[The Wattys 2021 Shortlisted Finalist]
One case, two detectives, three friends, and a thousand emotions.
Sometimes nothing is a coincidence, but then again, everything is.
After the mysterious deaths of Amyra Valdez's eldest Uncle followed by her...
Why did he even come so close if this was his intention from the beginning? Why did I ever fall for him...
My mind was submerged in a sea of Why's, the answers to which my heart didn't have. Fate had played a really nasty game with me. Or more like, Kelvin did.
"Amy, what are you thinking of doing?" Jonas asked in a dejected voice.
He surely hadn't expected the letter to be blank either.
"I don't know," I exhaled.
I honestly didn't know what I intended on doing. I just knew that I had to go to the Valdez office building right now.
"But I won't be at peace until I get my answers from him," I added.
"Are you handing Xav Bro over-?" Jonas muttered in apprehension.
"He gets what he deserves."
Even though I managed to say that in a non-broken tone, only I knew how my heart hurt as I said it.
"I'm going to end it today."
That was the last thing I said before both of us went silent for the rest of the journey. Time seemed to have frozen, even though Jonas swished the car at the maximum limit possible.
Weird, isn't it- how time flies away so quickly when you want to snatch every second of it, and how it crawls like a snail when you just want it to pass away?
The clock highlighted that the journey took only two and a half hours though, the fastest till now. Yet, it felt so long. Longer than ever.
"Is it just me, or does the building seem empty to you as well?" I asked Jonas in a whisper.
The office appeared deserted just like last night through the hazy window glass of the car. The first few droplets of cloudburst had blurred the view. Tumultuous, ragged clouds backdropped the ominous edifice, giving out a worse vibe if anything.
"It's Thanksgiving today, Amy," Jonas apprised. "Government holiday."
Thanksgiving... I should be thanking them for giving me such a nice shock. Uncle Josh and Kelvin had chosen a nice day indeed.
My eyes fell on Kelvin's bike; it was parked in front of the building. He must be inside.
Jonas parked the car next to Kelvin's bike. The sinister clouds drenched us in rain pellets as we advanced towards the building. Just a few steps from the threshold, Jonas halted momentarily with a sudden beep in his watch. He peered sideways and then up. I looked up as well to check where his gaze was. There wasn't anything out of the blue, no sign of Kelvin or Uncle Josh either.
"What happened?" I asked in bafflement.
"Um-nothing," he replied, glancing back at his watch.
"Let's go," he murmured.
We sneaked into the hushed building and took the stairs, with me taking the lead. Pin drop silence on the first floor. It was the management department. Uncle Josh's chamber was on the fourth floor. Both of us maintained the silence as we passed the second floor. And then the third.
"June," I breathed, not hearing his voice for a long time.
"June," I repeated a second later when no reply came.
I was so preoccupied in examining the floors as we went up that I hadn't bothered to look at him even once in the process. Wasn't he with me?
I turned around to check. To my utter dismay, he wasn't there. His unexpected disappearance made my blood run cold.
Where was he?
I peeked downstairs to check if he was there. When I saw no sign of him, I prepared to descend down in his search but got alerted by a sudden sound coming from upstairs. I bent down carefully like a flash to avoid giving away my presence and watched the floor above me covertly.
Uncle Josh came out of his chamber and pressed the elevator key.
Was he leaving?
The elevator door closed swiftly as he got inside, and the radiant red reading at the top changed from "4" to "5".
He had gone to the fifth floor.
I crept to the fourth floor to check if Kelvin was there. There was no one in the room, but Uncle Josh wouldn't be alone here obviously.
If he left the room alone, then where was Kelvin?
The sound of approaching footsteps resounded in the background. Someone was coming here.
I was spooked to death as the faint footsteps grew louder. I just hoped it was June.
I somehow summoned up the courage to inch my head sideways to see who it was.
It was Kelvin.
He stared at me with a kind of emotion in his eyes which I couldn't decipher. I didn't want to either. I was not going to fall for any of it, again.
"Want to kill me?" I blurted in agony.
It wasn't the time to remain quiet.
"-Again," I added through my clenched teeth.
He didn't reply.
His silence was fueling the burning inferno inside me even more.
"How could you-!"
I attempted to roar in full rage, but I was forcefully muted as he clasped my mouth and shoved me against the wall.
"Leave me-" I tried to howl, putting my best to kick against his action.
I knew I couldn't retaliate no matter how hard I tried. He was too strong for me.
"Shush," he hushed me down.
But it wasn't like the previous time he had shushed me down, this one was emotionless.
We were so close now; the fact that we were breathing the same air scared me. I hated being this close with him.
A lone tear rolled down my cheeks as I noticed similar droplets welling up in his eyes. Or maybe it was just the deception of my eyes because not a fraction of a single drop came out from his.
His gaze shifted towards the door for a split second. I tried to glance sideways to check what he was looking at when I felt a cold metal against my forehead.
I seriously wasn't prepared for this.
Kelvin had pointed a gun at my forehead.
"Wow," a spiteful voice echoed in my ears from behind. "What a scene!"
The voice broke out into distinct laughter.
It didn't require a look to confirm that it was Uncle Josh.
Oops! This image does not follow our content guidelines. To continue publishing, please remove it or upload a different image.
Please don't forget to vote, comment, and share if you enjoyed reading this chapter!
