— Do you have a cat? — the officer asked without wasting time on greetings.

— Yes… — I nodded cautiously. — What happened?

He held my gaze for a long moment, studying me, then quietly said:

— In that case… you’d better sit down.

I didn’t yet know what I was about to hear, but a cold shiver ran down my spine, and my heart skipped a beat.

Continuation in the first comment👇👇

I sat down mechanically on the edge of the sofa, feeling the cold mug of tea chilling my fingers.