Of course. I'm writing **Chapter 28: The Man in the Shadows and the Truth No One Wanted to Hear** in the same elaborate, emotionally charged format as the previous ones. --

 

# **CHAPTER 28

The Man in the Shadows and the Truth No One Wanted to Hear**

A figure emerged from the darkness of the basement. At first, just an outline—slender, tall, slightly stooped, as if carrying a burden greater than he could bear. Then the light from Jakub's flashlight reflected off his face.

The commissioner took a deep, uneven breath.

It was **Marek Olbrycht**.

His former partner from the department. A man he had known for years. Loyal, calm, always in the background. The one who didn't seek the limelight, who flitted between cases and people like a shadow.

The man who had left the police force a year ago under the pretext of burnout.

And whom Jakub simply… liked.

Olbrycht took a step forward. He held no weapon in his hands. His hands were raised at chest level, open, as if to show he meant no harm.

"Marek..." Jakub said the name so quietly, as if afraid it would sound different from his memory. "What are you doing here?"

Olbrycht smiled faintly. Calmly. It was the same gentle, withdrawn smile he remembered from years of work.

"I knew you'd end up here eventually," he replied. "You were the only one, Commissioner, who could have made it this far."

Argo growled more menacingly. His fur bristled on his back.

Marek slowly turned his gaze to the dog.

"Easy, Argo. I'm not here to hurt you."

The dog growled again—lower, as if warning: *I don't trust you.*

Jakub didn't lower his weapon. "I'll repeat the question," he said firmly. "What are you doing *here*? In the basement of the library. In the place where we found two bodies. In the place that Director Radecki wanted to turn into a furnace of truth."

Marek rubbed his hand over his face, as if struggling with the weight of memories.

"I've been following this case for a long time," he confessed. "Since the moment I left."

"You left *out of nowhere*. Without a word," Jakub reminded. "You didn't even come to say goodbye to the team."

"Because I couldn't," Marek replied quietly, his voice sounding like someone whose conscience had long ago shattered.

Jakub narrowed his eyes.

"What do you mean?"

Olbrycht looked at him intently.

There was something new in his gaze. Something Jakub hadn't seen before in his gentle, tired eyes.

Something… broken.

"Those two people you found in the furnace…" he began slowly, carefully. "They died because of Radecki. But not only because of him."

Jakub remained silent.

Argo froze.

Marek took two steps forward. He was now fully illuminated. His face was ashen, his eyes darkened, his cheeks sunken. He looked as if he had lived in hiding for a year, under greater strain than the human mind should bear.

"Jakub..." he said softly, for the first time in years saying his name, not his rank. "A year ago... we were working on a case together. Remember?"

The commissioner felt his heart suddenly tighten, as if someone had closed a fist around him.

"The case about the missing archivist from the library?" he said slowly.

Olbrycht nodded.

"Yes. Andrzej Kamiński."

Jakub inhaled sharply.

"You mean you... were involved in spying on him?"

"Not just spying on him," Marek replied.

His voice went blank. Colorless.

"I participated... in hiding him."

The darkness of the underground seemed to thicken.

Jakub felt a tremor in his hand. The hand, though it had never failed before, now moved slightly.

"*What...?*" he said firmly. "You were hiding him? Why?"

Olbrycht smiled sadly again.

"Because Kamiński was my informant. He knew too much about Radecki. He also knew about the people who helped the director cover up the cases for years. At some point, I realized he had no chance of survival... if he remained in the light of day."

"So you faked his death?" Jakub asked calmly, but he felt his insides tighten. "You helped him disappear?"

Marek nodded.

"Yes. It was the only chance he had for survival."

Argo barked sharply—as if trying to break the silence between the men.

The commissioner felt something else intrude on his consciousness.

"Marek..." he began slowly. "Those two bodies... weren't they Kamiński's?"

Olbrycht looked him straight in the eye.

"No. It's not him."

"So... where is he now?"

Marek looked deeper into the basement.

"Here."

Jakub tightened his fingers on the grip of his gun.

"Are you saying he's alive?"

Marek nodded slowly.

"Yes. He's alive. But... he's in a condition you can't fix, Jakub. A year ago, he came face to face with the truth. With Radecki's true face. And... with another person. Someone who helped the director hide the victims."

Jakub slowly began to adjust to the words.

"Who was that person?"

Olbrycht closed his eyes for a moment.

When he opened them, there was nothing left—no color, no warmth.

“That person…” he said in a trembling voice, “…was me.”

The silence was like an explosion—quiet, yet devastating.

Jacob stood rooted to the spot.

Argo let out a low, drawn-out growl, as if to announce: *This c

A man lies… or he tells the truth, which stinks worse than these walls.*

“You…” Jakub began, but the words caught in his throat. “You worked for Radecki?”

“Not by choice,” Marek replied. “By force. He held me in his grip. He knew about my past. Something no one ever knew. He blackmailed me. He threatened my family. He threatened you.”

Jakub wiggled his eyebrows.

“Me?”

“Yes,” Marek said bitterly. “He threatened to destroy your life. To destroy the Argo. To destroy everyone you love.”

The commissioner felt a chill run down his spine.

“Why didn’t you come to me with this?” he asked quietly.

Olbrycht replied quickly, without hesitation:

“Because I knew you wouldn’t let me be protected. You know yourself. You always walk straight into the fire.”

Jakub started to respond, but Argo interrupted.

The dog suddenly tensed, jerked to the side, and barked sharply—in one short bark.

The echo bounced off the walls.

As if warning: *Someone else is here.*

Marek turned his head, as if he had heard something too.

Jakub immediately raised his weapon.

"This isn't the end of the confessions, Commissioner," Marek said, backing away slowly. "This is only the beginning. But there is someone… who doesn't want you to hear the whole truth."

Jakub looked into the darkness.

And then he saw movement.

A shadow.

A huge one.

Too fast to be a coincidence.

--

If you want, I'm writing **Chapter 29: The Shadow in the Underground—The Assailant No One Saw**.