The Window

66 Hours After...

I fiddled with the keypad of my laptop as I tried to compose the week's progress report. It was clear that my focus had deserted me for the night. However, I was mildly afraid of what spine chilling nightmares my subconscious would cook up this time round, once I shut my eyes.

Manik had left almost an hour ago. However, his words about the utterly tragic and horrifying trials he'd faced in his life were very deeply etched in my memory. They wouldn't be going away any time soon, even if I willed them to.

What kind of husband murders his own wife so brutally?!

What kind of father abuses his own flesh and blood?!

These were the questions preying on my mind constantly. The tragedy was, I had no answer to them.

Destiny had clearly dealt Manik a poor deck.

Could Manik really be blamed for the path that he'd chosen?

Would he be able to quit this life, as he wanted?

Would he find redemption eventually?

I snapped my laptop shut in frustration as I made yet another typo while composing the mail.

I tried to distract myself by looking at my phone. I pressed the push notification from the news application I'd installed on it. It had been many days since I'd last read about the stock market and the share prices of some of our clients. Perhaps, it was time to get an update on the subject.

However as soon as the video began playing, I froze in my chair.

"More news about the rapidly increasing missing person's cases in the city. An exciting new detail's been uncovered about the latest victim-Luna Chan. Sources report that she's an employee of Wang Enterprises. Interestingly enough, the industrial empire has been in the headlines for quite a while now, due to the alleged assassination of its owner, Eric Wang. The corporation has definitely taken a beating in stock prices in the last few weeks, and the shareholders have been struck with panic. Are we heading for a financial meltdown once again? Stay with us for more updates. In the meantime, Miss Chan's sister makes a plea to the public..."

I was about to shut the pop up when an oddly familiar face appeared on my cell phone screen. She had distress written all over her features and a voice laced with genuine worry and pain.

"My sister Luna...she's been missing for the last forty-eight hours. She's five foot-seven, Asian, has bright black hair, and a scar on her left arm. Please call the number flashing on the screen if you-"

That did it for me. I could no longer watch her desperation.

I locked my phone and threw it on the desk before I took any rash steps. A large part of me just wanted to call the number and come clean to the family. Psychotic or not...Luna did deserve a proper burial. Moreover, her sister deserved some form of closure...

I squeezed my eyes shut as I rubbed my temples to calm myself. Coming clean wasn't an option...

Manik and I had worked too hard to cover it all up. I couldn't let my conscience get in the way now. The web of lies had already been spread too far!

I just hoped that destroying Tremblay's tablet would rid us of the mess altogether...

A faint melody in the distance caught my ears as I rubbed my forehead. I stood up from the desk and pulled the curtains of the window aside.

I took a deep breath before I started to unlock the window. I was rather apprehensive about opening it up once again at night. It was the very action that had turned my life upside down.