What happens when loyalty turns lethal? A detective must face the ultimate betrayal in this “I won’t sleep tonight” thriller prompt.
Flash Fiction Prompt
Grab Hold First Line:
The call came just past midnight: “He’s going to kill you. Your partner.”
Paragraph:
Detective Javier Cruz had built his career on instincts, but nothing prepared him for this. The voice on the burner phone was steady, almost too calm, as if it relished each word. He sat alone in his cramped office, the hum of the fluorescent lights louder than his heartbeat. His partner, Detective Mark Hanlon, wasn’t just a colleague—he was a brother in arms, the man who pulled him out of a shootout two years ago. The thought of betrayal gnawed at Javier, the way acid eats through steel. Was this tip a setup? A cruel trick to turn him against the one person he trusted most? Or was it the final piece of a puzzle he had refused to see—the unsolved cases, the missing evidence, the looks that never made sense? The weight of his service pistol at his side felt heavier tonight. To confront Hanlon was to risk everything. To ignore the warning was to invite death. Dawn was hours away. One question pulsed in Javier’s mind: would he live to see it?
3 Reader Questions
- How would you reveal the truth—was the tip a lie or the ultimate betrayal?
- What moment of tension would you build to keep readers turning the page?
- If Javier confronts his partner, what outcome would leave the deepest mark on the reader?