Neon Street: Red Herring

🎭41: The Partner

Triche got herself ready to escape through the window again. Her plan for today was to visit the school Kane studied in after she left Gardloom. It was where Kane spent the most years and graduated. "It was in Wenwall High, wasn't it?" 

Unlocking her window, she placed her foot on the sill and looked down. Her eyes grew when she saw Colin with his arms crossed across the street. He was looking at her with a 'You thought I wouldn't know?' face, making Triche freeze for good one minute. 

Getting herself together, she pulled out her middle finger at him and then jumped. None of them contacted the other after the argument they had. Triche still wants to investigate, while Colin is still against it until now. 

Triche successfully landed on the ground. When she turned to Colin across the street, she couldn't find him anymore. "What's his problem?" She scoffed and didn't mind him. She had more important things to do, and Colin had been slowing her down.

Hailing a cab, Triche leaves the hotel and heads straight to Wenwall High.  

--

Meanwhile, Ace sits at a table in the lounge, slurping noodles from his bowl. He minded his own business until France came and sat at the table across from him. He clenched his jaw, aggressively dropping the chopsticks on the bowl. It caught France's attention, then looked at Ace. "Let's keep the lounge quiet, shall we?"

Ace clicked his tongue and glared at him. "I'm assuming I'm the person you're talking to."

France furrowed his brows, feeling uncomfortable with Ace's intense stare. "The fuck is wrong with you? You got a problem with me?" France stood from the table and stood close to Ace's chair. "I don't care about your family's status, so don't fuck with me. I won't hesitate to beat the shit out of you--"

Ace suddenly stood up and threw a punch at France's face. The latter looked at him in surprise. "Did you just try to threaten me?" Ace smirked and grabbed his shirt, pulling France close to his face. "You don't get to act like you're in power. If these people found out how much of an asshole you are," he moved his lips behind France's ear. "How you treated your fiancée like shit... I bet you'll be hiding in some corner for the rest of your life."

France widened his eyes, turning his head at Ace. "H-How did you..." Ace pushed him away and fixed his black jacket. "Who told you about that? No one knows that but us." He looked at Ace nervously with his lips trembling. "I said, tell me who told you that!"

"Why? Are you scared I might tell everyone?" Ace chuckled and returned to his seat. "You should've treated her well if you cared so much about your reputation." He picked up his chopsticks and continued eating.

France was left stunned in his position. "Who do you think are you to tell me shit? You don't know what you're saying." He felt the bruise on the corner of his lip, glaring at Ace. "I don't know how you found out, but you better keep your mouth shut." He walked away, leaving Ace peacefully eating at the table. It's as if the latter didn't punch him a minute ago. "He's been minding his own business the whole time. Why would he suddenly bring up something only a few people know?"

Heading to the elevator, he sees Fin standing behind a potted plant. Is he hiding? France thought. He wanted to shake it off and continue walking to the elevator, but the device in Fin's hand caught his attention. "That's Kane's," he quietly said, looking at the pink USB device.

Fin noticed France and immediately hid the device in his vest. "Do you need anything, sir?" Fin asks. 

"That thing you had in your hand... Where did you get that from?" France couldn't let Fin go without getting answers. The fact that Fin had Kane's hard drive was too questionable to let slide. "Did you steal it?"

"It was in the lost and found. Our manager wanted me to look for the owner." Fin looked at France from head to toe. "Was it yours?"

"I know who owns it. Hand it over," France said, reaching his hand out.

"I'm sorry, sir. The owner must be the one to claim it. It's the hotel's rule not to give any guest's belonging even if someone's claiming to be friends or acquaintances with them. If you don't mind, can you give me this guest's hotel room number?" Fin asked, keeping his poker face.

Why are people trying to piss me off today? France sighed to calm himself. "Kane Son," he answered. "You won't be able to return it to her, so hand it over to me. I know her parents personally. I can return it to them." 

"I'd rather give this to Kane's parents myself. Excuse me, sir." France saw how Fin glared at him before going downstairs. 

France scoffed, placing his hands on his waist. "What do these people take me for? Why do I keep getting glared at?!" He goes inside the elevator and heads to his room to cool down. "That employee's weird. Does he have a grudge against me? And how did Kane's USB get into the lost and found? She can't be the one who lost it. They would've found it when she was still around or a few days after her death if that was the case. That employee also hid it from me when I caught him. It doesn't agree with his reason."

France went to the table near the couch and poured himself a glass of wine. "And Ace Min too... Did Kane tell anyone about us?" He lifted the glass and drank it in one go. "Impossible. She was always the one who insisted on keeping us a secret."

--

"Fuck." Triche whispered under her breath, seeing the photo in Wenwall's school yearbook. It looked like it was after a basketball game. Almost everyone in the background was blurry, but her sharp eyes immediately recognized Kane's face. What surprised her was the person kissing her on the cheek. "I-I gotta tell Colin." She took a quick snap of the photo and quickly called Colin's number.

"Triche, where the hell--"

"I think I know who 'Meow' is," she told him, her eyes glued on the photo in the yearbook. 

"Who?" Colin asked in confusion. "I'm driving right now. Tell me where you are."

"Kane's fucking boyfriend! That detective said Kane saved someone as 'Meow' in her phone, and she called that person frequently. He was the last person she called that night." Triche moved the phone away from her ear to send Colin the picture she had taken. "Take a look at what I found in Kane's school. Who do you think is that?"

Triche heard silence from Colin for a few seconds. It seemed like Colin started to grasp the situation. "Triche, you're not implying..."

"They could still be together until Kane got murdered. It was this jerk all this time. I never thought of it because he showed no reaction to what happened to Kane. He didn't look worried or mad at all. Could it be...him?" Her grip on the phone tightened. "Could he be the one who killed her?"

"Let's not jump to conclusions. I'll head over there, so don't go anywhere until I arrive," Colin said before ending the call.

Triche looked at the picture again and zoomed in on Kane's and his face. "I can't be wrong. He's definitely France Park."

--

It's time for Kane's love life to resurface🤭 Have you guys thought of the possibility of France being Kane's lover before?🤔 I still have lots of twists prepared and hopefully they're shockingheheh😭 Thanks for waiting you guys!💝