Sometimes, You Don't Need Enemies When Your People The Ones Messing You Up. When Loyalty's Just A Word & Envy's Runnin' The Show, The People Closest To You Can End Up Being The Biggest Letdowns. In The Streets Of New York, It's A Hard Ass Lesson' To Learn That The Real Drama Isn't Always From Outsiders But From Those Who Are Supposed To Ride With You.
- 𝒥uan Collins
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𝐈𝐋𝐋𝐌𝐀𝐓𝐈𝐂 𝐈 | VOLUME ONE. ❝ FAR FROM OVER. ❞ [ HARLEM, NY ]
FEW DAYS LATER...
The room was filled with a noticeable silence, as everyone tried their best to honor the moment by remaining quiet. Travis's house was packed; the news had deeply affected everyone connected to the family, so those who could come were there for Travis. Among them were detectives, present to question Travis about what had happened. Travis sat quietly on his large living room couch, lost in thought as he gazed at the family portrait on the wall—a picture of him and his father. It had always been just the two of them, ever since his mother left to start a new family with another man. The realization of his loneliness hit him hard, but when Jade gently placed her hand on his arm, he was reminded that he wasn't truly alone. As their eyes met, he felt a sense of comfort in her presence.
Angela, seated across from Shawn, exchanged a brief glance with him before returning to questioning Travis, who had chosen to remain silent. Shawn flipped to the next page of his notebook, tapping his pen against it, then looked back at Travis, whose eyes were fixed on Jade. Travis sat alone, but Jade's father, Anthony—an old associate of Travis's father—had shown up to offer his support and help answer questions. "Did your father ever act suspiciously or hint that something was wrong before his disappearance?" Shawn asked, breaking the silence in an attempt to get to the bottom of their theories. Travis sighed deeply, running his hand over his face before looking at them with a mix of hurt and anger. "Look, if I knew something, I would've told you. No, I—I wasn't home much before he disappeared, and neither was he. Now, could you please, give me a break," he replied, his voice tinged with exhaustion, pleading to be left alone.
Angela was beginning to feel increasingly sympathetic toward Travis and considered letting up on the questioning, especially as her pregnancy sickness was making her feel nauseous. She felt like she might throw up at any moment but knew she had to stay composed. However, Shawn wasn't about to back down. He was convinced that Sosa and his crew were involved, and he was just waiting for the right information to move forward with an arrest or at least an interrogation. "Listen, I'd love to give you some peace too," Shawn began, "but we need something to help us get to the bottom of this. We've gone through the documents and found that your father was planning to change some projects, possibly to build mansions instead. But those projects are heavily influenced by a dangerous individual named Sosa. We believe he had a motive to kill your father, but we don't have enough proof yet to confirm it or to suggest he hired someone else to do it." Shawn laid out the department's theory, and Travis felt a sharp pain in his heart at the thought that dangerous people might be involved in his father's death. Anthony, who was also present, knew exactly what they were talking about but had to feign ignorance. Angela, however, noticed a subtle reaction on Anthony's face—he looked guilty, as if he was hiding something.
