N0 B0DY, N0 CRIM3 | Bang Chan

No mercy

It must have been some kind of record; two hours and thirty-seven minutes. By the time Seungmin hit the upload video button mid-afternoon, it took two hours and thirty-seven minutes before the internet exploded. One news article after another. There was no stopping the new influx of information that had arisen. 

Willie Campbell became one of the top five trends on Twitter. He was in the middle of a meeting when it happened. His phone pinged with notification after notification. His closest friends were trying to reach him, but his phone was turned off. It took another three hours before the meeting finished. 

Philip pounced on him the moment the two of them exited. He grabbed Willie's arm and pulled him off to the side of the hall. "What are you doing?" Willie jerked his arm away and brushed the arm of his black suit. 

"Willie, I'm pretty sure Kiera is still alive." 

Willie laughed and shook his head. "Kiera is dead, remember? We saw her corpse. The video that was posted online had to be taken before she died." 

"There's another video posted."

The color drained out of Willie's face. "Excuse me?" He shook his head and opened his mouth, but Philip cut him off. 

"She's angry in this video. I excused myself to the bathroom earlier to relieve myself. Before I left, I checked my phone because I noticed I had multiple text messages. The video is maybe two minutes long, but she's pissed. I wasn't aware she could become so heated. What is she talking about anyway? With Lawrence Matthews looking up her skirt?" 

"Huh?" Willie's eyebrows scrunched together. He pulled out his phone and began looking over his text messages. Every text was panicked and the majority of them sent the link to the video. Willie clicked on one and was redirected to the Twitter app. 

He watched it with the volume lowered. Philip stood by and watched people flood out of the conference room. High heels clicked against the marble flooring. The two were backed into a corner away from everyone. His eyes scanned everyone and his brain was on high alert. 

Did they know? Everyone seemed to ignore the two of them. He looked back at Willie, who was still watching the video. His clenched jaw and his furrowed eyebrows didn't mean anything good. Prominent wrinkles etched into his forehead. 

"Have a nice day, Mr. President!" One of the men who came out of the room smiled and waved at Philip and Willie. 

Philip smiled back and nudged Willie in his side with his elbow. Willie glanced up glaring, but dropped it when he spotted the man. He forced himself to smile and wave back. "Kevin, how is it going?" He turned off his phone and dropped his voice. "We'll discuss this later." He gave Philip's shoulder a few pats and strutted over to Kevin. 

Philip watched the two of them interact and discuss getting coffee. The remaining stream of people meandered away before he opened his own phone and glanced down at a video of Kiera. Every time he interacted with Kiera Campbell, she was quiet and reserved. A smile always seemed to be on her face. He pressed the play button and let her voice fill the air. 

"Hi, Dad. How's it going in the white house? Are you having fun? Don't worry, I won't say anything to tarnish your golden reputation. I'll just tell America the truth and if that destroys your image, maybe you did that yourself." 

Philip swallowed the bitter acid that crept up his throat. Kiera Campbell had never been capable of lying, at least, not to him. Back in West Virginia, when Kiera was seventeen, she snuck outside to go to her friend's house. Philip caught her sneaking back into her parents' house through the living room window. She didn't realize her parents had invited him over. 

The two froze as they stared at each other and they didn't utter a word until Philip asked what she was doing. She turned into a stuttering and nervous mess trying to lie until she gave up and admitted she had gone to see her friend, Jennie. Philip nodded and let her slip past him into her room. He never mentioned it to her parents because it wasn't a big deal. 

Quiet, shy, introverted. She kept her head down in public and followed her parents' rules. Even her parents raved about her good behavior. He never heard her raise her voice, let alone get so upset about something that she yelled. What caused her to become so upset? 

Willie Campbell couldn't have done anything too terrible. The two of them had been friends for nearly a decade. Willie was a good man, wasn't he? In less than two decades, he crept through the political web and brought his family into the white house.

When Beverly had an affair with Philip, she kept promising to break it off. The first time the two of them slept together, Beverly cried afterwards. Guilt consumed her when she realized she cheated on her husband. The regret lingered, but it ebbed away after a while. 

Kiera was in college and on her way to getting a degree in visual arts. Willie informed him some guy already had his sights set on Kiera and he approved of them. Willie was sure that within the next few years, Kiera would be married. 

However, Kiera's jerky movements in the video and her narrowed eyes told another story. He was positive she was hinting at something he didn't know about. He thought he knew everything about the Campbell family, but maybe not. Willie hired a hit man to assassinate his wife after all. 

A frown filled Philip's face. His thumb traced the side of Kiera's cheek on the screen. She shared the same facial shape her mother had. The same rounded jaw and the same upturned button nose. Although, Beverly's nose was slightly crooked from when she broke it as a kid, Kiera's was straight. 

Philip's heart ached at the memory of Beverly. He missed the warmth of her touch. The way her blonde hair felt like silk between the pads of his fingers. The stolen kisses and illicit touches. The desperation between two people who were never meant to be. The alluring scent of her french vanilla perfume that made him feel dizzy. 

The two of them used to talk about running away together. Beverly would bring up the mention of divorce here and there. That topic would arrive and Philip would change the conversation. He liked Beverly, but he liked being friends with Willie more. If Beverly divorced Willie, Philip would lose the relationship he shared with him. 

He let out a sigh and turned off his phone. Placing it back into his suit pocket, he walked towards the other side of the white house he shared with Willie. A heavy heart sat in his chest with a dull ache for Beverly's touch. 

No matter how unfair it seems, some things are just never meant to be.