Hunted By The Silence

✧Part 30✧

✧𝓥𝓲𝓸𝓵𝓮𝓽 𝓟𝓞𝓥 ✧

There was a sourly sweet smile playing on Zurie's lips. "Well, happy endings do happen." Zurie's voice drifted through the air, her tone laced with a bittersweet edge. 

I balled up my fist, my knuckles turning white as I drew closer to Zurie, my face flushed with anger. My eyes were locked onto her, and a low growl rumbled from my throat as I started to speak. "You better shut up before I smack that stupid....."

But before I could finish, Álvaro stepped in, his voice cutting through the tension with a firm edge. He placed a steadying hand on my shoulder, his eyes meeting mine with a mix of urgency and calm. "She's not worth it. We need to get Sydney out of jail."

Alvaro's posture was as straight as a dull  sword, his jaw set with determination. People were still whispering like a swarm of angry bees.

Seeing your friend getting arrested is like watching a beautiful porcelain doll fall from a high shelf. You can't do anything, but watch as it tumbles in slow motion, knowing that something delicate and cherished is about to shatter. I watched as they led her out of the shop.

The fragile perfection, once admired, is suddenly DESTROYED

 I reached in my purse to get my phone. Then I saw  light red single Iris with a card taped to it. In my  purse

Since you've been so good, let me give you a view,
A heads up about what the future holds for you.

Things are getting darker, and doom's on the rise,

If you don't find that file where the secret lies,

In Sydney's room, in thirty or less,

Or you'll find yourself in a whole lot of mess.  

YOUR SHADOW

I looked around for someone suspicious....nothing. Sydney's arrest was perfect distraction.

Then I saw Branson. All jokes and pettiness aside. That man was having the roughest year of his life. Imagine your sister is in the ICU and your ex-girlfriend you broke up with  a day ago is accused of a hit and run.

Of your sister

He looked as if the weight of the world had suddenly landed on his shoulders, pressing them down with unspoken burdens. His face fell like a curtain in a theater, revealing the bleak emptiness behind the scenes.

He looked like a cow getting ready to be slaughtered, or a person who gambled away their fortune, or like he found out a family member was in the hospital... Maybe I went too far.

Long story short, he looked broken

Alvaro tapped me on the shoulder. "We have  to go." And like  Courage the Cowardly Dog, I bravely fled.

We escaped the store. We got in his car. People were still mumbling about the arrest. The town felt like a broken record, replaying the same shock.

Alvaro started to punch the steering wheel.

"Did you delete the video from Zurie's phone?" I vomited out

He started the car as he nodded "yes."

I leaned forward in my  seat. "Did you delete it from the backups?" My voice was sharp, cutting through the silence of the car.

"Better. I factory reset her phone. She lost everything."  He bit his lip. "But there were a lot of people in that store. I'm sure someone else  was recording it and I'm sure the press will be all over it. It is the mayor's daughter after all."