To Whom It May Concern

Chapter 28

JUAN'S POV

You know how people say "Last night was a blur" after drinking stupor and partying all night? Well, I could say the same but instead of alcohol, I was intoxicated on Collins. I knew there was something that drew me to him from the very first time and the chemistry we shared was unbeatable. Straight out of a fairytale novel or movie, whatever worked best for my imagination. In fact, if I had died last night I knew I would have died a fulfilled man. I know my words tend to sound a bit dramatic right now but nothing can adequately quantify the heaven I was in. It was only natural for Collins to ask me to date him after our rendezvous and I said yes.

Yeah, you read right. Collins and I are officially a couple. My heart has leaped a thousand times in seconds, I have screamed into the ears of my pillow with so much disbelief as to the height of happiness I had attained in just one night. How the flip had switched from trying to stop myself from feeling guilt to being above cloud nine was something to be studied.

Two weeks had passed already and Collins and I have had a couple of dates and they had been the best thing ever. We randomly planned to surprise each other and sometimes we found our itinerary clashing. Our detention had gone by so fast we didn't feel it as much since we had now become an item. Everything felt easier since we did it together. The next week, we were free from the chains. In just that week, we had become the talk of the school and I was over the moon from excitement. Once, I had caught Evan's eye while Collins and I walked to class and my stomach sank but I brushed it off immediately. I had made peace with myself that I had done the right thing by leading him on.

Tess on the other hand hadn't still come around. Kat had come to me and Collins' room severally to whine about how she says a total of five words to her each day. We too had tried all we could to chair Tess up – gifts, kind gestures, whatever we could think of but none of it worked. We weren't giving up on our friend but we were tired of how she actively kept us shut out of whatever was wrong with her. Even though I now hardly had any spare time – as Collins was always cutely in my face – it made me work to solve this murder as much as I could.

That night, after Kat left our room, I sat Collins down and asked him not to be mad concerning all he was about to hear. As usual, he said the sweetest things and I went on to bring out all my materials and resources and displayed it on the table in which he sat.

"What's all this?"

"From this point, I'll need you to give me your undivided attention. Don't interrupt me, don't ask questions till later, and hold on to your thoughts and observations. You can not them down here so you don't forget just pick every word I say."

I went on to tell Collins about the seven business partners, the pool of business they handled together, how they had closed down, and the person that died as a result of it. I explained that the anonymous journalist had a lot to say but only dished it out in pieces till he was not heard of anymore. I showed him the documents of proof the journalist had uploaded and how they corroborated with the police reports and interviews available online. After an over thirty minutes-long presentation, I put all the side notes and documents in order so Collins would connect them just as I had presented them. All he did was look back and forth between me and the papers and let out a confused sigh.

"I know this company. I know about them. My dad was a partner too."

"Your dad is one of the seven men?"

I don't understand. None of these make any sense. Don't get me wrong, it makes sense but does it mean I could be killed too?"

All that went through my mind was how his father had been able to keep his name on all the papers online. I knew Collins was from a wealthy and influential home but I never expected it to be one that could have a messy past. In all of this, I didn't voice any of that out.