The Lost Legacy

10. The Weight of the Loss

Third person's pov :

Caci, Liam, and Aida sat in a small circle on the living room floor, the tension between them almost tangible. Caci fidgeted, running her fingers through her hair, while Aida crossed her arms, her brows furrowed in concentration. Liam's gaze flickered between the two, concern etched on his face.

"So, what do we do?" Aida broke the silence, her voice firm but tinged with unease. "We can't just let this go. Whoever called knows something, and they're trying to scare us off."

Liam sighed, shaking his head. "That's exactly why we need to be careful. This isn't just some prank, Aida. Whoever it was, they're serious, and they're watching us."

Caci's eyes flashed. "You're saying we should back down? After everything we've learned?"

Liam's tone was calm but firm. "I'm saying we need to think before we act. You heard what they said, Caci. They know about us. If we go charging into this without knowing who we're up against, we could be walking into a trap."

"Or we could be walking into the truth!" Aida countered, her eyes alight with determination. "They wouldn't threaten us unless there was something big they wanted to hide. And maybe that's exactly what we need to find."

Caci nodded, her resolve unwavering. "I agree. I'm not stopping now. This is about my—dad. I can't just sit back and do nothing."

Liam clenched his jaw, the tension between them rising. "Caci, think about what you're saying. You don't even know who these people are. If they know about us, they could do anything. We need to gather more information, not run headfirst into danger."

Caci's voice wavered, frustration and emotion mixing in her eyes. "I have to do this, Liam. After knowing everything that has happened, you should know this!"

Liam's face darkened, and he raised his voice, cutting her off. "Your dad is dead, Caci! You can't bring him back by rushing into something that could get you killed!" His eyes were wide, desperation creeping into his tone. "To give him justice, you have to stay alive. If you keep acting rashly, I can't—" He paused, his voice dropping. "I can't take it if anything happens to you."

Caci blinked, momentarily stunned by his outburst. "Liam, I—"

"No, listen," Liam continued, his voice shaking with intensity. "Think about the people who are still here—Aida, me, Ambrose. We're all here, Caci. What are we supposed to do if something happens to you? How are we supposed to feel?"

The weight of his words hit her like a tidal wave. She felt her resolve crumble, the guilt and grief she had buried for days finally surfacing.

"I was so selfish thinking about my dad hiding the truth, I never reacted—" She paused, swallowing back her tears. "I didn't even think about him, the father I never knew. I didn't even once think about his death or my mom who did nothing and had to sacrifice her life for her love—"

Her vision blurred as tears filled her eyes, and she collapsed into Liam's arms, the sobs escaping her as she let go of everything she had been holding back. "I—I couldn't react before... I tried to be strong, but I can't anymore. It's too much. I can't believe they are gone."

Liam wrapped his arms around her, his anger melting into sadness as he held her close. "It's okay," he murmured, his voice softer now. "It's okay to break down. It's okay to feel this way. You don't have to hold it all in."

Aida moved closer, wrapping her arms around both of them. "You're not alone, Caci. You don't have to carry this weight by yourself." She pulled back slightly, looking into Caci's eyes. "You're stronger than you know, and it's okay to grieve. We're here for you."

Caci sniffled, leaning into Aida's embrace. "I just—I feel like I've done nothing. Like I failed them."

"No, you haven't," Liam said firmly, gently lifting her chin so she could meet his gaze. "You're doing everything you can. And you're right—this is about finding the truth for him. But we have to be smart about it. We can't let them scare us into making mistakes."

Aida nodded. "Liam's right. If we're going to figure out what's really going on, we have to stay calm and careful. We'll look into the call, find out who's behind it. But we do it together, and we do it smart."

Caci took a deep breath, wiping her eyes. "You're both right. I just... I needed to let it out." She managed a small, grateful smile at them. "Thank you."

Liam squeezed her hand. "We'll get through this. But we do it one step at a time."

Caci straightened, a hint of determination returning to her eyes. "Okay. First, we find out everything we can about that call. If they know about us, then they're following us closely. We need to figure out who they are and why they're so desperate to keep us away."

Aida grinned, her usual spark back. "Now that's the Caci I know."

They exchanged a glance, a silent agreement passing between them: they had a job to do, and they would do it right.

Liam pulled out his laptop while Aida grabbed the notepad where she had scribbled down the phone number. "We'll start by running the number through our contacts," Liam said, fingers flying across the keyboard. "Maybe we can track its origin."

Caci nodded, pacing the room as she tried to push her emotions aside. "Let's see if we can find out who's behind this."

They spent the next few hours reaching out to various people in their network—colleagues, fellow journalists, and tech experts they had crossed paths with. The trio had built quite a reputation over the years, and now they called in every favor they could. Each call was filled with questions about tracing the number or hacking into phone records. Still, each time, the answer came back the same.

Aida threw her pen down in frustration. "It's a burner phone. No registration details, no way to trace the location. Whoever's behind this knows how to cover their tracks."

Caci's shoulders slumped for a moment, but then she straightened, a glimmer of determination still in her eyes. "We can't give up. There has to be something we're missing."

"What if we track the cell towers it pinged off of before the call disconnected?" Caci suggested.

Liam and Aida exchanged hopeful looks. "Could that work?" Caci asked, leaning over to see the screen.

Liam shrugged. "It's a long shot, but if we can pinpoint the towers used, we might narrow down the general area where the call originated."

It took some time, and they faced several dead ends before a breakthrough. One of Liam's tech-savvy contacts managed to get them a rough idea of the cell towers that had connected to the phone during the call. The signal seemed to have bounced between three towers—each located in a different part of the city. It wasn't exact, but it was something.

"The towers create a triangular area," Liam said, pointing to the digital map on his screen. "It's not a precise location, but it's a start."

Suddenly, Caci's phone buzzed. She hesitated before answering, putting the call on speaker. The voice from earlier crackled through, calm but insistent.

"I know you're looking for me right now. There's no need for that. I would like to meet you. Don't be afraid; I'm not a bad person. I won't hurt you. In fact, I told you to stop investigating to protect you. You don't have to believe me, and I can't say more over the phone, but if you do believe me, come to this location. You can bring your friends along."

The call ended abruptly, leaving the trio staring at each other, their hearts racing.

"Well," Aida said, eyes wide. "What do we do now?"