The Migrated Hope

Chapter 7

April was very much determined to do something now. Her (supposedly) best friend had betrayed her. She silently remembered the incidents that had uncurled in the past few days and was humiliated thinking about how even Lily had a role to play. She wiped the last tear drop that came out of her eyes and took a deep breath. She stopped thinking about what had happened and wanted to learn what had happened to Daniel and if Mr. Scott was involved in it. She took out her smartphone and typed:

I need your help. A lot of things to be known.

She sent it to Mr. Sanderson, waited for a few minutes to get a reply. But when she didn't, she decided to call him. She was disappointed as the call got diverted to voice mail. She didn't want to tell anything, considering how Mr. Sanderson had warned her about how Mr. Scott has gotten ears everywhere. She cut the call and looked at the address of Daniel's firm and decided to go there. As she neared the building, from a distance she could tell that the building had no life inside it- like a body without a soul. Surrounding the building, there were yellow 'No Entry' tapes that were put up by the Police. There were also few 'Trespassers will be prosecuted' signs put up here and there. She ignored the signs and walked inside the building.

The lounge area was huge. The floor was covered in dust and some dead insects and trail of ants. In the center of the room there was a Reception area with a long table which was intricately designed with the firm's name curved out in the front. The desk, however, was a mess. Files, folders, pamphlets and posters were thrown haphazardly. The chairs were dusty and the wires connecting the computers were bitten by rodents. To the left side of the room, there was a beautiful glass room where designs of previously made furniture were displayed. On the other side of the room, there was a cafeteria for visitors and the staff. 

April continued to walk ahead. She wanted to go to Daniel's room which was in the third floor. His son had told her about it when she had called. She knew that the elevator would not be working and so, she decided to take the stairs. She climbed three floors quickly and came near Daniel's room. On the door, 'Daniel Clifford, C.E.O' was written. She held the dusty handle of the door and opened it. Surprisingly, the desk and the chair were comparatively clean as if someone had paid a visit recently. She looked around the room for clues that could help. She first opened the drawer of the table, but there were nothing but some stamps of the company and some letter heads. She then examined the shelf which was there in the left corner of the room. The first four rows in the shelf had files named 'Official' in the side. In the bottom row, there was one file named 'Personal'. She removed the file and browsed through the file but found nothing but some photographs of his  family. As she placed the file back, she noticed another file which was placed behind some files in the third row. She removed the file and it was written (Un)Official at the side. She realized that there were photographs and design sheets of furniture that was used in his house. One sheet, however, stood out in the file. She opened the sheet, only to be shocked to realize that it was a suicide note, with Daniel's sign in the bottom. 

However, she found the handwriting to be strange. While she was in the reception, she had seen through some of the files and some documents were handwritten, with Daniel's sign in the bottom. The handwriting there and the one here seemed very different. She took the note in her hand and decided to leave. As she was coming down the stairs, she realized that there was a room underground as well. She wanted to examine that room for clues as well and so continued getting down the stairs into the room. As opposed to the other floors, the underground was pitch dark. She searched for switches, but found none. She hoped that Mr. Sanderson was there with her as she knew that he would always keep a torch in his car. She wondered why he had not replied to her message yet. She turned on the flashlight in her mobile and started walking. 
As she was thinking about Mr. Sanderson, something suddenly clicked. 

"Where it is cold
Lie pieces of whole
Where lights go hide
And make it hard to see
Follow where the air leads
And you shall drink your needs"

She took a deep breath and some strange smell had filled the room. She followed it which led her to another room. She opened the room and as she entered, the smell got intense. Towards the end of the room, there was a refrigerator. 

"Where it is cold
Lie pieces of whole"

She decided to open the refrigerator. When she did, she almost fainted. In huge zip-lock plastic bags, were human flesh chopped and stored. She quickly closes the refrigerator and starts running so fast that she was lucky she didn't trip and fall. She exits the building and stops to catch her breath.

"Who put the body there?
Who wrote this letter?
How did Mr. Sanderson know it?
Perhaps had Mr. Scott....?"
Apart from the horrible discovery she had just made, all these thoughts haunted her. She had realized the true power of money that day. For it had not only silenced mouths, but it had also silenced someone's life.