The Other First

Two children. One game. A draw that should have been forgotten. Years after going their separate ways, Detective Leyla Delarama and forensic specialist Henry reunite when a string of seemingly unrelated murders places them on the same investigation. Each victim leaves behind a cryptic sequence of chess moves—moves that mirror a single match the two of them played as children. What begins as an impossible coincidence soon becomes something far more personal. Someone has been watching them. Someone knows their past. And someone is recreating a game that ended long ago. As the bodies continue to fall, Leyla and Henry find themselves drawn into a deadly puzzle where every answer raises another question. The deeper they dig, the more they realize the murders were never random, and the true target may have been standing at the center of the board all along. With time running out and the line between memory and obsession beginning to blur, they must uncover the truth before the final move is made. Because some games are never meant to end. And sometimes, the most dangerous opponent is the one who has been waiting since the very first move.