessica turned to Olivia, who was typing away furiously. “Book it. Let’s move.”

But before Olivia could confirm the reservation, Jessica’s phone buzzed. A single message lit up the screen.

Unknown Number: Stay away from the town. Some doors don’t close once you open them.

Jessica stared at the words for a long moment before setting the phone down. Her fingers drummed against the desk.

“Yeah... story of my life.”