STAY | COMPLETED ✓

CHAPTER 10

After I left the alley, I walked swiftly back to my car. I was struggling to get my keys out of my pocket because I was so concentrated in holding back my tears. Taking a deep breathe, I leaned on my car door and started counting down from ten to one. I was never an emotional person growing up so I wasn't able to control the growing emotions regarding this case. I was angry, I hated the fact that Amelia and Rose were disrespected for a long time. It wasn't fair.

Once I calmed myself down, I quietly got into my car and turned on the ignition. The first thing I needed to do was to go back to the office and get update regarding Carlos. As I was about to drive away, I sighted a car parked some meters away from mine.

' hmm, I wonder if this car has been parked for a while ' I thought to myself.

' There's one way to find out, right?' Ethan asked. When he replied my thoughts, I didn't feel scared that I heard another voice in my head. I felt calm.

Turning my car off, I stepped out and walked towards the parked car. On getting there, I touched the bonnet but there was no heat coming from it. That means it hasn't been turned on in a while.

' Take a picture of the car plate number and send it to the office. We'll be able to find the owner of the car ' Ethan told me.

' Hmm, makes sense. I'll do just that ' I decided.

Removing my phone from my pocket, I turned on the camera and took the picture of the car number. Immediately, I opened my messages with Reese and told him about the recent discovery.

Me: Found a parked car opposite the alley. I think the black box probably has recordings of the incident.
I texted. As I was waiting for his reply, I used my eyes to try a calculate the area the camera probably recorded.

Reese: This can bring new information. You got the car number right?

Me: Yeah just give me a sec. * Inserts picture* how long do you think it'll take to track the owner?

Reese: Not so long, maybe 15 minutes. You can head to the office so we wait together. Have you had breakfast?

Me: Just coffee this morning, You?

Reese: Not yet, let's meet at the restaurant beside the office then.

Me: Okay, I'm on my way.

  Going back into my car, I finally turned off the ignition and drove off with a glance at the alley. I needed to serve justice to Carlos soon.

When I got to the restaurant, I took my bag from the back seat, locked the doors and walked into the building. The ting of the bell announced my entry as I scanned through the room for Reese.
Once I found him, I walked towards his booth.

" Hey, you came early" I said as I sat opposite him.

" I was already around so I just decided to wait till I you got here" he replied closing the laptop in front of him."

" So what's the update on Carlos?" I asked going straight to business.

" Apparently, Carlos has been part of Antonio's inner circle for a while. They even went to the same high school it seems." Reese replied as a waiter stopped on our table.

" What can I get you this fine morning?" The waiter said smiling at us.

" I'd like a burger with fries please, no cheese" Reese replied looking at the menu then at me.

" Umm.. Chicken sandwich and fries please" I finalized.

" Any drinks?" He said writing our orders down.

" Milkshake and?" Reese stated looking at me.

" Apple juice" I said as I smiled at the waiter.

After he repeated our orders back to us, he excused himself and told us the food would be ready soon.

" So they've had a past then, we could conclude that they are friends right?" I asked tapping my fingers on the table.

" Not friends but let's say business acquaintances, Carlos has a shipping business and since we suspect that Antonio might be into drug trafficking, there might be a relationship between the two. That's all we have for now." He concluded.

" What of Rose?, How is she doing?" I asked looking at him.

" She was discharged early this morning and was put under witness protection so she should be fine " he replied.

  The beep for my phone cut the conversation short.
" Please excuse me " I said as I picked up the call.

" Hey T, what's up?" I greeted him.

" I'm good, just finalizing my packing. My flight to new york is by 8am tomorrow. How are you?" He asked.

" Just work stuff but I'm okay."

" Hope you've eaten something though?" he chuckled

" Yes T, I just ordered some food right now " I said smiling to myself.

" Good, pick me up tomorrow right?" He asked.

" Definitely" I replied.

" Love you" he said blowing kisses at me.

" Love you too" I said back, then hung up. As I dropped the phone back on the table, I saw the waiter coming towards us with our orders. After clearing the space in front of me, He dropped my order then dropped Reese's order in front of him. After saying thank you, we both digged into the food.

" Sorry for cutting the conversation short, my best friend called" I said taking a sip of my juice.

" It's okay, I'm sure it was an important call" he replied taking a bit of his burger.

" Yeah, it's his first time in New York tomorrow so he's nervous. I need to pick him from the airport tomorrow morning." I continued as I rose one sandwich to my mouth.

" That's nice, hopefully we're free tomorrow morning" he said as he continued eating.

" Don't you dare jinx it" I said squinting my eyes as I pointed my finger at him .

" Fine, fine. My bad" he replied chuckling as he continued eating.

After we both ate our food in silence, Reese offered to pay for the bill which I  declined. After his long talk on how he wanted to, I finally accepted and thanked him for the meal.

As we left the restaurant, Reese got a call from our IT specialist. After he excused himself, I stood close to the car as I waited for him. After some minutes, he walked back towards me with a sad face on.

" What's wrong?, Is everything okay?" I said meeting him half way.

" We found the owner of the car, and he agreed to send the recording of that day. It's not good Kai" he said looking sadly at me.

The ride to the office was a very quiet one. I was driving and Reese was at the passengers side, he didn't bring his car so I offered to drive us both. As I glanced at Reese, I noticed that he was just looking outside the window. Mentally I was trying to prepare myself for whatever I'd see but even if I prepared for years, I still wasn't ready. From Reese's words, the video was terrible.

Once we got to the office, we hurriedly entered the meeting room where we saw the rest of the team sitting. The tension was loud as everyone waiting for the video to play. I stood close to the entrance as the video started. We saw Amelia walking swiftly towards the entrance of the club. From her face, she looked nervous looking around like she expected someone to come out and hurt her. As she came out of the alley, we saw someone from the back hit her head with a plank as she dropped to the floor. The Animal which we discovered was Carlos' henchman dragged her back into the alley with her legs as Carlos walked after him. Carlos said something to the man and then bent down and said something to Amelia's hearing. When he was done, he walked back as his henchman kept on stepping on her. Everyone was so quiet as a tears dropped from my eyes. After continuous stamps, Carlos brought out a gun from his pocket and shot her five times. Then he left the alley with his henchman leaving Amelia dead in her blood. As the video ended, I ran towards the restroom. On getting there, my legs failed me as I dropped to the ground and cried.