Don't get involved...

Chapter 13

My best friend and I decided to go meet each other in the basement, where I broke the glass. When we went into the basement, we found the broken object, still on the floor. Sabrina crouched on the floor, next to the shattered pieces, observing them. She asked

"What did you saw on the glass-shaped rectangle again?"

"The letter V"

"The one we saw on the first video you took from Phil and your stepfather, right?"

"Yeah," I answered.

She picked up one of the pieces and started analyzing it.

"Be careful Sabrina. You don't want to get hurt by the glass, like me," I warned.

"Don't worry, I am careful when it comes to holding sharp items such as this one" she responded, confidently "And right now, I'll solve a puzzle"

"Huh?"

"What I mean is that I'll take all of those broken things and combine them all, like a puzzle" she explained, as she noticed my confused expression.

"Let me help you," I said, crouching.

"I don't want you to get hurt again," she said.

"Don't worry, it was a small wound. Plus, it's already healed. But I still have to use one hand to solve the puzzle, since my arm is still broken"

"Yeah, so take care," said my careful friend.

"Alright," I sighed.

We both started working together, carefully trying to fix the broken rectangle. It took time, but we were finally able to solve it. After we connected them, my friend started thinking. Then, she said

"I still don't understand what V is. What does it even stand for?"

"I'm asking myself the same question..." I responded.

I got up from crouching and said

"I'll go look for more hints upstairs"

"I'll come with you"

"No, you go look for more clues that you can find in the basement while I look for more hints upstairs" I spoke.

"I-Ok," she said.

I went upstairs and stepped into his room. The first thing that drew my attention while I was looking around the room, was a book on his bed. I held the book and took a quick look through the pages. I then found out that it was his diary. I decided to keep the book in my hand and to go look for more clues. While looking, I found a paper on a table next to his bed. I held the paper and saw a picture of a man who looked to be in his 30s with a little girl who seemed to be a teenager. I looked behind it and it was written 'My daughter and Me'.

"Phil has a daughter?" I thought.

I knew that this young man was Phil since he looked exactly just like him, just a bit younger. I held the picture along with the diary and looked around for more hints. Unfortunately, there were no more clues to find. I decided to go join my friend in the basement. When I went there, I saw her looking at something.

"Sabrina, I found more hints in his bedroom. I found his diary and a picture of him when he was young. The photo also has his daughter with him," I spoke.

She turned around, looking at me, and said

"Well, I found a gun in his drawer"

I walked up to her and saw the weapon she was talking about.

"I see..." I said "Well, let's take a look at all the hints we found and think about it"

"Ok then," she said.

We sat down on the floor and gathered the diary, the picture, the letter, the gun, and the broken glass that we fixed in front of us. First, we decided to read the diary. We read his book and it explained his story. It was said that right after his wife gave birth, she left them. The reason that she left was because the woman never wanted children. So, he had to raise her alone. It was written in the book that Phil named his child Evelyn. He was upset that his wife left them, but he was able to get over her since Evelyn was what cheered him up. Her beautiful smile always makes him happy. Phil was in his 20s when Evelyn was born and his spouse first left him.

But one day, when Phil was 32 and his daughter was 15 years old, Evelyn died in a car crash. Phil was about to lose his mind when he first heard the news. And that photo that I found in his room was the last picture with her before she died. He was depressed ever since. I felt like I wanted to cry as it's a sad story.

While we continued to read the diary, it was said that after his child's demise, he quit his job and worked in a secret company. For some reason, the diary didn't detail his new work, the secret company. It didn't say what the company was called, but it was said that the owner of this company was Vincent. And according to the letter, he's out in Italy to take a break from his work for 3 days and will come back. The book doesn't even say what the secret company's about, it doesn't say what that company does. But, it was said that it's a secret company that even the government doesn't know about it.

"Huh? How is it a secret company that the government doesn't know about it?" I thought.

I looked at my best friend, I could tell that she was thinking the same thing. But then, her facial expression changed, and said

"So that's why the glass had the letter V in it and why the black box had the letter V on it. It stands for Vincent, the name of the owner"

"Maybe yes, maybe not" I responded "I'm not sure if it stands Vincent or the name of the company"

"We don't even know the name of the company" my best friend spoke.

"But what if it's a hint that says that the name of the company starts with V?" I said. "It doesn't necessarily stand for the owner's name"

Sabrina stood silent. Then she looked at me and murmured

"Yeah, you're right..."

My best friend looked at the weapon and asked

"What are we going to do about the gun?"

"I don't know. I'm not even sure if it has bullets inside," I answered.

Suddenly, my friend's phone rang. She picked up her phone and answered her call. When she hung up, she looked at me and said

"Sorry Vicky, my aunt called me. She said that she needs me home now for something urgent"

"No worries. If it's something urgent, then you have to go. We'll continue tomorrow"

"Well, tomorrow's our last chance to search for more clues in his house as Phil will come back the next day. So, we better hurry up tomorrow"

"Yeah," I said "Well, I'll go back home too, but I'll keep the clues that we found with me at my home so that I can think about the hints,"

"Ok, but are you sure you won't get caught by your father?" she asked.

"Don't worry, I have a hiding place in my room"

"Ok then. Good for you"

"But I'll keep everything except the broken glass and the gun. I'm not keeping the broken pieces because I don't want to hurt myself again by the glass. At the same time, I'm holding way too many broken pieces, so it won't just give me one small wound, it'll give me a lot. Also, I don't know how to use a gun and I might accidentally pull the trigger while holding it and hurt myself or anyone around me," I explained.

"Alright then," the beautiful girl said.

We both left the house and went back home afterward.

To be continued.