Riley, a college student, has a slight crush on a stranger she saw at the food joint. The stranger turns out to be a dance teacher Ryan Higa, who is her senior.
Chemistry ignites in the dance practice and sparks of misunderstanding began to fly. Th...
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I was shocked that a pendrive had been hidden all along in that pretty locket. Did Ryan want to convey his truth secretly? I looked through the bags to find his laptop. But it seemed to be a new one. It had an already installed security system. Set up a retina scan? What is all this about?! I braced myself for the biggest shock if my life. It opened and I inserted the pendrive in the given slot. It got scanned and a folder opened up.
It had files on some known criminals which were wanted by Interpol. Why would he give me all of this? I scrolled past a known name. Rick. That son of b*tch! But it showed he was on the run. And that was the last update there was. And I found a word document next to it. I broke out in cold sweat and my hand started trembling. It showed a picture of Alan Peterson. Below it was a letter that started on a serious note. A stray tear left my eye as I read that if I received this pendrive meant he was no more in this world. I shut the laptop close. What was happening? My world turned upside down in a day! First Ryan and now Alan. What worse could happen than losing two people who cared for my safety and I could do nothing because I was dumb enough to notice it. I couldn't hold it in anymore. I let my emotions pour and cried my heart out. It was beyond my comprehension, and I didn't realise when it all became blur.
I was woken up by a familiar sound. It was Cathy. She had a worried expression on her face. She heaved a sigh of relief as I opened my eyes. Cathy: Are you crazy? You know how scared I was, thinking that harmed yourself by locking the room? Me: My heart just felt heavy. I was crying and then.. Cathy: You fell asleep? You must be mentally exhausted. Come here.. (She hugged me tight) Now come to the table, let's have some dinner.
I was having a difficult time swallowing food down my throat because all of this seem unreal. First Ryan and then Alan. I mean that locket was in my pocket. And Ryan didn't have a clue about Alan! It means the message had reached me quite earlier. His last assignment. It had the meeting about Rick. Is Rick not who shows to people? Maybe I should have been vigilant at his level of boldness while trying to harm Ryan and me without any remorse. I left the dinner table and thanked Cathy but asked her that I needed sometime alone to compose myself. More like wake up to everything happening around me.
It was too late to ask anyone anything. I remembered keeping Ryan's diary in my bag. I know it's so unethical to open his diary without his consent but it is my only hope of figuring this mess out. I took a deep breath and started reading.
(The story in italics is the content of Ryan's diary. Each paragraphs are different excerpts from his writings.)
It was all hunky dory in his family with his mom and sister but things turned bad after he brought another kid. He didn't say it was an orphan because the kid shared alot of features with his father. My family shattered in that night. Mom hadn't stopped crying since yesterday and the puffy eyes were a clear indication of that. But as kids, it didn't feel different. My sister and I were busy trying to include him in our games. We had found a new friend. We gave him our cookies and he looked shy as well. I went in the kitchen to bring a glass of milk when I heard noises from my parents bedroom. Mom was angry at him and shouting. I have never seen mom angry :( She gave him an ultimatum, 'Its either your family or that boy'. Dad wouldn't really choose him, right? I heard footsteps coming near and I ran back outside. My father came outside and forced himself to smile saying that like mom takes care of us, he will take care of Kyle, that little boy. My sister didn't understand but it was nerve wrecking for me. Just when I thought we had a new member, the family broke. All because of Kyle.
I gave the milk and cookies to my little sister and she enjoyed eating. I slowly entered my mom's room and I saw her crying her heart out. I felt so helpless that I couldn't do anything to help her. She was hugging dad's uniform so tight. All if us still couldn't believe that dad left us. But we had no other choice.
I had no other choice but to study and pass the police services exam. I wanted to do good to people but most of all, I wanted to confront the man that ruined our lives.
The day I joined the police force. It was the day it all started.
To be continued...
A/N: Ryan's diary holds the secret to his past. Also, how are Ryan, Rick and Alan connected?
This is the end of Book 1. Am planning to write a sequel to this book.
The name of the sequel will be Riley and the Shadow Recruit
Book Cover:
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