Syndicate

Chapter Two

Riding on her motorbike through Hollywood hills, Ren finally reached her destination. A modern compound of glass and white walls surrounded by trees and a pool overlooking the city skyline below. The man at the gate checked her ID and let her inside. The added security was there in case something went wrong with tonight's plan. But Ren believed it was also to help give the wife some extra peace of mind. The monster had finally been slain.

Another security man opened the front door for her, and Ren stepped into the large foyer. It was always a culture shock when she came there. Being was raised in Japan, especially around traditional wooden Japanese houses, when Ren saw sterile grand homes like this, with their blinding bright lights, glass walls and hard stone floors, it made her homesick.

A tall, older man appeared, he walked over and shook her hand firmly. It was the client's father, Mr. Kingsly.

"Thank you again, for everything. You and your company have done an outstanding job," he said.

"Thank you," Ren replied. "How is she doing?"

Mr. Kingsly's eyes looked away and turned towards the other side of the room. The open planned living and dinning room opened out on to a large balcony overlooking the valley below. The windows were open, the smell of the spring night's breeze drifting through the house. There on the balcony were two women. One holding the other.

"I should have seen it," Mr. Kingsly said softly, his voice thick with restrained emotion. "What he was doing. Why didn't I see it?"

Ren didn't answer. It was not something anyone could help ease for him. A father will always feel guilty about blessing an abusive marriage, or so Ren believed. Instead, she reached into her backpack and pulled out the last sealed file. Another man, the family lawyer, who was stood to the side of them saw this and came forward.

"That is everything I have collected. Both digital and paper copies. Your daughter requested all evidence of her personal abuse to be sent to the LAPD also, not just the embezzlement evidence. She wants to push for assault and attempted murder as well," Ren explained softly.

The father nodded, unable to take his tearing eyes off the figures of his wife and daughter, "We convinced her to. We think it will help her recover. To see him punished for all this."

Ren handed the paperwork over to the family lawyer. Soft footsteps approached. Heels on marble floors. The mother walked up to them, eyes swollen and red.

"She would like to speak to you," the mother said to Ren, her voice quivering, she was quickly held by her husband.

Ren nodded and walked over. Stepping out into the night, Ren took in a lung full of warm California night air. Letting the tension of the case slowly slip away. The wife, Julie, was leaning against the glass railing. Her leg and arm still in cast, not to mention the swelling and discoloration of her eyes and jaw. Ren leaned against the glass next to her, looking out to the city below.

"I can't believe it is over," Julie said, her voice firm and resolute.

"He will be locked away for a very long time," Ren nodded. "He can't hurt you or anyone else now."

Julie nodded but didn't move her gaze away from the city.

"I hate everything here. Everywhere I look I see him. Smirking. Laughing at me. Hurting me. The house I grew up in and loved, turned into my personal hell. He took everything I gave him willingly and obliterated it with hate and pain. With fear. I am going to sell this place, once everything is over. My family understand, they practically packed my bags for me this evening. I want this house to be demolished so that every little memory of what happened here turns to dust."