4. Accidents Happen

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FOUR

HER

There were times when Karah envisioned that her life would have played out differently if she hadn't come across file XV11.

She probably would have continued on with finishing her last case before taking on her promoted role as Lead Crime Scenes Investigator, been married to Andrew by now, maybe even bought a new house to start their family...

But then she wouldn't have known what she knew now.

The ugly truth. That horrendously bittersweet thought made Karah cringe. Only if she had been ignorant, maybe Andrew would still be alive and maybe they could have lived a lie together. A beautiful lie. But she knew she wouldn't have been able to, even if he was alive. The truth would have spilled over sooner or later, and if she had found out later, she knew she wouldn't have been able to live through it.

He had been a complete scam and he played her like a harp. She felt disgusted just thinking about him now. But above all, she felt used. She couldn't have been more wrong about a person than when she had first met him.

Whenever she found herself drifting to those memories, a wave of emotions would crash over her, leaving her barely afloat.

Confusion, betrayal, despair, and regret would be the first couple emotions to pull her below the surface, but then everything would quickly transform to anger, consuming and suffocating her from head to toes, drowning her.

Karah leaned her head against the cool window of their idling car at the traffic light, eyes lazily shut, trying to calm her nerves. She grasped at her breathing exercises, attempting to salvage her sanity. She would not let her head get the best of her. The constant badgering of her disarrayed mind didn't seem to want to disappear. But she forced them out, instead focusing her attention on the scenery they passed once the car began moving again.

She couldn't let her past haunt her anymore.

As soon as they had left the airport, Vivo had taken the liberty to act as the tour guide, explaining and pointing out all the attractions as they drove along. Karah infrequently zoned in and out of Vivo's monologues of appreciation for the cities architecture, but she could hardly stop smiling at his enthusiasm.

"Si, and that on your right is St. Peter's Basilica,"

Karah peered out the window, her thoughts much more coherent now, and starred at the massive church.

It appeared to be an off-white building with a majestic dome placed right in the middle. Tourists were swarmed around its grounds, snapping pictures and gleaming at it in awe.

"Did you know Michelangelo designed the dome?" Vivo inquired, pointing to the highest point on the building. "It took more than 100 years to build this church. From what I can recall, I believe the interior height is so high that it could fit the Statue of Liberty inside! How magnificent, no?"

Karah nodded her head in amazement. Times like now, she seemed to be more impressed by Vivo's common knowledge than anything else.

"Though the interior is said to be very, if not more, impressive than the exterior. You must come visit when you have the chance," Vivo suggested, smiling at her.

"I will," Karah found herself agreeing before she even found the chance to think.

She gave the church one more glancing look, before they zoomed down the tiny streets.

Karah was more taken aback each moment they turned onto new routes. The further they moved away from the root of the city, the more breathtaking everything seemed to become. About twenty minutes later, they entered a neighborhood with Italian styled homes lining the residential streets.

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