If She Knew

Chapter-4

"How so?" Jonas asked.

"That's my room. I was supposed to sleep there, but by chance Sierra slept there today and got attacked instead," I answered, not wanting to believe what I was saying.

"She's just two years younger than me, so it's kind of difficult to differentiate between us," I added.

Jonas didn't seem to disbelieve my explanation.

"Makes sense," he affirmed.

"The reports from the veterinary hospital," he said, taking out a small file from his backpack.

I took the file from him, but I didn't have to read it because he already answered for me.

"The milk had cyanide mixed with it."

My eyes widened to such an extent at that statement that I could actually feel the pressure on my suspensory ligaments.

"The milk was for me too," I murmured.

"Hmmm, there seems to be some serious planning going on for killing you."

Bruno had just licked a few drops and survived by a mere chance. I didn't want to think what would have happened if I had drunk all of it, or what would have happened if I had slept in my room today. My heart seemed to try its best at fighting its way out of my ribcage. My own house was a dangerous place for me now. Even the word dangerous appeared like an understatement.

"So it comes down to that-" Jonas concluded, "-after seeing your name on the will, someone from your family has been on the operation of killing you to gain the right to the family property."

"More precisely, that someone is the mastermind behind the previous murders," he added.

I didn't know how to react to that. I knew that was the truth no matter how unwilling my heart was to accept it. I wanted to cry, but even tears were not coming out of my eyes this time, maybe because they had been suppressed by the weight of the hatred I felt towards my own family at that point in time.

I had to be strong. Strong enough to survive while someone out in this house was putting their best in making my survival impossible. I didn't want to die, at least not before avenging my father and uncle's deaths. I had to find out who was planning all these.

"Jonas!" I exclaimed all too suddenly. "Take me away from here, please."

"Wait what do you mean? Take you where?" he asked in undisguised bafflement.

"I don't know, anywhere," I almost begged. "Just somewhere away from this house."

"Miss Amyra, you know that I can't-"

"You might find my corpse in this house a few days later if I stay here any longer," I spluttered in horror, not being able to control the overflow of my emotions.

"I have nowhere to go, you know," I continued without letting him speak. "I can't even call the cops, my uncles will somehow handle the matter, and I lost connection with my mom's family a long time back."

"You're a detective Jonas, and you're the only person I've come to trust a little recently-" my voice broke at the end thinking how helpless I was at that moment for the only person I could trust was a stranger.

Jonas gave me a deep stare without saying anything. I could see his eyes filling in with pity for me. I didn't want to be pitied, but what else could I expect now?

"You can save me. You're my only hope, Jonas," I added as a conclusion before waiting for his answer.

He considered for a while.

"Be ready with your belongings at 8 am in the morning, I'll see what I can do," he answered to my relief.

"Let's go now, or else people will start to suspect."

I nodded and left the room first. When I approached my room, I could hear Uncle Josh's yells. He was bellowing something like "How could such a thing happen under your nose!" to Mr. Xaviers. It was obvious for him to lose his temper after the attack on his dear daughter. I peered into the room to have a look. Uncle Nick wasn't there. He wasn't even in the other room. Where was he?

I thought of having a last check on Sierra, so I made my way to her room. When I came back, my room was empty. I flopped down on my bed, pondering over the hundreds of questions that were running through my mind. Who could have mixed the cyanide in my milk? It had to be someone from the house. Sebastian brought me the milk, was it him? No, why would he try to kill me... I shifted to the next thought. Who could have tried to attack me in my room? Someone inside the house couldn't have possibly attacked through the balcony...The two incidents kind of contradicted each other, and that gave rise to the biggest mystery. If someone inside the house had mixed the cyanide, and someone outside the house had attacked Sierra, then was the criminal more than one person? Or was a hitman hired for the work? Was it the same person who had murdered Uncle Dave and Pappa, or was it someone else? I didn't have any proof that their deaths were murder in the first place though. But all these connecting events couldn't be a coincidence after all. I shook my head as if attempting to brush off these questions from my mind when another popped in. Could it be Brian who attacked Sierra? He wasn't in the house. Maybe he believed that I had murdered his father and my own after seeing my name on the will, and that's why attempted to kill me for revenge? But wouldn't Sierra have recognized it if it was him? Or would she? Well, she said that she couldn't see anything clearly...

I strained to stop my mind from thinking any further, and took a glance at the clock to distract myself; it was 6 am. There was no time for sleeping, I had to pack my stuff. I took an oversized leather backpack and put in a few sets of clothes, two packets of Bruno's treats, a few daily necessities like my charger and power bank. Last but not the least, I took some cash that I had saved in my piggy bank over all these years, although I also kept Pappa's credit card as a backup. What was left?

Oh wait, how can I forget the will? I grabbed the will of my father that I had safely secured in my closet after retrieving it from the hall room, and placed it inside the secret chamber of the backpack.

What else? My locket. I fumbled across my neck and sighed in relief when I found it. It was a heart-shaped locket which revealed my mom and dad's picture when opened. That was the most precious thing I had. I looked at their picture one last time while whispering, "Stay with me in the big step I'm about to take."

Was I making the right decision by placing my trust in someone who was no less than a stranger to me? Could I actually trust Jonas that much?

Well, I didn't see any other great option at that moment to save my life.

When the clock ticked to 8, I got up with my bag pack on my shoulder, and Bruno ready at my heels, as if he already knew what to do. He was a smart pet. He got really weak after last day's incident though.

I turned to the mirror and stared at my reflection for a while. I was wearing a t-shirt with full-length denim overall on top. My face was paler than ever even though my ocean blue eyes still had the same spark in them.

Before leaving, I took one last glimpse of my room that I wouldn't be seeing for how long I didn't know.

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