Shadows of Deceit

Chapter 4: into the Rabbit hole

Scott walked outside seeing the family has broke into another fight “not again...” Scott shook his head, it felt like the entire house was going to explode. As he observed the chaos unfolding before him, he realized that he needed to take control of the situation. He took a deep breath and spoke up, his voice cutting through the noise. "Everyone, please calm down," he urged. "We need to come together and find a solution. It won't be easy, but we can get through this if we work together and support each other. Atleast do it for Charles… If Any of you care about him”

“of course we care, no I care! I'm his brother.”

“you literally like your brother because he filled your ass with money”

“Oh shut the hell your mouth.”

“make me.”

Carter and Joseph were arguing once again, for the hundredth time that day. They were in each other's faces like two bulls, Cooper and his wife Rose had to separate the two grown kids and lecture them.

“I didn't realize I was walking into a live episode of Tex and Jinx when I came to visit, but at least I didn't have to buy a ticket.” Scott said, turning his head to look for Matthew, who was nowhere to be seen. “Mathew?” Scott wandered the halls in search of his friend until he heard a feminine chuckle coming from the kitchen. It wasn't Mathew, though - instead, there stood an unknown woman next to Matthew, who was leaning against the counter. She was chuckling quietly at something unfunny Matthew had said. Scott didn't recognize the woman, but Mathew seemed to know her.

“Oh Scott, this is Anne Scott…. Nah fate is playing with us”

“coincidence? I think not” Anne joked as Mathew giggled boyishly at her, they both giggled at their cringe jokes. Ahh love… like a pot and its lid, Matthew and Anne fit perfectly together, can you imagine their kids? I don't think they'll make it that far.

Scott chuckled nervously, attempting to be polite. "It's nice to meet you Anne. I assume you're a friend of the family?"

Anne replied, "I'm a friend of Charles. We weren't very close, but I heard about his passing."

Matthew intervened, "Mrs. Anne came to offer her condolences."

Anne hesitated before clarifying, "Well, that's one reason I'm here. But I also came to retrieve something that belongs to me."

Scott raised an eyebrow in confusion. "You came to take something from here? Does that family know you're here? what could it be?"

Before he could ask any further questions, Anne read his mind and spoke, "I can't tell you what it is, and you mustn't tell anyone I was here."

Matthew was surprised by Anne's assertion. "With no respect at all, Anne, you can't give orders here. I'm the one in charge of the investigation into Charles's murder."

Unfazed, Anne responded, "I was merely asking respectfully. The family does know about me, but I didn't want to trouble them at this time."

“No we don't know you.” Rose walked in along with her husband, Cooper completely ignoring the presence of everyone and went to eat instead. “we don't know her, right honey?” Rose asked Cooper who was zoning in and out “hmm” he murmured. “who are you?” Rose questioned Anne's presence. "I'm Anne and I was just leaving," Anne walked out of the kitchen, leaving everyone confused.

"Who's she?" Rose demanded to know. As Matthew explained the situation, now Cooper listened attentively, expressing concern as he defended his right to be involved. Rose gave an exaggerated eyeroll, showcasing her displeasure with the situation, as she walked and filled a glass with water. "I thought this kind of thing had finally stopped," Cooper interjected.

“What thing?”Scott asked.

“every once in a while, almost everytime something happens here, paparazzi just sneak in and pretend to be part of the Cleaning workers”

“Have you taken legal action against them?” Matthew questioned.

“we did and we also fired all of the Cleaning workers, we kept, according to Charles, the most trusted ones” Cooper explained “every goddamn time…”

"There's always something going on here that we don't know about... But it's none of our business, Cooper." Rose interjected with a hint if sarcasm.

"Of course it concerns me. I've spent years here with Charles. I was more of a brother than Joseph ever was And you're asking me to not be concerned?" Cooper replied not getting what his wife was hitting at.

"I'm not saying that! Why do you always misinterpret everything I say?" Rose's voice started to raise as she became more defensive. Seeing how heated the argument got, Scott decided to interrupt.

"You were close with Charles, Mr. Hill?" Scott directed his question to Cooper Hill.

"Inseparable, like brothers," he replied. "Yet my wife here thinks it's not my business to be concerned or wor-"

"Unbelievable!" Rose snapped, her voice laced with anger and frustration as she harshly stamped her foot. Her eyes blazed with fury, and her expression revealed her mounting frustration as they broke into another argument.

“what's the issue here? Mr. Hill, I'm sure Mrs. Rose didn't mean to dismiss your concerns," Scott interjected, trying to diffuse the tension. "It's understandable that you would be worried about Charles, given your close relationship with him. Let's try to focus on finding out more about this woman, and why she was here. It might help us understand what's going on."

Cooper took a deep breath, his anger subsiding slightly. "You're right, Scott. We need to figure out who Anne is and what she wants. It's strange that she claims to know Charles but none of us have ever heard of her before. Let's not jump to conclusions, but let's also not dismiss her presence here."

Rose nodded, her expression softening. "I apologize, Cooper. I didn't mean to disregard your feelings. Let's gather more information and see if we can piece it together. We owe it to Charles to find out the truth."

Scott nodded, relieved to see the tensions easing. "That's the spirit.”

Despite Rose's attempt to reach for her husband's hand, it was evident that there was a disconnect between them. While Rose displayed love and affection, Cooper's expression betrayed his true feelings of displeasure. It became clear that their earlier argument was not just a one-off occurrence. It was apparent that Cooper did not reciprocate his wife's love, although Rose seemed oblivious to this fact.

“talk about having short temper.” Scott expressed “everyone here is hotheaded” Scott expressed with displeasure after the couple have left.

“I told you this family was challenging” Mathew replied.

“so what do we do now? Are we allowed to start this investigation or would that make them mad too?” Scott questioned.

“nah let's not wait any longer, I'll gather any information we can get about Anne and you….?”

“I'll do what I do best, investigate”