The sun was Alucard’s oldest enemy, but the fluorescent lights of the precinct were a close second.118Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡn9WbghXcLD
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He sat at his desk, his eyes shielded by tinted glasses that he claimed were for a "migraine." In reality, they hid the fact that his pupils hadn't fully constricted since the night before. Using the Glamour—the hypnosis—on Anne had taken a toll. It wasn't just the energy it required; it was the guilt.118Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡXSdTdyzZsd
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Across from him, Anne Jones was staring at a blank computer screen. She had been holding the same pen for ten minutes.118Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡiiZwpFKRF1
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"You’re staring, Detective," Alucard said, not looking up from a 19th-century autopsy report he was cross-referencing. "The ink in that pen is drying out. Much like the leads on the 'New Rache' case if we don't move."118Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡaNkt8ADYc3
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Anne blinked, shaking her head as if clearing cobwebs. "Sorry. I just... I have this pounding headache. And I can’t shake the feeling that I’m forgetting something important about that theater."118Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡTnwmU3i43Q
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Alucard felt a cold prickle of apprehension. "Adrenaline often causes memory gaps. You were attacked by a man with a silver blade. Your brain is simply protecting you from the trauma."118Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡvwRBbZZPVL
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"Maybe," Anne muttered. She reached into her pocket and pulled out a small, crumpled piece of paper. Her brow furrowed. "Then explain this."118Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡnem87O1tao
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She smoothed the paper out on the desk. It was a polaroid photo—blurry, taken in the dark of the theater. It showed a figure pinned against a wall, and a shadow looming over him. The shadow had an elongated jaw and eyes that reflected the camera’s flash like a cat’s.118Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡWcegaxyUnp
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"I don't remember taking this," Anne said, her voice dropping. "But I found the camera in my jacket pocket this morning. My finger must have hit the shutter when I fell. Al... that shadow doesn't look like a man."118Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡK0muUNwD96
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Alucard reached out, his pale fingers steady as he took the photo. He could see himself in the frame—the monster he tried to hide. With a flick of his thumb, he used a sharp, hidden nail to put a tiny, unnoticeable scratch through the "monstrous" part of the image.118Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡFxv1eVZ9jF
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"It’s a motion blur, Jones. Light refraction in a dusty room," he said coolly. He tossed the photo into the 'Evidence' bin. "Don't let your imagination do the job for the criminals."118Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡOMPxJgOyII
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The Second Case: The Vanishing Patient118Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ9jgWJBPN6g
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Before Anne could argue, Captain Miller slammed a new file onto their desk.118Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡuqSGEGBIol
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"Drop the Rache stuff for a second. We’ve got a weird one at St. Jude’s Hospital. A patient vanished from the ICU. Room was locked, fourth floor, no balcony. The nurses say they heard a 'whistling' sound, and then the guy was just... gone."118Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡbJqPq0fvMt
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Alucard’s ears perked up. The Speckled Band. Or a modern variation of it.118Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ9zWjb70oha
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"Locked room?" Anne asked, her detective instincts overriding her confusion. "Maybe he walked out?"118Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡyws9nOVFQ7
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"He was in a coma, Jones," Miller said. "Unless he learned to teleport, he didn't walk anywhere."118Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡwH0hrdl2At
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The Hospital Visit118Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡh6i7qVfFnT
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The ICU smelled of bleach, sickness, and—to Alucard—the faint, cloying scent of ozone.118Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡdvfXeljWMt
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As Anne interviewed the terrified night nurse, Alucard walked to the center of the room. He didn't look at the bed. He looked at the ceiling.118Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡMH93RoXFbd
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"The vent," Alucard whispered.118Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ3tKmNrsxUs
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"The vent is four inches wide," Anne said, joining him. "Even a child couldn't fit through that."118Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡXKXelLlUCR
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"A human child, no," Alucard agreed. He stepped closer to the wall, sniffing the air. He caught a scent that made his skin crawl. It wasn't blood. It was cold. "But something that can change its molecular density... or something very small and very lethal."118Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡhXOuJTlIqs
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He saw a tiny smudge of grey ash on the edge of the vent cover. He touched it. It wasn't ash. It was skin—shriveled and burnt by the hospital’s UV sterilization lights.118Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡNJe4ZQRg9x
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"Anne," Alucard said, his voice urgent. "Check the hospital records. Was this patient ever an employee of Sanguine Medical?"118Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡZzz9rv2QXR
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Anne pulled up her tablet, her fingers flying. "Yeah. He was a lead researcher in their hematology department. He was fired six months ago for 'unethical experimentation.' Why?"118Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡc0b7y714d9
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"Because," Alucard said, his eyes darkening. "My cousin Carmela doesn't just run a medical company. She runs a sanctuary. And it looks like one of her 'pets' has gone rogue."118Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡzC6485E87f
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The CEO's Office118Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ1R1s7FinkL
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They didn't call for an appointment. Alucard led Anne straight to the top floor of the Sanguine Tower.118Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡOR2ysctHcx
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Carmela was sitting behind a desk made of obsidian, looking at a series of digital charts. She didn't look up when they burst in.118Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡqY24PnUUKy
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"Alucard. Detective Jones. You’re becoming a recurring series," Carmela purred. She looked at Anne and smirked. "You look tired, Detective. Having trouble sleeping? Perhaps you’re dreaming of things that shouldn't exist?"118Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡQ37rG7i3Jm
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Anne stiffened. "How did you—"118Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡk0brGKmdsz
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"I’m a CEO. I have a pulse on everything," Carmela interrupted, finally looking at Alucard. Her eyes moved to his pocket, where he had hidden the scratched polaroid. "Including the little 'glitches' in your partnership."118Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡAayTnuOKMx
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"The researcher, Carmela," Alucard growled. "Victor Hesse. He vanished from the hospital. What did you do to him?"118Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡDnI3xIDAjJ
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Carmela sighed, standing up and walking toward a floor-to-ceiling window. "Victor was... ambitious. He wanted to see if he could create a vampire without the 'Dracula' bloodline. He used a strain of modified bat venom. It didn't make him a king, Alucard. It turned him into a leech. A mindless, crawling thing that can squeeze through a keyhole."118Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡyzZeeQ0Dtf
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"And now he's hungry," Alucard finished.118Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡpgIvpWDeRh
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"Extremely," Carmela said. She turned around, her face suddenly serious. "And he’s not just looking for blood. He’s looking for pure blood. The kind that hasn't been diluted by centuries of evolution."118Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡJ3pYWYTfrh
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She looked directly at Anne.118Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ0yoKpUgXFm
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Alucard stepped in front of his partner, his hand instinctively resting on his holster. The hunger in his own stomach flared—a protective, possessive roar. He wanted to drink Anne's blood to keep her safe, to mark her as his so no other monster would dare touch her. The irony was a bitter pill to swallow.118Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡgpkeckJnzJ
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"He's coming for her, isn't he?" Alucard whispered.118Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡSPQcRwzlbx
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"He's already in the building," Carmela replied, checking her diamond-encrusted watch. "I’d suggest you use that 'Sherlock' brain of yours, Alucard. Because when Victor feeds, he doesn't leave a body. He leaves an empty shell."118Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ7cJcdpZIzC
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Suddenly, the lights in the office flickered. A soft, high-pitched whistling sound began to echo from the ventilation shafts above their heads.118Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡbo0IZ6p2Wt
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Anne pulled her gun. "What is that?"118Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡkqgXKqwnOz
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Alucard looked at the vent, his fangs beginning to ache behind his lips. "That, Jones... is the sound of a very bad night."118Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡswmq4MKFZt
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1234 copyright protection114ＰＥＮＡＮＡQm7a9SWQvL 尼118Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡMLuzxR5o8z