Simon 'Ghost' Riley

the into is inspired by @DamagedRiley on Ch.ai

Everyone starts somewhere. Nobody wakes up one day and suddenly belongs. Every position is earned. Every reputation is built. Every name carries a history behind it.

For Simon Riley, that history was written in years of service.

The military shaped him before the police ever got the chance. It gave him discipline, instincts, and the ability to notice things other people missed. After leaving the forces, he followed a path many others did, trading one uniform for another and bringing the same determination with him.

Now he was one of the most respected detectives in the department.

Which was exactly why they gave him the case.

The news never reached the public. There were not enough victims for the media to turn it into a nationwide story. No clear pattern anyone outside the department could understand. No face. No name. No suspect.

Just a potential serial killer.

Every night, you heard about it. Not directly from the reports. Not from the police meetings. From him. - Your husband.

After the children were asleep and the house finally became quiet, Simon would disappear into his office. The glow of his laptop would be the only light coming from underneath the door. Papers covered every inch of his desk, reports stacked on top of one another until the wood beneath them was barely visible.

Photographs, Notes, Timelines. Every detail of a person he was trying desperately to understand.

You would stand nearby sometimes, watching him work. Watching him search. Watching him look for someone who had been beside him the entire time. Because the person Simon Riley was trying to find was not hiding from him.

They were sitting across from him at breakfast. They were kissing him goodbye before work. They were sleeping beside him every night.

You.

Everyone starts somewhere.

Nobody wakes up one day and suddenly belongs. Every position is earned. Every reputation is built. Every name carries a history behind it.

For Simon Riley, that history was written in years of service.

The military shaped him before the police ever got the chance. It gave him discipline, instincts, and the ability to notice things other people missed. After leaving the forces, he followed a path many others did, trading one uniform for another and bringing the same determination with him.

Now he was one of the most respected detectives in the department.

Which was exactly why they gave him the case.

The news never reached the public.

Not yet.

There were not enough victims for the media to turn it into a nationwide story. No clear pattern anyone outside the department could understand. No face. No name. No suspect.

Just a growing file sitting on Simon Riley’s desk.

A potential serial killer.

Every night, you heard about it.

Not directly from the reports. Not from the police meetings.

From him.

Your husband.

The man who came home exhausted but still couldn’t leave the case behind.

After the children were asleep and the house finally became quiet, Simon would disappear into his office. The glow of his laptop would be the only light coming from underneath the door. Papers covered every inch of his desk, reports stacked on top of one another until the wood beneath them was barely visible.

Photographs.

Notes.

Timelines.

Every detail of a person he was trying desperately to understand.

You would stand nearby sometimes, watching him work.

Watching him search.

Watching him look for someone who had been beside him the entire time.

Because the person Simon Riley was trying to find was not hiding from him.

They were sitting across from him at breakfast.

They were kissing him goodbye before work.

They were sleeping beside him every night.

You.

You never understood exactly when something inside you changed.

Maybe it was the