Mystery Hunt (Complete - Under Major Editing)

31. A Promise

"We were very happy in the USA. We had loving parents, Noah and I grew up to be loving and caring. But the day of the fire, they acted weird. Somehow, they kept hinting or...I don't know signals...that they might die today...I can't describe that day clearly...." Dylan says quietly as James nods.

"The fire broke out and mom helped us to escape from the cellar. She went back inside to get dad but never came back. I was crying and shouting at Noah to let me go inside and save them but Noah went instead. He came back unconscious with another man carrying him, whose right side of the face was burnt. Something changed Noah from that day. He did not only come out with a scar. He came out with a lot of secrets."

"I remember that we were taken by this man whose face was burnt. He never mentioned his name but I think he was Harvey. I could hear a woman screaming his name and saying not to mess with the kid's lives. I think....it...was my mom...." James tries to console Dylan.

"That man never spoke to us. Within a week of the fire, we came to Deltora. Luckily, there was an orphanage that sheltered us till we came of our age. Noah got a job and I worked part-time, earning enough money to rent a place and then start our YouTube channel. Whenever we would run out of funds, William and Logan would help us saying their dad's money should be used for some good work."

"But it's funny," Dylan turns to James, "I don't have memories of my parents or the week after the fire with that Harvey guy. The only flashbacks I get are of the fire. Whenever I would pester Noah to tell me about it, he would say it was better for me to not remember those painful memories. But today, he himself....." Dylan's voice turns small.

James lifts his chin a little and pecks his forehead, "You were brave Dylan. And even brave people need some time-out."

"The reason why Noah reminded me of the fire was that he wanted to remind me that he is here to protect me. That's why he quoted mom's poem." Dylan thinks.

"Your mom was a poet? Now I understand where you get those genes." James jokes.

Dylan smiles widely, hiding his blush, "Yeah. But sadly I only remember that one." He pouts a little but James is there to cheer him up.

"Don't worry baby bear. Now that I am here, we will do everything that needs to be done." Dylan also nods with enthusiasm.

"What about you? Are you okay?" Dylan asks with concern in his eyes. He felt guilty about how he made a fuss over his problems when James's father had just died.

"Yeah. Kind of. I mean the emptiness will always be there. But I bet he doesn't want me to mourn." James smiles, indicating that he was genuinely fine.

"And the letter? What about that? And the death date? You seemed so confident about it on the phone." Dylan bombards him with questions and James just chuckles.

"Easy there petal, I'll answer all your questions."

FLASHBACK

"He was the one who gave you Big Sir's letter." The cook replies.

"Oh...that short guy? Anyways, just send me the details of the agency." James walks to his room.

"Yes, sir."

After getting the address, James goes to the agency to talk to them but no progress. They said they never even saw a person like that in their office. It was strange!

He came back home and started searching through his dad's room. Thankfully, it wasn't cleaned yet because James had ordered them. The 'so-called letter' that the butler had given him was a fake and he had to prove it. He knew that his dad would never keep anything important in his room or even in the house. It must be in his bank locker! But he had to find the keycard for the bank.