The police van rumbled away from the compound, its red and blue lights flickering against the evening shadows as it turned into the main road. Andrei stood still, his hands clenched at his sides, watching the vehicle until it became nothing more than a distant speck moving deeper into the city. Only when the sound of the engine finally faded did he release the breath he had been holding.

The moment should have felt like victory—justice, accountability, consequences—but all he felt was a ...