Can You Keep A Secret?

12. Iris

In the early hours of the morning, long before the start of school, I would always find myself in my studio. It was a space that my mother had rented for me, conveniently located next to the building of her company office. I couldn't sleep tonight, my mind racing with the knowledge that the police were asking questions about Sylvie, thanks to my mother's connections. Instead of going straight to school, I packed my things and sought refuge in the studio, where I could lose myself in my creative pursuits.

As my fingers deftly sketched the intricate details of the garment I had been working on for weeks, I heard a knock at the door. I knew for a fact it was probably Kai, who had asked us to meet directly where no one could spy on us. And that was not the house. I dropped my pencil as I walked towards the door, peeking through the peephole and seeing him waiting with the same cold, unreadable expression I had already grown accustomed to. I let him in, making sure that the curtains blocked out any unwanted attention from the outside world.

Kai closed the door behind him and took a seat on the couch. "What do you have?" I asked, getting straight to the point. A usual habit we had since the both of us weren't really that interested with each other and our well-being. We were simply ‘business partners.’

"I couldn't dig into the people you wanted me to," he says, his tone unwavering as he looks me straight in the eye, affirming his words. I furrow my brow in confusion. Clearly not understanding.
"What do you mean, you couldn't?" I demand, my spider sense spiking up.
"That information is sealed," he declares. But sealed by who? If Ava could access it within minutes, why couldn't he? And what were they trying to protect by sealing the file? We all knew Serena's parents were victims of the Night Crawler, so that couldn't be the reason.
But it wasn't just Serena's case that was sealed. The notorious killer had also crossed paths with the Quinn family, yet their case was never locked up. There was definitely something fishy going on.

"What I can tell you is that you were right. Something is definitely going on," he confirms, pulling out a paper from his pocket and unfolding it in front of my face. Revealing a picture of Sylvie, no not a picture, a MISSING flier. "Isn't this your friend?" he asks, but I don't need him to tell me. I recognise her immediately and snatch the paper from his hand, my heart racing at the sight of my best friend's face.

"Where did you find this?" I request.
"It's all over BrookSville," he counters, crossing his arms. I don't waste any time as I send the picture to my group chat, knowing they would be just as concerned as I am if they ever saw this.
"What is everyone trying to hide?" I mumble to myself, my mind racing with questions. I had thought I could rely on Kai and his sources, but if he couldn't uncover anything, who could? The police were clueless and useless- they didn't have anything and had been focusing since the incident on driving in circles around BrookSville. The thoughts at the back of my head were right, I just choose to ignore them for far too long.

“What do you need to access those files?” I ask with a surge of decision. I was prepared to do anything I could to help Sylvie, to get at the bottom of the situation and bring her back home. Where she belonged.
"I need access to your family technology," he states.
"Cash isn't going to cut it?” I press on.
"If it were, don't you think I would have told you already?" His voice remains cool and detached. My parents' company is known for its advanced technology, and the computer Ava had used was produced by the family company- it was created especially to access private information. But gaining entry to it wasn't easy, especially for someone like me who knows little about tech.

"You're forgetting one thing, Kai. I don't know how to use advanced technology like that," I admit not feeling at all ashamed. I didn't know how to use the family technology, but there was still plenty of time for me to learn.
"You don't need to know how to use it. You just need to let me in," he responds as he looks at me dead in the eye. “Let me in as in… Break in?” When he doesn't give out more, I had already gotten my answer.