The Past Comes Back to Bite

3

The wake was melancholic as anyone could imagine. It was hard to smile even though everyone desperately tried. All our family friends were here, but that didn't stop some cousins from breaking down. Zena appeared to be struggling the most. She's sensitive and it's hard for her to be around sad people. She's quite emphatic that little girl. Yeira was better at stifling her feelings, but I know she felt terrible for me.

Lara was by my side the entire time and provided me with love and support. She handed me a bottle of water while taking the finished plate from me. Lara tilted her head before focusing back on me.

"Seems someone wishes to speak with you." Lara whispered. "Are you okay if I give you some privacy?"

"Okay." I forced a smile.

"Whisper for me and I'll be here." She kissed my cheek. "I'll be by the lake skipping stones with the girls."

I softly squeezed her hand as she left me. I took a long sip as someone occupied Lara's previous position. I fought the urge to groan as i came face to face with my former boss. Matt sighed and gave me a look. I relented and hugged him. His strong, protective arms wrapped around me. I hate to admit it, but I needed every ounce of sympathy I could get from everyone.

"I'm sorry."

"Not your fault." I observed the guests. "It was unfortunate."

"He'll be dearly missed." I simply nodded at his words. "Is there somewhere we can privately speak?" I raised a brow at him. "I think there's something you may want to look at."

"Really, Matt? Work? I'm at a funeral for gods sake."

"Mia, please." He politely commanded.

I groaned, but nodded. I led Matt upstairs to my childhood bedroom. He took a moment to observe it while I crossed my arms and impatiently waited for him to speak.

"Pretty room." He placed his hands in his pockets. "I see that nothing has changed."

"I left it the same as when I left at 18." I stared out the window.

"Still nice. I'm sure your children would agree."

"They'd stare at you in confusion." He raised a brow at me. "They've never been up here."

"Never?" I shook my head. "Why?"

"When Zena was younger, we didn't travel to the US because my family thought it was more fun and more vacation like to come to Italy. And then she went missing for 10 years. And confined living in Italy. And then my other daughter wasn't found until-"

"Gotcha." He cut me off. "Sorry."

"It's fine." I quirked my lips up at Zena struggling to skip stones.

"So I needed to speak to you." And my smile dropped. "When I heard about your father passing, I wanted to send my condolences. I didn't really know what happened, so I looked it up."

"It's public record." The gray clouds began to move overhead. No doubt that it'd be raining soon.

"Ya and I found interesting stuff in the report."

"Asphyxiation?" I sarcastically asked.

"The vents were tampered with, but it showed that maintenance on the car was done a couple weeks ago." I snapped my head in his direction. "I personally went and questioned the mechanic, but they did a full maintenance check and none of the vents were malfunctioning. Also, the door was locked, so he couldn't get out. It was tampered with. The engine was assessed as well and normally it'd take at least an hour for the effects to be felt, but this was almost instant. The carbon monoxide was flowing at an abnormally high rate and-"

"He was murdered is what you're saying." I stared at him.

"I think it was a setup." He slowly spoke.

"You're saying..." I stoped and scoffed. "Someone killed my dad." I harshly spoke.

"I don't know for certain, but it seems a bit fishy." He handed me the files. "I don't think his death was accidental."

"Matthew." I sat on my bed and stared at the wall. "You better fact check yourself because you're about to open a world into violence." I allowed my eyes to glow while I glared at him. "Are you willing to make a mistake?" I asked with an edge to my voice.

"I had Jade and Zayn independently look at the case. They didn't know who it concerned. Just the details."

"What did they say?" I felt my teeth grinding.

"Unnatural." I stood at his words. "You have full access to me, Zayn, and Jade. We will assist in whatever means you need."

"I want full access to every fucking file the CIA has."

"Granted." He tossed me a badge that I caught without looking. "I'd keep it private from your mother and siblings. It's an investigation that's emotional and-"

"You forget that I'm an agent." My face took on a stoic look. "And the very best."

"Thought you were a former agent." He smirked.

"Not when it concerns my family." I stood. "I'm gonna find this asshole."

"I'm right here if you need me." Matt nodded before leaving my room.

It took me a few more minutes to compose myself. I lifted my head and looked out the window and caught Lara's eyes. I figured she'd hear everything. Zena was running around while Yeira chased her with a worm.

I didn't need to say anything. Lara could tell what I was thinking just by looking at me. She nodded at me and then told Yeira to stop. Yeira whined, but it began drizzling. The three of them then headed back inside. I walked to my vanity and picked up a picture of me and my step-dad. I'll avenge you, dad. I promise.