The Fate in your Eyes

Chapter 21 - The Photo

The flickering of the lamp only dimly lit the room as the two men sat down at the table in silence. "And...are you quite sure...that you saw her...?" said one of them, running his hand through his dark blonde hair, his middle parting looking chaotic and uncombed. "Yes, Xiao...I saw it with my own eyes and heard it with my own ears...She talks to him on the phone every evening! Every damn evening! And then...then she meets up with him! I don't understand it," shouted the other man, upset, shaking his head. He put the beer down on the wooden table in front of them and put his thumb to his chin. "She's cheating on me, I swear to you, Xiao...I'm just too cowardly...to prove it. If I could, I'd drive there right away and probably catch her in bed...but I can't," said the police officer and sighed.

"Juan," said his friend cautiously. "What if it's not like that? I understand you, and I can understand how you feel...but maybe you should find out before you make a decision. Just talk to her," Xiao suggested, putting a hand on his friend's back. Juan stared grimly into the glass. "She won't tell me. Don't you understand? She'll tell me a lie, like she always

does! Shit, she's expecting a child! What if...what if..." Juan paused, massaging his temples as he slammed his glasses on the table. The beer spilled over and formed yellow puddles.

"What if this child isn't mine, damn it!" he was close to tears. "No, I don't think so, absolutely not. She would never give birth to a child from her, Juan. You really have to talk to her. Let me come with you," Xiao tried to somehow convince his friend, but it was not possible - Juan had already chosen the worst option. "No, no, it's fine...I thank you so much for your support...but," Juan laughed quietly. "I'll follow her tomorrow and then confront him and her. I'll bring the truth to light...however painful it may be. Because I can't do anything else, you understand? I can't live without the truth! Not in an eternal lie!" Juan had stood up and grabbed his jacket.

"I'll tell you about it tomorrow. And until then..." Juan opened the door, "...I want to be alone for a while." With these words, Juan disappeared from the small room, leaving behind an unimaginable, terrible silence.

***

Lu and Luana entered the room where Cheng and Hung were already, and the officer entered behind them after briefly speaking to the other two officers who were standing guard outside the room. Hung had brought Cheng something to eat and now everyone could exchange the latest findings. Luana reported on Min Guan's funeral, but also how her parents and

Juan Wu had thrown her out. Cheng looked grimly at his friends. "That doesn't sound very successful... do we know what this Juan Wu wants? I mean... what could his possible goal be?"

The platinum-blonde boy sat up. Xiao Lee sighed. "To be honest, I don't know. I can't imagine that Juan would represent a murderer for money... but maybe he would. He has changed a lot since his wife died. I have the feeling that he will try to stop the investigation by any means possible," the officer threw himself dejectedly onto his chair. "Damn, if he represents Min Guan in court, it will be really difficult for us. Our evidence is dwindling immediately - what kind of damn case is this?" Xiao felt a throbbing headache coming on. "What do we do now?" Hung wanted to know and handed his boss a coffee mug. "Thanks, Hung. Well, we have one last piece of evidence left... It's Min Guan's cell phone. It's completely broken... but could one of you two be using your strange powers?" Xiao pointed at Lu and Cheng. "Well... I could try to find out if I can see anything. Maybe a vision..." Cheng seemed pessimistic. "Better than nothing. Come on, where's the cell phone?" Lu wanted to know excitedly. Hung took it out of a pocket. While the officer rummaged around, Cheng straightened his blanket.

"Be careful though, OK? I mean your wound is only just healing... and we don't know how the powers can affect your body," said Luana worriedly and took Cheng's hand. "I'm just taking a quick look, I'm not going to die," sighed Cheng. "I'll be damned if I don't survive another heart attack," joked Lu